The Goldfinch: 1 Star
This Pulitzer Prize winner is no winner. It's overindulgent, overrated, overblown, and overlong. It gets one star only because I'm proud of myself for finishing it. Yes, all 750-something pages thankyouverymuch! There were parts that were interesting (I loved all the art and music history) and characters that were worth getting to know (the kind and eccentric antique collector, Hoby). But most of it (practically all of it) was terrible (long drawn-out, self-indulgent descriptions of drug and alcohol addictions, profane language, redundant and immature plot lines - ugh, who cares?). And, although I had high hopes for an ending that would make it all worth it. . . it never got any better. There was no redemption. As I finished the last page I thought, "Well, lame. That was just a big, long, boring, depressing nothing". This book was such a letdown. Don't listen to all the hype and comparisons to Charles Dickens - sorry, The Goldfinch is not Charles Dickens. Don't waste your time.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library: 3.5 Stars
This is a wacky library game version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I read it with my three boys and, like The Westing Game, every chapter had us thinking, guessing, and puzzle-solving. Fun book - all the way to the end!
Lucia Lucia: 4 Stars
This book made me want to eat Italian, listen to Italian, sing Italian, and breathe Italian! It's a story about "the most beautiful girl in Greenwich Village" - an ambitious seamstress in the 50's who thinks she can have it all. Clever, funny, and full of old-fashioned Italian charm. Lucia Lucia won my heart. I would've preferred a more storybook ending, but as Lucia would have said, "The good things that happen to us were meant to happen, and the bad things that happen are lessons meant to teach us to be better."
The School for Good and Evil: 2 Stars
This is a story about two girls who accidentally get swapped and sent to the wrong fairytale school. Or did they? It is well-written, fresh, and imaginative as far as wannabe Harry Potter literature goes, but some of the "evil school" scenes (torture chambers, evil spells, etc.) were over-the-top gross or scarier than they needed to be and it had some strong feminist themes that rubbed me wrong. I'd probably let my kids read it, but I'd think twice about it.
Bridge to Teribithia: 4 Stars
This book is so so sad. I read it when I was in elementary school and I almost didn't want to read it again because I knew what was coming. But there is something sweet and profound about it too. And reading it as an adult was a whole new experience. Some good reminders in this book about life, people, and the connections we have with them - even the brief ones.
The Smartest Kids in the World: 5 Stars
This is a fascinating and insightful book. One of the best I've read this year. It takes a well-researched and first-hand look at education in the world's top performing countries - Finland, Poland, and South Korea. Amanda Ripley tackles some big questions about education reform, particularly why, regardless of wealth, social status, ethnicity, or school funding, virtually all children in these nations are learning to think critically, make complex arguments, and solve problems they've never seen before? How do they generate a culture of academic rigor and what can the United States do to follow suit?
I learned some interesting things that changed the way I view education in the United States and the world. It made me glad for teachers who challenge my children and insist they do hard things - teachers who understand and send the message that the only way to get smart is to work hard and learn well. I've been watching Eliza struggle, fail, but improve slightly week after week (after week after week. . .) as she tries to earn a plastic egg from "Ms. Hen" at piano lessons. Seriously - a tiny plastic chicken egg! Where I dish out praise and jellybeans for every right note, Eliza's piano teacher sets the bar high and expects her to work for it. I see the value in that kind of teaching. Kids need an education that allows them to fail - fail early and fail often. Winston Churchill said, "Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." It's called grit. The Finnish use the word sisu - a word meaning determination, bravery, spirit, and resilience. It is central to their culture.
Finland, Poland, and South Korea, though they have flaws of their own, have figured out that a real education is a hard education for students (rich kids and poor kids), but it's also hard for teachers. These countries are more selective in the way they train and hire teachers. In top performing countries, teachers are paid more (the best teachers in South Korea are millionaires), culturally they are more respected (teachers are revered in Finland, more than lawyers and doctors), and the process of becoming a teacher is more rigorous (you won't find a science teacher in Poland who was hired for his ability to coach football).
The numbers are in and it's clear that raising smart, resilient, and problem-solving kids directly impacts the economy and the overall well-being of the entire nation. It's worth the investment.
Picture Book Spotlight:
This. Just came out. Is it not every baby girl's dream?
This is Lydia's favorite page, of course. I love the mice.
All will sleep well tonight. Who wouldn't after this book?
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