Emily's Runaway Imagination

Emily's Runaway Imagination, by Beverly Cleary

13/60 | Started 01.21.26 • Finished 02.26.26 | 5 stars

"This book is about a girl named Emily. It was not possible to get any books in Pitchfork, unless you were really lucky. But Emily was able to get a library started with a note to the state library. With china cabinets as bookshelves and donated books, Emily’s mom began the library. Emily really wanted the book called Black Beauty (which I love). After a while she got it from the state library. Fong Quock was moving to China and wasn’t coming back, so he donated his house to the library. That was my favorite part."

Carolyn, age 9

Stoner

Stoner, by John Williams

12/60 | Started 02.17.26 • Finished 02.25.26 | 4 stars

I literally just finished this book, and it is difficult to explain exactly why I liked it so much. It's not a hopeful story, and I imagine that some might have found it downright boring, being about a rather mediocre life. Or is it? The reader meets William Stoner just as he is entering college in 1910. And then he is led on the journey through college, to marriage, to graduate work, to the death of his parents, to the birth of his daughter, to an extramarital affair, and into later life. As is the case of any human, Stoner's story has many bumps and stumbles, but sadly it does not produce many lasting highs. Stoner is plagued by loneliness, a troublesome department head, an unwanted distance from his daughter, and his dramatic, eccentric wife. The writing is gorgeous - desperate and compassionate. It's not an uplifting work of literature, but it hit all the beauty spots for me.

The Little Riders

The Little Riders, by Margaretha Shemin

11/60 | Started 02.11.26 • Finished 02.19.26 | 5 stars

This story is about a girl named Johanna who is living with her grandparents in Holland when world war breaks out. She loves watching the little riders, which were figures on horseback holding swords, come out of the church steeple each hour. Because the riders were made of lead, the Germans planned to take them and melt them down and use them for weapons. So Johanna and her grandfather decided to hide the little riders on Dirk's farm outside of town. Instead, they end up hiding them under Johanna's bed until they could move them in a cubby hole in her old closet. While she's hiding them, Captain Braun, a German soldier boarding in her room, unexpectedly helps her. Soon after the Germans surrendered and the town was freed. While she and her grandfather are returning the little riders to the church steeple, Johanna's father comes back. My favorite part was when Captain Braun helped Johanna hide the little riders.

Carolyn, age 9