Beginning

Welcome to my blog, thank you for stopping by. If this is your first time to my blog, it's nice to meet you. If you've been here before, welcome back.

My writing journey has begun. The road will have some bumps and detours. I only hope that the first hill is not too high, and the journey is long.














Sunday, August 7, 2011

Books With Cookies And Milk (16)

Pearl

Pearl by Jo Knowles
Written by:  Jo Knowles
Published by:  Henry Holt

I SO recommend this book!

     When I heard that this book was coming out on July 19th, I made sure I was at the book store to get it!  I knew it was a must-read, and I read this book in ONE sitting! 

     Bean, whose real name is Pearl, is the main character of the story.  Henry is her best friend.  Bean and Henry spend their summer watching Soaps.  The characters are great, and realistically flawed.  Bean's mother is usually suffering from a hangover and Henry's mother has not left the house in years. 

     Bean's grandfather is the only father figure she has known.  When Gus dies, Bean struggles with the unusual reaction her mother has; she seems happier.  Bean is shocked to discover that the Gus she knew and loved was not the Gus that her mother knew.  Gus' death opens a can of worms and family secrets spill out.  There were twists and turns that kept me guessing and wondering what would come next.

     If you want to know what happens to Bean and Henry, you must get this book for yourself.  I loved it!

     On this post, I have an additional note:  I have been privileged to attend two SCBWI events where Jo Knowles was speaking.  She is warm, engaging and grounded.  Jo puts her heart and soul not only in her books, but in her speaking engagements, as well.  I have been influenced by her passion for writing.  Twenty years from now we will still be reading and learning from Jo Knowles!

Pearl Cookies Recipe
(no baking and just for fun)
Ingredients:

Wafer Cookies (your choice of kind)
Pink Icing
White Icing
Black gel frosting (to dot eyes)
Yogurt Covered Peanuts

Directions:Take one wafer cookie and smear pink icing on it.

Put your Yogurt covered peanut on the pink icing.
Take your other wafer cookie and put two dots of white frosting for eyes.
Then put 2 dots of black gel on eyes.
Then stick your other cookie on top and stick it in the icing a little bit. So it looks half open like picture above.

Don’t Forget The Milk!
Enjoy!

10 comments:

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

oh, Pearl sounds like a great read. I'll have to add this one to be TBR list too.

Janet Johnson said...

Sounds like a fascinating read! I hadn't heard of it, so thank you for the recommendation. :)

Maeve Frazier said...

Lynda - Hope you get to enjoy the book.

Janet - Once you read one of Jo's books, you'll want to read another. Happy reading.

Anonymous said...

My niece would love this book. She is coming to visit this weekend. I am going to pick up this book and I want to make a batch of these cookies to go with the book as a gift. Thanks for the recommendation. - Karen

Unknown said...

This book sounds very interesting. So cool you were able to attend her lectures. My kids would definitely enjoy that recipe, thanks for sharing.

side note: I was checking out illustrator- Jack Foster's blog page when I came across your comment on his last post! Small world huh? He happened to illustrate my poem in the back-to-school issue in Stories for Children Magazine.

Happy writing Maeve

Jennifer Young

ali cross said...

Oh, I hadn't heard of this one! I'm glad you brought it to my attention though .... I want to read it!

Maeve Frazier said...

Jennifer - I love Jo Knowles writings. How exciting is that! Jack Foster illustrated your poem. I think his illustrations are fabulous! Congrats again on the publication of your poem. :)

Ali - You may also like Jo's other two books "Lessons From A Dead Girl" and "Jumping Off Swings". Happy reading and thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

I am looking forward to reading this book. - Lauren

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

What a lovely review and post. I've been meaning to read Pearl, so I was happy to find your review. Thanks!

Maeve Frazier said...

Cynthia - I hope you enjoy reading Pearl.