Kate DiCamillo

Hi Everyone!

I hope everyone of you has enjoyed the feeling you get when you read the first sentence of a book and you know will turn out great - or has gotten to feel the great suspense in the middle of the book when you hope nothing will make you put it down - or that mixed feeling of wanting to re-read the last sentence over and over again so the story doesn't have to end - and what about the satisfaction of that happy ending? Reading is such a wonderful thing!

Now you are probably thinking either "Momo must love to read" or "Since when did she like reading so much?" Anyone who knows me well knows how little I read. I have never really wanted to read and I have always had many other things I could be doing instead. I am not even a good reader and very few books can grasp my attention.

Basically, I like poems and Nancy Drew. (I have read all the Nancy Drew books we own.) And even when Risa tells me about a book I should check out, I hardly ever find or make the time to read it. Save one author whose books I would recommend and read as soon as I could: Kate DiCamillo. Kate DiCamillo is a fabulous writer. I have read every one of her books (that I know of - Risa would be able to tell me for sure, she knows nearly everything about everything). Miss DiCamillo has written four great books that we own: Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising, The Tale of Despereaux, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

Because of Winn-Dixie was made into a movie and I would recommend the movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. It was a life-like fiction that told of hardships, healing and love. It is seen through the eyes of Opal, a ten-year-old who gets to know the other people in the new town, each with their own story to tell.

Tiger Rising is a bittersweet story of a young boy full of sorrow. He keeps his thoughts and hopes locked tight inside. When he finds a tiger locked in a cage his life begins change. Someone he thought was his enemy becomes his friend, he grows closer to his father and much more. It is so good that you won't be able to put it down.

The Tale of Despereaux is about a mouse that is very small and is not like other mice. It is an enchanting fairytale that has great lessons to learn of forgiveness and being yourself. I found this an extremely satisfying book full of adventure, excitement, and wisdom. Throughout the book the narrator tells us how every action, no matter how small has its own consequence.

And Lastly The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, will take you on quite a journey! Edward is a spoiled and self-absorbed porcelain rabbit. The story will take you from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the fireside of a hobo's camp to the top of a garbage heap, from the bedside of an ailing child to the streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.
(Plus the drawings are fantastic!)

♥Momo

P.S. She has written two great picture books for children: Louise- The Adventures of A Chicken and Great Joy.