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This week, I want to share a gem of a blog that I discovered recently that is a great source for books and authors for tweens.

Treasure Chest for Tweens is by a Catholic mom, a former middle school teacher, who reads and reviews a range of books, from specifically Catholic fiction to popular fiction.

What I really like about Treasure Chest for Tweens are the “safety flags,” 3 flags for “read with abandon,” (for the age group specified), down to the “Da Vinci pile, ” (cute) for books not worth picking up.  She also points out books that are girl or boy friendly, and also books that are for older tweens or younger tweens.

Here is her review of The Penderwicks, long one of our family favorites.

For parents who don’t have time to read everything that their kids read (and isn’t that all of us? I’m sad to admit), and either want to encourage strong readers to read good healthy fiction, or encourage reluctant readers to discover great authors, