Skip to main content

September Mother/Child Book Club Books

On the fourth Tuesday of September the Mother/Daughter Book Club will be discussing the book How They Croaked: The Awful Ends to the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg. On the fourth Wednesday of the month the Mother/Son Book Club will be discussing the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.



How They Croaked: The Awful Ends to the Awfully Famous 
By Georgia Bragg
Illustrated by Kevin O’Malley
Walker & Co., 2011. 184 p.

This is probably one of the funniest biography collections I have ever read. And that is saying something. In this book Bragg starts off with a warning that “if you don’t have the guts for gore, do not read this book.” (And even though there are bits that are a bit gruesome, Bragg writes in such a way that the true history is presented almost comically—which will hopefully make the girls laugh.) Then readers can go on to learn things about how famous people like Cleopatra, King Tut, King Henry VIII, and Albert Einstein died. For example, most people think that Cleopatra died thanks to a snake bite (as written in a Shakespearean play; however, readers learn that Cleopatra really died (probably) due to poison. Other gruesome and gory details of how George Washington died (an infection of the mouth that would be cured today by antibiotics) or Marie Curie (who died thanks to extreme exposure to the radiation she was studying). This book is not for the squeamish reader, but it is an interesting read to give a little more perspective on famous people (and their lives and death) in history—and that is why it is the book for September’s Mother/Daughter Book Club. If you would like to register to be part of this program, click this link.



The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 
By C. S. Lewis
HarperTrophy, 1950. 189 p.

 In the second edition of “The Chronicles of Narnia” (at least second according to chronology of the stories, not according to when the books were actually published) the adventures of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy while in Narnia begin. With a backdrop of World War II in England, the four children are shipped off to the English countryside to avoid the London bombings. While exploring the house, Lucy discovers a passageway into another world—a world full of snow and winter and where animals that talk. The children soon discover that all is not as it seems in the world. There is an evil witch that wants to take over everything. With courage and determination the four siblings learn to trust in themselves and their new home-away-from-home. This classic foray into children’s literature will be a fun book to discuss at the September Mother/Son Book Club. If you would like to register to be part of this program click this link.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Review: Fowl Play

  Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

Review: Blood in the Water

Blood in the Water By Tiffany D. Jackson New York: Scholastic, 2025. Fiction. 255 pages. 12-year-old Kaylani McKinnon can't help but feel like a fish out of water. She's a Brooklyn girl spending her summer on Martha's Vineyard surrounded by wealthy family friends in their mansion. All she really wants is to stay home all summer where she her incarcerated father can easily reach her, and she can keep working to find ways to prove him innocent of fraud and embezzlement. Despite her protests, she finds herself on the island with the snooty granddaughters of her host. Soon after Kaylani's arrival, a popular teen boy is found murdered and she decides to conduct her own investigation. As she tries to discover what happened to Chadwick Cooper, Kaylani finds that not everything on Martha's Vineyard is as perfect as it appears. Thrillers for middle grade readers can be hard to find, but Tiffany D. Jackson succeeds in her first middle grade novel. A quick moving plot, tight d...