Xepherus Reads

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   My elementary school years still remain some of my fondest memories. They shaped a great deal of the reader that I am now. And I still see my elementary school friends occasionally to reminisce and recall our crazy times as pre-adolescents. When I was a kid visiting my elementary school library I was grabbing up as many Beverly Cleary books as I could. Nowadays I use my favorite children's books to add some light reading to my otherwise heavy thriller and suspense reading. Plus it is always fun to read a story rife with innocence and laughter.     Ramona and Her Father is the Newbery Award-Winning fourth book in the popular series by Beverly Cleary. Tracy Dockray also returns in this edition to illustrate some of the book's funnier moments with her fun and whimsical artwork. It is published by Harper Collins under their Harper Trophy imprint. Originally released in 1975, Cleary takes Ramona to second grade, givi...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!    A childhood favorite is rife with nostalgia. It is a feeling of comfort that lasts throughout the years of our lives. As we face the harsh reality of being an adult, it is sometimes a great idea to set aside duty and adulting to just be a kid again. A favorite way that I have done that this year is to revisit one of my favorites series as a child, Ramona Quimby written by Beverly Cleary.   In Beezus and Ramona we saw a young Beatrice Quimby daringly brave being an older sister of a four year old. That four year old was Ramona. Imaginative, often infuriating, and absolutely adorable, little Ramona began what would be a series of children's books published from 1955 to 1999. When last I visited Klickitat street in Ramona the Pest , our pint-sized protagonist was entering kindergarten. In Ramona the Brave, she is a first grader still yearning for the easy days as a kindergartner, and not liking her new cl...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons !   To say that Beverly Cleary is a genius is most likely not enough adulation for a n author as beloved as she. Book after book, she calls out to the elementary school -age child , and tells them that everything will be oka y. Since the early 1950s she has dazzled kid brains with stories of rambunctious mice, harry hounds, and naughty little girls. And all the while she never has spoken down to her readers, but encouraged them to explore life and be the best that they can be. As an adult I find that my reading has lost this aspect of stor ytelling. Between the horror, crime , and scienc e fiction fare that I adore, I seemed to have lost my innocence of reading along the way.    This year I decided to branch off and take in some fun and cute books. Children's books, middle grade books, and contemporary books have been added to my to be read list. And one of my latest additions to reading is the books of Beverly Cl...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   Reading a story to a child can be one of the best things that an adult can do. To see their happiness as you make their favorite story come to life is a joy to see. And when you are that child that is being read to you tend to hold onto those memories. And when you are an adult facing adult things, it is sometimes wise to shed your grown-up self and just be a kid again. I promised myself that I would occasionally hang up my grown up self, and sit down again to read a childhood favorite. For me this time it was Beezus and Ramona.             Beezus and Ramona is written by Beverly Cleary, and is published by HarperCollins.  This children's classic was first published in 1955, spawning a series of equally hilarious sequels. It tells the story of 9 year old Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby, and her daily struggles looking after her mischievous four year old sister, Ramona. First appearing in 195...