Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Merry Christmas!

http://vimeo.com/17408486May your days be Merry and Bright!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Emily of Deep Valley by Maude Hart Lovelace

"When you read a book as a child it becomes a part of your identity that no other reading in your life does."- From "You've Got Mail" by Nora Ephron

Well, somehow in my childhood reading, Maude Hart Lovelace's books failed to appear.  I used to worry that there were books out there that I wouldn't discover before I died (I was a bit morbid as a child).  But now, I am happy to say, that Harper Perrenial Modern Classics is re-releasing the Deep Valley books just for me. Or those like me whose town library was a bit short on the must- reads for young ladies. And of course the generations of young readers to come who will delight in Maude's loveable characters and heart felt stories.

Emily of Deep Valley is Maude Hart Lovelace's first young adult stand-alone novel.

It follows the Betsy-Tacy novels which take place in the same town of Deep Valley, Minnesota.  The books are based on the author's child-hood experiences and  friends in Mankato, Minnesota.

There is a lovely forward by Mitali Perkins which sets the mood of the story and end notes afterward which give readers who are hungry for more some more tid-bits to ponder as you plan which book by this wonderful author to read next.

Christmas is coming and I highly recommend anything by Maude Hart Lovelace as gifts for those special women in your life.

Other fans include: Anna Quindlen, Meg Cabot, Nora Ephron, Bette Middler and Laura Lippman.

Read on for info on Mitali Perkins' forward and a brief summary of "Emily".
Happy reading!







This week, the
 
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
 
is introducing
 
Emily of Deep Valley
 
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Reprint edition (October 12, 2010)
 
by
 
Mitali Perkins
 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


A word from Mitali: Who In The World Is Mitali Perkins?


That's a good question. I've been trying to figure it out myself, spending most of my life crossing borders.

I was born Mitali Bose in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and always tried to live up to my name—which means “friendly” in the Bangla language. I had to! Because my family moved so much, it was the only way I could make new friends.

By the time I was 11, I'd lived in Ghana, Cameroon, London, New York and Mexico before settling in California just in time for middle school. Yep, I was the new kid again, in seventh grade, the year everybody barely makes it through.

My biggest lifeline during those early years was story. Books were my rock, my stability, my safe place as I navigated the border between California suburbia and the Bengali culture of my traditional home.

After studying political science at Stanford and public policy at U.C. Berkeley, I taught in middle school, high school and college. When I began to write fiction, my protagonists were often—not surprisingly—strong female characters trying to bridge different cultures.

Mitali Perkins is the author of several books for young people, including SECRET KEEPER (Random House), MONSOON SUMMER (Random House), RICKSHAW GIRL (Charlesbridge), and the FIRST DAUGHTER books (Dutton).

ABOUT THE BOOK  


Often cited as Maud Hart Lovelace’s (of Betsy-Tacy fame) best novel, Emily of Deep Valley is now back in print, with a new foreword by acclaimed young adult author Mitali Perkins and new archival material about the characters’ real lives.


Emily Webster, an orphan living with her grandfather, is not like the other girls her age in Deep Valley, Minnesota. The gulf between Emily and her classmates widens even more when they graduate from Deep Valley High School in 1912. Emily longs to go off to college with everyone else, but she can’t leave her grandfather. Emily resigns herself to facing a “lost winter,” but soon decides to stop feeling sorry for herself. And with a new program of study, a growing interest in the Syrian community, and a handsome new teacher at the high school to fill her days, Emily gains more than she ever dreamed...

In addition to her beloved Betsy-Tacy books, Maud Hart Lovelace wrote three more stories set in the fictional town of Deep Valley: Winona’s Pony Cart, Carney’s House Party and Emily of Deep Valley. Longtime fans and new readers alike will be delighted to find the Deep Valley books available again for the first time in many years.

If you would like to browse inside Emily of Deep Valley, go HERE.