Gregory, the Terrible Eater is about a young goat who is a picky eater. His parents do not understand why he is so picky. They offer him the best goat diet… including shoes, tires, cardboard; and, odds and ends that all goats love. Gregory doesn’t want to eat those things.
Gregory wants no part of that kind of food; he wants fruits, eggs, fish and vegetables. Well, his parents are so concerned that they send him to the doctor. They want him to eat like they eat.
The doctor asks him why he wants to eat such different things; Gregory says it’s because it is what he likes to eat. The doctor told his parents that he has treated picky eaters before and that they need to introduce new foods to him slowly; one new food a day.
Soon, Gregory is loving everything and eating way too much food. He eats so much that he makes himself sick. So he learns to eat foods in balance and in portions that are just right. His parents are happy that he has made good choices.
The book is entertaining and i think young children will relate to the concept of learning to eat a variety of foods and to eat in moderation.
The author’s name is Mitchell Sharmat and the books is illustrated by Jose Aruego and by Arian Dewey. This is the 2001 edition and it is published by Simon and Shuster Books For Young Readers. Their website is: http:// www.simonsays.com/ This is written for children from ages 5-8.
The Legend of the Valentine is an inspirational children’s book written by Katherine Grace Bond. The story is about young 9 year old Marcus who lives in Alabama during the civil rights movement; as he experiences prejudice, his grandmother teaches him about the power of love.
Young Marcus is bewildered as his father is jailed along with Dr. Martin Luther King; as far as he can see, he didn’t do anything wrong except stand up for people who were treated differently from the white folks.
Marcus’s mother is upset. Grandmother is a great story teller and since it is close to Valentine’s Day, Grandmother decides to tell Marcus about the real Valentine. Valentine was a person back in Rome in the early days of Christianity.
Valentine was also in jail because he worshipped God and not the emperor which was the law at that time. By loving his jailers and praying for the jailer’s blind daughter; she was healed. The jailer became a Christian also.
So Marcus, goes back to school where some of the children treated him poorly because of the color of his skin. He made Valentine’s with his granny for each of them. Travis, the young man who truly showed his prejudiced, came to understand that Marcus was more than the color of his skin because of the other children’s acceptance of Marcus.
Love and forgiveness heals alot. Marcus began to form relationships with the other children in his class after giving out Valentines to his classmates. Marcus followed the teachings of Jesus in loving his “enemies”.
The publisher is ZonderKidz. Their website is: http://zondervan.com/. The book is illustrated by Don Tate; copywrighted in 2001.
When I Am An Old Woman…I Shall Wear Purple. Ahh…a woman after my own heart; I thought. ‘Til I realized that she was rebelling against society by wearing purple; and, wearing a red hat at the same time. She was comitting a crime against the fashion police! Again, a woman after my own heart 
!
She tired of living by everyone else’s sense of propriety…of setting examples for the children and doing what others expect of her; so she dreams of a time when she is elderly and can do what she wants without regard for the opinions of others.
I find that both sad and encouraging…strange to have that exact combination of emotions. It is a fact of life that we must balance our desires to do what we wish; along with doing what is right, while at the same time, being true to our self and becoming who we were born to be.
It is also sad, that many people find that they dont know how to do that balancing thing; without having a real or imagined veil of senility to hide behind… to be able to live as they wish.
This book, is an older book that i have had on my shelf for many years. But, i have to say that i find it quite interesting. It is a book of poetry and short stories.
The general theme is one of aging women, and their personal observations on getting older. How their lives have evolved over the years.
Some of the writings are sad…some are silly…some evoke an alarming awareness of what the future holds. In essense, it tells the truth of aging.
When you read it, you are made aware of where you are at in your life and how you relate to those who are your elders…and, how you relate to family…and how, someday, others will relate to you.
Life is definately a circle…one that if you are lucky enough to live many years on this earth, you will begin to see yourself go from child, to parent, to grandparent, to some sort of child-like life once again. Hopefully, in each stage you are loved and cherished as we are all meant to be!
This book was edited by Sandra Martz; the copyright says 1987 by Paper Mache Press.
The Secret Between Us, is an interesting book on the complexities of human relationships when stressed by a lack of honesty. Barbara Delinsky wrote the book. She is one of my favorite authors just because of the way she writes understands the undercurrents between her characters.
This story has multiple levels of undercurrents between mother, dauther, father and grandfather. It is able to navigate the past relationships woven throughout their current relationships with one another.
There is a car accident that involves a teen driver who is driving with a permit while her mother is in the car. The teen has secrets that the mother knows nothing about.
The mother keeps secrets from those who are important in her life…and the consequences that follow are mind blowing. There is a pedestrian who crosses their paths who may or may not have been suicidal.
The pedestrian just happens to be the teen’s teacher in high school. Throw in an ex-husband and a controlling father/grandfather and an adult sibling who has never felt accepted because of a perceived lack of perfection and it adds layers upon layers to an already riveting story about complex people.
The mother does what many parents do and takes responsibility for the accident, thinking that she is protecting her daughter. What this does to complicate their relationship, as well as other relationships in their lives, is nothing less than explosive.
I like the fact that in the end the book really teaches compassion and acceptance for those in our lives that dont quite measure up to other’s expectations. It is a fabulous book that i very much enjoyed reading.
The publisher is Doubleday. Their website is: http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/.