After several long years (this book sold the same month Hugging the Rock did) I am proud to announce that the true story of Enrique Esparza and the Battle of the Alamo is out from Lerner Publishing. The illustrator, Jeni Reeves, did a marvelous job on the illustrations.

This book is based on the true story of young Enrique Esparza who took shelter at the Alamo with his family when Mexican General Santa Anna and his army came to battle the Texans in San Antonio. The book is out in both hardback and paperback at the same time which I think is very smart of the publishers. And what fun for teachers, there’s a Reader’s Theater all ready for you in the back of the book!

Now if I could just figure out how to get it into the gift shop AT the Alamo, wouldn’t that be sweet?

I don’t write book reviews and I don’t talk very often here about other children’s books I read but today I have to say simply this:

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (also known as 

lurban 

) is a MUST-READ.

I don’t know how she did it, especially with the wonderfully quirky cast of characters she had, but she did.

It is the kind of book I wish I had written.

Just a quick posting of some of the books in the new house. This is the library. The wall to the left of the picture wraps around and there are two more bookcases there plus the TV. On the right there are more bookcases as well. We painted this room red before we moved in. New furniture is on its way, a camelback couch and a pair of leather chairs. Eventually we’ll redo the fireplace mantle/tile. (The entire house was a formal Italian style which isn’t us.)
 

And these are the bookcases in my office.

Thanks to everyone for suggestions about books and movies about fathers and daughters. For those who are interested, here’s the mostly full list. If you suddenly remember something that should be on here, please let me know. And none of these are listed in any particular order.

Middle Grade

• Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
• Just Juice by Karen Hesse
• Protecting Marie by Kevin Henkes
• Family Tree by Katherine Ayres
• The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed by Heather Vogel Frederick
• Mr. And Me by Kimberly Willis Holt
• Ida B by Katherine Hannigan
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
• Boston Jane by Jennifer L. Holm
• Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
• Saffy’s Angel by Hilary McKay
• Airfield by Jeanette Ingold
• The Naked Mole Rat Letters by Mary Amato
• Ruby Electric by Theresa Nelson
• I Almost Love You, Eddie Clegg by Audra Supplee
• Words By Heart by Ouida Sebestyen
• Over the River by Sharelle Byars Moranville

Young Adult and up

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Pure by Rebecca Ray
• Playing Solitaire by Nancy Antle
• Drawing Lessons by Tracey Mack
• Missing Pieces by Norma Fox Mazer
• Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Co. by Maria Amparo Escandon
• Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
• The Ballad of Jack and Rose by Rebecca Miller
• Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
• Tender by Valerie Hobbs
• Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel
• Harley, Like a Person by Cat Bauer
• Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Hate You by Graham Mcnamee
• Freaky Green Eyes by Joyce Carol Oates
• One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
• The Crying Rocks by Janet Taylor Lisle
• Georgie’s Moon by Chris Woodworth
• Midnight Hour Encores by Bruce Brooks
• Rules For Life by Darlene Ryan

Picture Books

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
• On a Wintry Morning by our Dori Chaconas
• A Very Hairy Scary Story by Rick Walton
• All those Secrets of the World by Jane Yolen
• When We Married Gary by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Movies

• Because of Winn Dixie 
•  Fly Away Home
• The Ballad of Jack and Rose
• Ulee’s Gold
• On Golden Pond

Okay, the idea was to post this list on the first of every month but I’m running a bit behind. Here’s what I read this past month. I might have missed a few but I think this is most of them.

• Contents Under Pressure by Lara M. Zeises
• A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson
• Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson
• Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
• One Night by Margaret Wild
• Escaping Tornado Season by Julie Williams
• Splintering by Eireann Corrigan
• Chicken Boy by Frances O’Roark Dowell
• Stained by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
• Michael Rosen’s Sad Book
• The Cloud Chamber by Joyce Maynard
• Tribes by Arthur Slade
• Fame and Glory in Freedom Georgia by Barbara O’Connor
• Last Dance on Holladay Street by Elisa Carbone
• Over the River by Sharelle Byars Moranville
• A Thief in the House of Memory by Tim Wynne-Jones
• Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Field of the Dogs by Katherine Paterson
• Mary Margaret and the Perfect Pet Plan by Christine Kole MacLean
• Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy  by Gary D. Schmidt
• Here Today by Ann M. Martin
• The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon
• Crank by Ellen Hopkins