There is magic in the written word, don’t you all agree? Of course you do, so this is almost a redundant question to ask! Words survive ages and transcend both time and space. When I end up being annoyed, frustrated, or just a little unhappy, I somehow find myself heading for a book, and invariably within a few pages, words work their magic and I definitely am feeling better.

Some words, no matter how often they are used, are even more magical for being said to someone. When that special someone says ‘I love you’, when your little ones say ‘you are the best’, the many ‘please’, ‘thank yous’, and hopefully a fewer ‘sorrys’ that we hear through the day – they are magical too – magic in words.

Writing down something – be it an entry for your diary, a list of to-do things, a letter (email!) to someone, a poem, a just-for-the-sake-of-writing something, or something else – also is magical. As we reach the end of January, I realize I have to work on one of my specific resolutions – write a letter – and I am glad I still have a couple of days remaining. I am going to get to it right after this post.

Another wonderful magic weaved is when I read aloud to and with my kids. Reading to them has a charm, a sweetness equal to no other reading experience while reading with them has taught me so many things – that I sometimes read too fast, that I need to savor the words more, pay more attention to the pictures accompanying the words for they add to the story too (a lot more than I realized – maybe I knew that as a kid myself but just forgot as an adult), and reinforced in me that words are indeed magical!

So, here is to more magic.

What magic did you discover in words today?

As for myself, I have read many wonderful books the past few weeks. I have reviewed one here today (and more in the coming weeks). I have featured others read even earlier in my Top Ten post of the week.

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When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me is one book that definitely lives up to its hype and all the positive reviews it has. I had been meaning to read it from the first time I saw it but somehow never did. And boy, am I glad I read it – could say ‘it reached out to me’ finally! The characters are all so real; like friends I could have had as a 12 year old in 1979 New York.

I was not yet 12 in 1979. But I am guessing I would have loved ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ then as I loved this one now. I have asked my son to loan me his library copy of ‘A Wrinkle in Time’. He was planning to return at school – asked him to renew it for me:) – just a coincidence?)  

This book takes the reader on a wonderful journey of friendship and of course, time. As Miranda helps her mom prepare for a TV quiz show (the $20000 show), she starts receiving mysterious notes predicting the future. She is curious and scared, and as she works to untangle this mystery (and succeeds at the end), she also learns wonderful lessons in tolerance, racism, appearances-are-not-what-they-seem, family, friendship, and more.   The chapter titles are totally cool too and along with the story itself, a point for discussion. Now I need to read this book again (after I read ‘A Wrinkle in Time’) to see how the story evolves and solves itself.  

Rating: A Reading Level: 8 and above Reread Level: 4.5/5

Linking this book to What are you Reading? From Picture Books to YA at Teach Mentor Texts and What are you reading? @Book Journey

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Worlds I’d Never Want To Live In is what we are talking about over at The Broke and Bookish this week:

1. The island in ‘Lord of the Flies’
2. The boat in ‘The Life of Pi’
3. Anne Frank’s and Liesel’s war-torn world
4. The world in ‘The Hunger Games’
5. The apartment in ‘The Last Man in the Tower’
6. Bellatrix Lestrange’s mind
7. The island in ‘And then there were none’
8. In the time loop in Miss Peregrine’s Home
9. and I would not want to trade places with Bella Swan
10. or with Anastasia Steele