When I first mentioned that Fridays were going to be reserved for letters, Laura mentioned Helene Hanff's epistolary classic right off. She reminded me how much I love this collection. And, so, I pulled the volume off the shelf and aimed for a re-read. If you're reading these
Alice Walker's The Color Purple (1983) Women's Press, 1984 Celie begins writing letters to God because the man who is married to her mother has said that's all who will listen, all who should be bothered with listening. (It's just wrong to call him her father, after he has raped
When I look for the words to describe re-visiting the books in the series I loved to read when I was a girl, I pluck words like ‘delightful’ and ‘splendid’ from the possibilities. Old-fashioned joy words that fit perfectly with the old-fashioned flavour of the tales I loved. Language suitable
Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown (1958). Illus. Mary Stevens NY: Dell Publishing, 1968. Even though it's the fourth, rather than the first, this is the volume of Sydney Taylor's series that I re-read most often. (Actually, I never read either the third or the fifth/final volumes until now; I didn't
Sydney Taylor's More All-of-a-Kind Family (1954) Dell Publishing, 1967 The third volume in Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family series is everything that is promised in the title: More. More years for the children, who now range in age as follows: Ella, 15; Henriette (Henny), 13; Sarah, 11; Charlotte, 9; Gertie, 7; and Charlie,
