ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT'S ME, MARGARET by Judy Blume and EARTH! MY FIRST 4.54 BILLION YEARS by Stacy McAnulty

Once again at our June meeting we were unanimous in our opinions on both of our books. We began with our novel, Are You There God: It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. We had decided to read (or re-read!) this book because of the recent release of the movie and to see if it would still hold up today. It did! Even the granddaughter of one of our members agreed! We all marveled at its simplicity as 1/2 Jewish, 11-year-old Margaret experienced pre-teen angst related to what -- to her -- were the most important things in her life: 1) whether her bust would ever grow, 2) when she would ever start her period; and 3) how she could figure out what religion she was. We agreed that her voice was very real as she talked to God, and that her descriptions of her interactions with new friends after moving from NY to NJ, her parents, and especially her Jewish grandma were authentic...along with the descriptions of a party, the various boys in her class...from cutest to -- not so much -- and her quest to find religion by attending services at a temple and at other churches. We thought the book also had some quite subtle points related to the adults in the story, which were great to read, even tho' we felt most young readers would probably miss them. We loved the special relationship she had with her grandma, and understood her sorrow when Grandma moved from New York to Florida. We were a group of seven definitely 'grown-up' women, and this book caused us to have one of the most personal discussions we've had -- about 'girl stuff' -- and how we each -- at Margaret's age -- or a bit older -- reacted to the changes that were happening (or not!) in our bodies and in our lives. We remarked that this is the joy and the strength of a terrific book: the way it provides room for personal reflection and can even garner great conversations. We thought that young readers of today could certainly relate to Margaret's story and we hoped it could get them sharing their own stories with each other also.

We adored Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by David Litchfield. We thought that the simple language that conveyed the story of Earth and its development and place in the cosmos was so accessible to young children -- either as a read-aloud, or if read independently. Although most of us loved the illustrations, and the personification of Earth as a talking 'being' with a face, teeth, arms, etc., one reader thought those illustrations were a bit garish and creepy, although she loved the text along with the rest of us. We were pleased with the ending, showing a variety of the Earth's people carrying a large banner that read, "WE LOVE YOU, EARTH," and we hoped that young readers/listeners would get the message about how important it is to 'be nice' to our home planet. We felt that the double-page spread of Back Matter which included specific facts related to the Continents, the Location of Earth, and Life on Earth, along with a list of Sources could be especially helpful for classroom use at many different grade levels, and could be a kickoff for further study and research on the part of students.