Beverly Cleary Author Study: The Real Hole

Original illustrations by DyAnne DiSalvo, though my copy is

a re-release with illustrations redone by Carol Thompson.

I have this story in Two Times the Fun, a collection of the Janet and Jimmy stories. It seems like an Easy Reader story on its own, but Google shows they were kind of a picture book/Easy Reader hybrid. I like them as a collection because I think they work well as a beginner chapter book. The twins are only four, though, so I can see the reasoning behind making it a picture book parents would read to their four-year-olds.

Janet loves to play pretend, but Jimmy loves things that are real. When he digs a real hole, Janet wants to pretend it's a nest or a fishing pond. Jimmy doesn't like that, but he doesn't know what he could use the hole for.

This book is pretty simple but it's fun and light-hearted, and I think kids would love it because it's definitely how kids act.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Deesha Philyaw read part of “Peach Cobbler” at an event I attended not long ago and I was hooked from the first line: “My mother’s peach cobbler was so good, it made God himself cheat on his wife.”

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this collection, and once I got it I was torn between racing to finish it and wanting to drag it out so I’d have longer with these multi-layered characters. I can’t pick a favorite from this collection because they’re all that. damn. good. I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know, and that includes you. It’s the perfect mix of gossip, drama, and breathtaking storytelling you need in your life.

I usually try to not re-read a book until a year after my last reading, but this is one I’ll be coming back to more often than that. I can’t stop thinking about it and I want more.