Rinda's Reads: April Report

Hi all! I can't believe it is May already! April flew by. We were so very busy, but in good ways. I didn't get a chance to read a whole lot, but I did like the three books I did manage to read, so I am passing them along.


The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
Most books about the sinking of the Titanic focus solely on the voyage of the Titanic. This book was refreshing because the actual voyage and sinking of the Titanic only covered two chapters in a rather large book. Instead, the book focuses on what happened after the survivors were dropped off in the U.S. My favorite character by far was the woman reporter assigned to cover the hearings held to discover why the ship sank and if there was foul play involved. This book wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it was interesting and I learned something from it. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you would probably enjoy this one.


Gingersnap by Patricia Rielly Giff
I picked this book up in the children's section of my local library and I was not disappointed. I recognized the author's name and from the snippet on the back cover, I found that the book was set in the WWII era, which I am a sucker for. The book is probably geared more toward a fourth or fifth grade audience, but I enjoyed it. Ghosts, cookies, a turtle, redheads, and a family mystery. Where could you go wrong?


Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand by Carla Kelly
I picked this book up because I had recently recommended another book by this author (My Loving Vigil Keeping) to my mom for her book club assignment in June. I hadn't read anything else by Carla Kelly, so I decided to give her a try again. Unlike the book I passed on to my mom, which is set in a Utah mining town, this novel is set in Regency England. If you need a good romance, well...let's just put it this way: I read this one within 24 hours and Kevin had to keep reminding me that she needed attention because I just couldn't put it down for more than five minutes at a time.

I've also been slowly working my way through Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts in preparation for some of my summer adventures. I've only read the chapter on the John Adams presidency thus far. I've learned about women I didn't even know existed and I understand better some of the politics of the era, but I must say that I've been rather disappointed by the way that Roberts treats Abigail Adams. According to Roberts, Abigail all but ruined John's political career and was solely responsible for him not being re-elected. I just don't buy that. So...take it with a grain of salt.

And now, Kevin's Pick of the Month!
Actually, we have two, because they were just so darn adorable I had to pass them along. The first is this gem:

Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
You may recognize Rosenthal as the author of Duck! Rabbit! but I think this book is much, much better. It is simple, with only a few words on each page, but maybe your little ones will be enthralled by the harvest of glittered kisses that Little Miss reaps--mine certainly was!

And then we found this one:

Goldilocks and Just the One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson
I love it when there are books that tell the tale that comes after the nursery tale! This one has delightful pictures and a fun twist on the story of Goldilocks.

Happy Reading!

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