On “A Necklace of Raindrops and Other Stories”: A Book Review

 

Title: A Necklace of Raindrops and Other Stories
Author: Joan Aiken
Genre: Children’s fiction, Short Story

About the book…
Written by Joan Aiken in the 1968, this book consists of eight short, yet whimsical, stories meant for younger readers.

What I think…
This is the fifth collection of stories I have read by Joan Aiken (not to mention a few of her full length books) and although it is intended for a young age group, I was not at all disappointed.

All the stories have a fairy tale quality to them ranging in subject matter from a necklace made of raindrops (as indicated by the title), a giant cat, characters that come out of books, an angry landlord, and a magical quilt. As with her other collections, one story stood out to me far more than the others. In this case, it is the charming “There’s Some Sky in This Pie” which is about a woman who accidentally rolls a piece of the sky into her pie dough resulting in a pie that once baked starts to fly away.

The illustrations in this edition are by Kevin Hawkes and have a resemblance to those of Garth Williams (of Charlotte’s Web, The Rescuers, etc…). While lovely, I do wish that I would have paid attention to the fact that the original illustrations were by Jan Pienkowski, as his work is particularly beautiful and there is an edition available with them.

To sum it all up…
This is a wonderful little collection of children’s stories by Joan Aiken that thoroughly captures her imaginative storytelling skills. If you don’t mind reading children’s books, this is one I would highly recommend. ♥

On Two Years of Blogging!

This past week, Wednesday to be exact, marked the second year anniversary of this blog!


Originally, I had intended this to serve solely as a place to practice and improve upon my creative non-fiction writing; however, within the past year this has proven to no longer be the case. It has since expanded to include sewing adventures, book reviews, vintage themed posts (frequently associated with sewing), and the occasional tutorial (with more to hopefully appear in the coming year), which I must admit to being ever so glad about!

Through blogging I have made some delightful friends and I appreciate each and everyone one of you wonderful readers! Thank you for reading my blog and here’s hoping for still more years of blogging to come!♥

On “Village School”: A Book Review

Title: Village School
Author: Miss Read
Genre: Fiction

About the book…
Village School is the first book in the Fairacre Series written by Miss Read (pseudonym of Dora Shafe). It follows a year in the village of Fairacre as seen through the eyes of Miss Read, the school teacher, recounting the various enjoyments and challenges faced by the villagers.

What I think…
I don’t think I could ever tire of this book or its author. In general, I am prone to liking books that take place in the English countryside or small villages and Village School is one of those books that hits the mark precisely.

Miss Read’s writing is lyrical in the nicest sense and flipping to any page at random will prove that this quality is present throughout. The experiences written about evoke a connection with the endearing characters, which you very quickly develop a liking and sympathy for (even the cranky Mrs. Pringle) as they go through their daily lives.

It is a delight to read about the school children and the things that happen at the school (quite obviously a big part of this book), and makes one wish that they had gone to school there with Miss Read or Miss Clare (teacher of the younger students) as their teacher. Another aspect that I really enjoy is reading about the various festivities and the preparations for them.

In addition, having read her biography, it was fun to pick up on some of the references to things that the real Miss Read experienced (such as her disappointment of not being allowed to use a metal sand shovel as a child).

To sum it all up…
This is the book you want to go to if you are looking for something well written, light and pleasant in subject matter, and overall charming in every way. And if you really like it there’s the advantage of it being followed by nineteen other books, the next three which I can vouch for as being equally as good! ♥

On Having a Nice Day

Sometimes having a nice day is hard. Nothing seems to go right, appointments have to be kept when one would rather be doing something else, the weather is less than enjoyable, or one just doesn’t feel up to doing anything. Tired and crankiness set in and one begins to feel like this:


Not normally having a fondness for vampires, this no longer sticky sticker
appeals to me enough that I keep it atop my dresser  

In some cases, of course, all it takes to make everything cheerier is to read a favorite poem or book, listen to a particular song, or watch a movie. Whereas other days it can be a bit more challenging and it seems like nothing will improve anything other than getting a good night sleep.

Then there are days that start out nice and continue on in that way from start to finish. Everything goes right, one hears from an old friend, or is surprised in some way, and those sorts of days are very nice indeed! ♥