Just take a look at this cover to get a feel for the mood of a picture book that surely will become a cherished part of your Christmas collection. As you have most likely guessed, the giving flower is the one you have likely called poinsettia – and maybe argued over the pronunciation.

My husband’s claim that I could easily renew my license online without a trip to DMV turned out to be untrue. He had done it himself and was quite sure it would work. I’ll spare you the details of several fruitless efforts that ended up each time with a claim that the DMV had no matches for the license I was renewing.

If you love a good murder mystery with a couple of unexpected twists and turns, I have a book recommendation for you! In her new book that comes out today, A Case of Mice and Murder, Sally Smith cleverly interlaces a couple of legal cases – the disputed author of a bestselling children’s book and a murder.

After his first visit to Furrs Baptist Church where he would soon become pastor, Daddy came home talking about the young man, a high school senior, who played the piano. Little did either of us know how that young man would affect our lives.

The plan had been in place since late last year when my daughter Anna’s book club made their list of monthly selections for 2025 and included Becoming Ezra Jack Keats for their May selection with the idea of inviting the author (me).

In Miriam Chernick’s new middle grade book, The Zuzu Secret, that comes out today, Josie and Abe are dealing with enough even before the car accident. The Shermans have just moved to Silver Spring where the parents are preoccupied in adapting to new jobs. Josie’s enthusiasm for a vet volunteering job she hopes for gets lost in the chaos.

You might think it would be hard to choose a favorite day from almost three decades of rewarding teaching. Not for me.

When Net Galley offers a book by Karen Cushman, I know I need to make a request. Known best for her Newbery Award winners, Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife’s Apprentice, she is in her element when she sets her books in her home state of Oregon.

Daddy’s temper had kicked in before we could get lunch after church on that Sunday. Little did he know that he would soon be adding a story to his family lore. He confronted my teenaged aunt who had been given what seemed like a simple assignment for the church service.

His younger siblings claimed it was unfair that Murray seemed to get out of any punishment because he could always make me laugh. Evidence came in his required essay with a word count that I assigned for playing ball in the house. Scattered throughout were numbering notes to document the progress of the word count with notice that he had a bonus of five extra.

Get ready to order ahead a middle-grade-and-up book (out on February 18) that casts a realistic look at the dynamics when an addiction problem piles on top of other family issues. Kerry Madden-Lunsford’s new book Werewolf Hamlet takes the reader there.   

Setting aside my time for sheer pleasure on our recent snow day (all two inches!), I pulled out the newest Louise Penny mystery, The Grey Wolf. On my reserve list for months at the Oak Grove Public Library, my turn had come with perfect timing. I expected nothing but watching over the top of my book as the snow fell while sitting in my favorite chair with a cup of tea.

When all was said and done yesterday, we got about two inches of snow – not nearly as much as our friends in New Orleans, but still. The day filled with pop-ins from the two grandsons next door, mostly exuberant 11-year-old Owen. Benjamin, recovering from a head cold and nearing the blasé world of teenage, was a bit more subdued. The day went like this.

Our long anticipated trip to Alaska brought either serendipity (a happy coincidence) or lagniappe (something additional or extra). You may decide. Whatever it was, it continues.

On July 13, 2007, in Fairbanks, Alaska, our young server asked a question before she took our breakfast order. “Are you a writer?”

For many years, one of my favorite quotes from Shakespeare has been, “And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” Perhaps this fondness comes from the nature lover or the writer in me or a combination of the two.

When I was six, my two little sisters and I excitedly bounced out of bed on Christmas morning, pretty sure that Santa Claus had come with presents during the night. We gathered with Mama and Daddy around the cedar tree we had cut in the woods.

Jasmine Warga has a new middle grade book out called A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall. On the whole, I love realistic books, but now and then one with a slice of magical realism touches my fancy. This is just such a book.

I’ve been fond of a smooth braid since I wore them growing up. Cynthia Leitich Smith created just that kind of braid with three plotlines threaded smoothly through to a delightful conclusion in her new book, On a Wing and a Tear.

At 6:53 on November 5, 2024, Allen and I took our place as number 11 and 12 in the line awaiting the opening of our Lamar County polling place. By the seven o’clock opening, the line had doubled. It would triple by the time we cast our votes.

When one of your very favorite YA fiction authors (Ruta Sepetys) joins one of your very favorite YA nonfiction authors (Steve Sheinken) to write a book together, there is just one possibility for what to do. I requested the advance copy from Net Galley and began what promised to be a good read.