Jubilee Year

There is something that is niggling in the back of my mind...about a Jubilee Year and what that celebration means.  I think it has something to do with religious orders.  I am going to google.  I mean, I know it means other things, but the aspect that is niggling at me in particular is Jubilee Year as it pertains to religious orders.
Hang on...
Oh it is a BIG thing.  Here it is.
And this BIG thing in the Roman Catholic Church.
And here is the anniversary aspect.
In any case, Jubilee doesn't have anything to do with an anniversary.  But the book is joyful.  And the book is a celebration, even if it is heart-breaking at times.  To borrow an old cliche, it is a celebration of the human spirit.  This girl, Judy (her aunt calls her Jubilee because she is such a joyful celebration to her), she has tons of strength and she is wicked smart.
This is just a really, really powerful and simple and complex story.  I really like Patricia Reilly Giff a whole, whole lot.

Put up 11 fingers

I do this preschool math class, right?  And we do the numbers 0-10 and once as a joke I asked them to put up eleven fingers.

A very smart four year old held up her two pointer fingers, each to look like a one and held them side by side, so she did put 11 in the air.

It was awesome!

And very smart!

Eleven is by Patricia Reilly Giff who has written some super-popular first reader series like The Kids of Polk Street School and Polka Dot Private Eye.

This a mystery book about a boy, age eleven, who discovers something that makes him question his past.  It is a really good little mystery and moves very quickly.

Pictures of Hollis Woods was a book that I think I enjoyed while I was listening to it, but it didn't really stay with me.  I am embarrassed to say that I totally forgot about reviewing it!  It was a sweet story.  Sad.  Real.  The story of a young girl, Hollis Woods, who has been bounced around from foster home to foster home.  And well, we all know foster homes are like!  Okay, well most of them.  (See I have been praying about this whole thing and I am not ripping on them anymore, just praying for foster families and bio families, alike.)
Finally Hollis finds a place with a lovely family and they want to adopt her...but...dum dum dum...SOMETHING HAPPENS!  And she is no longer with them when we first meet her.
The title refers to Hollis drawing pictures and reflecting upon actual pictures, and events or scenes in her life.  I have to say that I had always through of Patricia Reilly Giff as the author of The Kids of Polk Street School, which I really like especially The Candy Corn Contest.  I don't like the new covers, so that is why I linked to the Spanish edition, because that was the only one on goodreads that had it.  These were illustrated by the amazing Blanche Sims.  I can't find a website for her, but I think I found a school named after her!  Hooray!
Anyway, Hollis is now with an older woman named Josie who is an artist and pretty amazing.  But there is something going on with Josie and Hollis needs to protect her and their life together.
Yeah.  So now that I have written this up, I find that I really liked it.  Yeah.  It was a pretty sweet, sweet story after all.