Carol Stock Kranowitz's 3 favorite reads in 2023

If you love children, I'll bet you love trees, too!

This book made me gasp as I read how smart trees are and how they take care of one another and other living things. In her engaging story, Simard teaches us about trees' ability to adapt to changing conditions, about humans' dependence on a thriving natural environment, and about our perilous future if trees are ruthlessly felled. She says:

"Listen" to trees. Trees "talk" to other plants, especially through roots. Trees have much to teach us about communication and cooperation.

Save trees. Trees are our comforters, just as deforested areas are our tormentors. Our care of young saplings and mature trees helps them thrive.

Plant trees, among other kinds of plants. Diversity in every community is essential for life.

I love the way Doerr weaves together the stories of children in three different eras and countries. The common thread is the myth of a Greek shepherd, Aethon, and his adventures as he seeks to arrive in a fictional land where there is no pain. 

The novel is about wonderful but under-appreciated children, their passion for things that matter (like learning, like family, like other living creatures), and their determination to find meaning and joy in the bewildering, painful, and often senseless world.

The Wright brothers could do everything. They were experts at "praxis," the ability to conceive of some complex action, plan how to do it, and then carry out their plan. They used their imagination and the tools and materials at hand to make the equipment they needed.

Quirky, modest, brilliant, inventive, considerate, collaborative, and unstinting in their dedication to inventing the airplane, they did what everyone said couldn't be done. I loved their stick-to-it-tiveness, their creativity, and their problem-solving as they pursued their dream.