Book Review: The Truth: I’m Smart, I’m a Girl and I Know Everything by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

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The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein is a little book that gives a lot to think about. Told through the diary entries of a young girl who keeps a fake diary for her parents to find while writing the truth in her real diary, The Truth seems even more universal because the reader never learns the name of the diarist. We read her entries for the day and are free to picture her in our own minds as we will.

The Truth lets us in on the thoughts of a 10-year-old who is still very much a child, but who is also growing up and not sure how to deal with the changes she’s going through. For instance, when she gets a crush on a boy in her class, it’s such a powerful feeling that she knows she will love him forever. Yet, she fantasizes that she could easily have lots of children and take care of them well because she takes such good care of her dolls.

You feel the ache of a child’s wanting to know about the changes that are in store for her, and her frustration that adults in her life think she’s too young to think or talk about the things she’s curious about. It’s a great reminder that our children want and need information about topics parents are often uncomfortable talking about, and how important it is to talk about them.

Moms and daughters will have lots to talk about if they read The Truth together: How do children feel when they hear their parents argue? When do they need to know about changes their bodies go through in adolescence? Why is it important to hear about these things from parents?

I was a bit surprised to discover that the diary entries were not written in current times, but as though the writer was growing up in the 1950s or 60s. References to comic books, I Love Lucy, dial telephones and Brownie cameras may be confusing to some girls. But that shouldn’t keep the book from being an interesting and quick read. And there’s a great list of questions for kids at the end that’s perfect to use in a mother-daughter book club meeting.

Book Review: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo

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After my mother-daughter book club read The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo, one of the daughters sent in this review.

If you like fantasy-type books about animal heroes, you will love the book The Tale of Despereaux. It’s about a little mouse that needs to save his family and friends, despite how small and somewhat helpless he is. I think it was a great book, although not quite my style of reading. I prefer more realistic books. Anyway, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I think if you enjoy this kind of book you would definitely give it 5. It was a big hit with most of our book group members and definitely deserves a good rating. — Monica W., Portland, Oregon

Book Review: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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A reader from Massachusetts sent in this review of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

My 8 year old daughter Rowan read The Secret Garden and LOVED it. It was the first book that she really enjoyed and couldn’t put down. She was an avid reader, but this was the first book with enough depth to pull her into the story. Each day she would tell me which part she was on and we would discuss it. Finally she finished the book and we celebrated by watching the film adaptation. Rowan enjoyed seeing how the director changed the book a bit and liked imagining how she might have portrayed the characters herself.

We came to this website looking for some books we could read together for the summer. Thank you for the website! — Rebecca G., Eldersburg, Maryland

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Book Review: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards

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Two readers wrote in to recommend The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards.

A Daughter’s Review

I loooooved this book! I was sooo fun and full of magic. I just got this feeling of happiness, anxiety and fear while reading this book. Sometimes I got so caught up in the story I couldn’t turn the page I was so scared of what would happen next like maybe one of the creatures would hop out of the book. I’m not a big fantasy reader, but this book had a way of mixing some of my least favorite genres (mystery, scary/adventure) and making a whole new one that I very much enjoyed.

I really liked how the author described everything in such detail that I felt like I had been to Whangdoodle Land after reading this book. I also loved the creatures concepts and inventions in the book – they were so creative. For example – the Whangdoodle’s boat and soda machine really tickled me. The boat is called the Jolly Boat, and to start it you have to tell jokes so it laughs, which makes it go. Then on the lower deck there is a special soda machine that you ask for any kind of food with anything on it and it makes it for you on the spot. —  Franny S., Portland, Oregon

A Mother’s Review

I’d like to recommend a book for the 2nd-3rd grade level, though it’s good up to 5th or 6th grade. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards. Yes, the author is the same of Sound of Music fame. This is one of two novels she has written (Mandy, about an orphan girl, is also an excellent choice for this age.  It is reminiscent of The Secret Garden). Whangdoodles is the adventure of three children (a girl, age 7 or 8, and 2 boys, ages 11 and 13) and a professor specializing in DNA/cloning research. Using their senses and child-like belief in the unbelievable, they travel to a land which has forever been closed to human kind.

