Category: reflection

Tomorrow all will be Beautiful by Brigid Lowry

This book is a pleasure not to be missed. It is a collection of short stories, letter exchanges, dialogues and poems delicately illustrated. She writes about the joys and tragedies and leaves you feeling hopeful and alive. ‘Tomorrow all will be Beautiful’ notices the details in life that are juicy. It’s a funny, cool book that touched me and made me feel validated as a sometimes crazy, passionate, melancholy and often mistaken person. I have put my name on the list at school to read ‘Guitar Highway Rose’.

Brigid Lowry is my latest favourite. Listening to her ‘Juicy Writing’ talk on Monday, just confirmed it. I would still love to get a copy of that writing she read to us about the mother and son, so I can weep without the eyes of my year 9s on me.

Sick Again!!

I had to come home from school today as I began vomming (as my son calls it) again. This is the third time in the last month I have experienced this. I cried tears of frustration and had to be picked up by my parents just like a school kid. Lucky they could do that for me. I have slept all day and am trying not to spend the little energy I have right now on being cranky.

12 Must Read Books for Teens

I said earlier that I would create my own list of 12 books to read before you turn 12. I can’t do it. I have given it a lot of thought and as I teacher I am constantly referring students to books. Mind you, my students are generally between the ages of 12- 16. I have to know a young person before I could suggest a book for them. I have read a lot of books for young adults. There is such an amazing variety. So I am going to pass on this list. I have mentioned many books that I love for young people. There are 46 blog posts on this blog about young adult reading. This however is only for the last 35 months that I’ve been blogging. I’ve read heaps before I started blogging. It’s just too hard.

My Shakey Reading Memories
I can’t really remember what I read before I turned 12 with any accuracy, but I know Enid Blyton was big for me. I also read a whole series about a nurse called Sue Barton. It was responsible for me thinking I was going to be a nurse when I grew up. In reality I hate the sight of blood though. I loved ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and lots of fairy tales. Some of my favourites were ‘The Princess and the Pea’ and ‘Rapunzel’. Milly Molly Mandy, Pollyanna, Anne of Green Gables were some others I loved. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and lots of school readers I can recall. I remember wishing there were books written by Australians about Australians because the books I read had the seasons and landscape all wrong. I would love to hear from others what they read around these times. I was born in 1965.