“Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.” ― George Eliot

 “For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps, it was only an echo.” ― Lois Lowry

"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies." -- Gene Hill --

 “Freedom cannot be bestowed — it must be achieved.” – Elbert Hubbard

A Long Walk to Water

Title: A Long Walk to Water

Author: Linda Sue Park

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 12 - 18+

    Nya goes to the pond to fetch water for her family. She walks eight hours every day. 

    

    Salva walks away from his war-torn village. He is a "lost boy" refugee, destined to cover Africa on foot, searching for his family and safety. 

    Two young people . . . two stories.

    One country: Sudan.

    This mesmerizing dual narrative follows two threads -- one unfolding in 2008 and one in 1985 -- with one hopeful message: that even in a troubled country, determined survivors may find the future they are hoping for.

 "A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." -- Robert Benchley --

Because I could not stop for Death -- by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death --

by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses' Heads

Were toward Eternity –

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." -- William Shakespeare -- 

 “There is no friend as loyal as a book.”― Ernest Hemingway --

"No one is useless in the world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else." -- Charles Dickens --

 “Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.” – Moshe Dayan

Owls in the Family

Title: Owls in the Family

Author: Farley Mowat

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 6 - 12

    When Billy rescues two young orphaned great horned owls and takes them home, he has no idea what he's in for. Before long, his new friends, Wol and Weeps, have turned his family and the town they live in upside down. The problem is that Wol doesn't realize that he's an owl. After all, he stands on two legs and can climb trees, just like the other kids. He'll eat anything that's served at the dinner table (except, of course, parsnips). He loves playing practical jokes on Mutt, the family dog. And wherever Wol goes, mayhem is sure to follow, whether it's a stampede at the local pet parade or a traumatized teacher. 

“Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose — and commit myself to — what is best for me.” – Paulo Coelho

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

The Red Wheelbarrow

by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

"Be mindful not to trust everything you see. Even salt can look like sugar." -- Unknown --

"Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending." -- Jonathan Swift --

"Man's rise or fall, success or failure, happiness or unhappiness depends on his attitude . . . a man's attitude will create the situation he imagines." -- James Lane Allen --

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." -- Anne Frank --

Adam of the Road

 

Title: Adam of the Road

Author: Elizabeth Janet Gray

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 8 - 15

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel through the open roads of thirteenth-century England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his red spaniel, Nick. But when his father suddenly disappears and Nick is stolen, Adam finds himself alone searching these same roads filled with rich merchants, Pilgrim's with cockleshells upon their hats, farming folk driving pigs to the fair, minstrels and priests, saints and thieves - and somewhere in the crowd his father and his dog. 

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together." -- Vincent van Gogh --

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Invictus

by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

      Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

      For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

      I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

      My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

      Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

      Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

      How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

      I am the captain of my soul.

"Train your mind to see the good in everything." -- Unknown -- 

"You have to believe in happiness, or happiness never comes." -- Douglas Malloch --

"One kind word can change someone's entire day." -- Unknown --

"If there is faith that can move mountains, it is faith in your own power." -- Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Jane Eyre

Title: Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Bronte

Rating: ★★★★★

Ages: 16 - 18+

    Back Cover Synopsis: 

    Orphaned and penniless, Jane Eyre arrives as a governess at the home of the dark and brooding Mr. Rochester. Before long he has captured her heart. But what terrible secret is lurking at the top of Thornfield Hall? 

    Charlotte Bronte's classic story of passionate and forbidden love, has thrilled and horrified generations of readers. 

"Have a heart with room for every joy." -- Philip James Baily --

"March 4th - the only date of the year that gives you words of encouragement." -- (Source Needed) --

"Above all things else, be cheerful; there is no beatitude for the despairing." -- Amelia Barr --

"I have not failed. I've just ten thousand ways that won't work." -- Thomas Edison --

"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart." -- Jane Austen --