"Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them."
~Lemony Snickett
The first Tuesday of the month is upon us once again and that brings Turn the Page Tuesday for our reading pleasure!
One of my not-so-guilty pleasures is reading Young Reader books. This month I choose my tattered copy of Mary Poppins to bring some reading fun into my world.
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
It's always a fun time in Mary Poppins world! I was actually pretty surprised to find that the Mary Poppins in the book was a grouchy ole' thing instead of the cheerful, ever smiling Mary we know from Disney. She was still fun and magical and the Banks kids who she nannied for adored her, even if she was forever cross!
I've had my next read on the shelf for quite awhile now, have eyed it several times but had always chosen something else instead.
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight - An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
This is a well written memoir about the authors childhood as a poor white girl in war-torn Africa. Bobo, as her family called her, was the daughter of farmers who moved on to the next farm whenever necessary. It is a disconcerting story full of laughter, heartbreak and endurance in a very tough land. I was drawn right in from the opening lines when Bobo's mom is telling her to not to startle her parents in their sleep because they sleep with loaded rifles and don't want her to get shot by mistake. We have all heard about the civil wars of Africa and the white settlers who took over the running of the country back in the 1800's, but to hear it first hand from a child who grew up in this world is absolutely amazing. She tells us about a world where terrorists lived in the jungle behind her house, where you did not wander around because a land mine could be anywhere, where a trip to town took a military convoy with guns loaded, where a very young girl learns to clean and load and shoot the family guns in order to help keep them safe. The author does not try to hide the racism of her parents and actually says that she grew up not knowing anything about the native culture of her home country. The heartbreak of babies dying had me in tears; the hilarity of a drunken Christmas Eve left me in stitches. I will certainly recommend this incredible memoir to others and will most likely read it again one day.
What have you been reading? Pop on over to Adrienne's Some of a Kind to tell us!
