Here's hoping

ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainboww Rowell. St. Martin's Griffin, 2013.

They are the unlikeliest of friends. When Eleanor boards the school bus that first day and is confronted with hostility, it is Park alone who makes room for her to be seated. He is subtle about the move so as not to call attention to himself and suffer the same sort of peer rejection as befalls Eleanor with her crazy hair and even crazier clothes, clothes that conceal a huge secret in her life. Over the course of a school year, Eleanor and Park move from seatmates to soulmates. Each discovers the secrets of the other; each learns to trust perhaps for the first time. Of course, love never runs smoothly, but Eleanor and Park can hope for a first, right?

special edition of Picture Book Monday

Here is a reissue of a Christmas poem about giving of yourself and giving back to others. A young boy in tatters spends his few pennies on a Charlie Brown sort of Christmas tree. Because of the boy's love and faith, the Tree grows into the most lustrous, lovely tree the village has ever seen. People respond to this act of faith by remembering others whose Christmas might not be as merry as theirs. Simple poetry and illustrations convey one of the true meanings of the holiday season. A little sentimental" You bet, but what would the holidays be without some schmaltz? <551>