LOST EVANGELINE — Review & Giveaway

Thought for the Day:

“There are a million talented writers who are unpublished only because they stop writing when it gets hard.”

~ Gillian Flynn ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Becca Puglisi has a wonderful post HERE on Writers in the Storm for those who choose to write from more than one viewpoint. I can’t imagine doing that, but who knows what tomorrow will bring?

We all read about sagging middles, but stories can bog down anywhere, and to keep out of the bog, we might need some help. HERE is a great post from Writer’s Digest by Sheila Roberts called Plotting or Plodding: How to Keep Your Story Moving. Worth your time.

Are you mean enough to be a good writer? That’s something I never thought I would ask, but after reading the very good post HERE from Janice Hardy at Fiction University called Do You Suffer From NWS?: Living With Nice Writer Syndrome, it’s a question I need to ask myself.

I feel like stealing Garrison Keillor’s opening. “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Woebegone…” It really has been a quiet week here. I’ve been catching up on some reading, doing some writing, and cleaning up my DVR after my travels. PBS made a six-part series about the 1983 Brinks-Mat gold robbery. It’s really well done, and I can’t wait for part 6 to air later today. This morning, my daughter and I went to the movies. I don’t go to the movies very often, but it’s nice to see something on the big screen. We both said afterward that we want to go to the movies more often. We saw Nuremberg. It’s an absolutely fascinating story about an American Army psychiatrist who was brought in to work with the German prisoners on trial at Nuremberg. The psychiatrist gets especially close to Hermann Göring. There are numerous important reminders for people today in the current political climate. And it is a terrific movie.

Last week, I offered an autographed copy of PERSPECTIVE by Jennifer Bohnhoff to one of you. The winner this time is Natalie Aguirre. Congratulations, Natalie! I will get your book out to you soon. If you don’t know Natalie, she is a writer and runs the wonderful Literary Rambles blog. Every writer should be reading Literary Rambles. She has so much great content. Check it out by clicking on the title.

Before I get to the main event, I want to give a little shout-out to a new picture book by Nancy Bo Flood with brilliant illustrations by Jeanne Bowman. Nancy always finds great subjects for her books, and BADGER CLARK: POETRY WRANGLER is no exception. This would be a terrific book to use in a poetry segment in the classroom with a special eye toward getting boys interested in poetry. It is a non-fiction biography that uses Nancy’s great storytelling abilities and beautiful language to draw readers in and keep them engaged. Badger Clark was an interesting character with an unorthodox path to poetry. This is a perfect book for younger middle-grade readers and anyone with an interest in poetry.

The publicist at Candlewick Press offered some books for review recently, and when I saw a new Kate DiCamillo Norendy Tale on the list, I had to have it. LOST EVANGELINE is the third book in the Norendy Tales series. I have reviewed the previous two Norendy Tales — THE PUPPETS OF SPELHORST HERE and THE HOTEL BALZAAR HERE. I think it might be my favorite of the three Norendy Tale stories.

A village shoemaker discovers a tiny baby girl, the size of a mouse, in the toe of a shoe. The shoemaker, who is married but has no children, decides to raise the tiny girl as his own. He builds a tiny bed and makes tiny clothes and shoes for her. He names her Evangeline. She grows up, but never gets bigger. He often takes her to a bluff above the harbor and shows her the ships, and he tells her that someday they will travel the world and see all there is to see. She stays in his pocket often, but when no one is in the shop, she comes out and talks with her father. The squeaky door always warns them when she must hide. The shoemaker’s wife becomes jealous of Evangeline and wishes she were gone. Without knowing the importance of her actions, the wife oils the squeaky door hinges. The servant of a rich woman comes to the shop one day and sees Evangeline. He tells his employer about the little girl, and the woman gives him money to buy her. The servant goes to the shoemaker’s wife, gives her the gold, and absconds with Evangeline. Evangeline makes an unlikely ally of the house cat, and the two of them set out to find Evangeline’s father. But Evangeline’s father has set out on his own search, so he is not where Evangeline expects to find him. Will they find their way back to each other?

Kate DiCamillo really is a national treasure. Her writing is simply gorgeous, and her storytelling is amazing. This book is no exception. The lovely illustrations by Sophie Blackall are the perfect complement to DiCamillo’s sweet story. Not everything is resolved in this story, as was the case with the previous two Norendy Tales, and I can’t wait for more stories that I hope will bring everything together and to a logical conclusion. Don’t miss this latest episode.

I have a gently-read hardback to give to one of you. All you need to do is be a follower (it’s free and easy — see the top, right corner of the post) with a US Address, and leave a comment. If you share the link to this post on social media, please let me know in your comment, and you will get an extra chance. And please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.