Whangdoodleland is the place where all creatures in whom people have stopped believing have gone to live. It is ruled by the Whangdoodle who is, sadly, the last of his kind. This book is reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. It is a lovely adventure with many morals, and absolutely no objectionable words for the 6-8 year old set. (Note from reviewer: 2008 is an anniversary year for the book and it has been republished with a special anniversary edition cover.) — Sarah T., Castro Valley, California

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Invite an Expert to Your Mother-Daughter Book Club Meeting

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Have you ever thought of inviting someone other than the author of the book you read to your book club meeting? When you think about the topics covered in your book and who may be able to give you more information about them, you open up a world of possibilities for guests to invite. For instance, when the members of a mother-daughter book club near Chicago read the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, they invited a naturalist from a nearby forest preserve to attend their discussion. He brought a real, live owl, and was able to talk about owl habits and habitats.

Why would you want to bring in an expert? One reason is to learn more about a topic you found interesting when reading your book. It’s also a way to liven up your normal routine every now and then as well as keep your book club meetings dynamic. And there are typically many more experts to be found who can address a topic from your book than there are authors you can get in touch with.

A club in Arizona found that to be true when they read The New York Stories of Edith Wharton. Wharton died in 1937, but her words continue to inspire readers in many ways. The book club moms and girls took a topic from the book, formal manners popular in the late 1800s, and turned it into an opportunity to invite someone to their meeting who was an expert on manners. At their group meeting the girls and moms organized a formal tea party, and their guest had them play games that helped them learn manners, including how to set a formal table and how to introduce one another properly. Everyone in the group loved the meeting, and it brought more depth to the stories they had read.

Here are a few ideas for other book/expert match ups to help you get started on your own brainstorming exercise:

  • Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce—the curator of a local art museum
  • Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George—someone who can teach wilderness survival skills
  • Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang—a history teacher who can talk about China’s Cultural Revolution

More ideas for how to find experts and invite them to your meetings can be found in Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs.

Cindy Hudson, author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs

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Book Review: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

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My daughter wrote this review after we read The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer for our mother-daughter book club.

When I first found out that we were going to read this book, every instinct told me not to. I had heard that it was a very scary book about cloning. Once we had read it though, I loved it. It is a story about a kid named Matt who is a clone of a famous drug dealer. At first, everybody thinks that he is just a filthy, old clone, so they lock him into a cell. When the drug dealer finds out about this, he immediately lets Matt out. Everybody still tries to avoid him. He grows up and eventually finds out that the man he’s cloned from is becoming too old and needs a new heart. Matt escapes only to find himself in a harsh, uncaring world. In the end, he learns that the only difference between a regular person and a clone, is that there is no difference. This story is about love, and a future that is harsh. – Catherine H., Portland, Oregon

Book Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

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The Adoration of Jenna Fox cover imageAfter our mother-daughter book club discussed The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, one of the girls wrote this review.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is an interesting book with a plot that makes you want to read to the end. It covers many difficult topics with a very real and human perspective, mainly how far would you go to save someone you love. It also addresses what could happen in the medical world if we continue on the path we’re on. Though the book had some rough writing style issues the plot is intriguing enough to make you go on and finish it. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a good book that not only makes you think about what’s going on in our world today and how that will affect tomorrow, but also about finding your true identity. — Franny S., Portland, Oregon

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Book Review: Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer

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Author Christina Hamlett sent in this review for one of her favorite books:

There are numerous self-help books on the market that enable people to cope with major life transitions—divorce, the death of a spouse, the move to a new neighborhood, the onset of empty-nest syndrome. Nothing attacks life changes better, though, than the wit and mirth of Catherine Goldhammer’s Still Life with Chickens: Starting Over in a House by the Sea. Her conversational style is hilarious and reads as if she is sitting across the table from you over coffee and talking about her move to a fixer-upper house by the sea with a daughter who is most defiantly her own person. My favorite paragraph is the mother’s observation about the simplicity of life as seen through the eyes of their brood of fluffy chicks: “The chickens went about their little chicken lives, eating and drinking and pecking. When I picked them up, they settled into the hammock I made of my shirt and went to sleep. Their beady little eyes drooped and they leaned their little heads against my thumb. Chickens are masters at living in the moment. I should stop worrying about them, I told myself. I should bow to their greater wisdom.”

It’s a wonderful lesson about resiliency (and comfort) from which we all can learn.  —  Christina H., Pasadena, California

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