This past week saw the five baby bunnies that were planted in my flower pot go out into the big wide world on their own. Apparently baby rabbits become independent after only ten days.
I also participated in the second Farmers' Market of the season here in Shelby. And despite the over cast condition, it was a beautiful day. I do love to mix and mingle with my community, and I have so much fun snapping pictures of the lovely things my vendors have to offer.
And of course there was Father's Day. As usual, Emily crafted a beautiful card for Bobby.
It was not only beautiful, but funny as well. The inside read:
Happy Father's day!
Hope you have a good day!
Also, you wouldn't get to celebrate this day
if it wasn't for me, so you're welcome.
Needless to say, Bobby and I laughed over that you're welcome part for quite some time!
And last but not least, there was the middle grade fiction I read for this post. A novel titled Spitting Image by the talented Shutta Crum who also wrote a picture book I adore.
Spitting Image is a coming of age story about twelve year old tomboy, Jessica Kay Bovey, growing up in rural 1960's Kentuck. A story that touches on some difficult topics like the complexities of friendship, identity, poverty, and rape.
As I read Jessie's story, I completely felt myself being drawn in, caring about her, and cheering her on through all the situations in which she found herself. I felt outrage when the town bully and his father picked on Jessie and her best friend Robert. I felt joy as Jessie and her grandmother finally forged a better relationship. I laughed at the antics of a dog who stood on his head and a boy who helped himself to neighbors' food. My heart ached as Jessie struggled to find out the identity of her father. And my heart ached even more when she did find out his identity. Shutta Crum not only demonstrated a brilliance in writing about difficult topics, she also expertly made me feel every emotion under the sun for a fictional character. And in my book that makes her a writer worth reading! I highly recommend this book for both boys and girls in middle grade, and believe it would be a wonderful class room read aloud.
Originally published in 2003 by Clarion, Spitting Image is now published by Rascal Road Publishing and can be found on Shutta's web site.
I hope you enjoyed a brief glimpse into my week as well as my foray into the kidlit world. I also hope to see you here again next Monday.
Wishes for a week full of wonder! Aileen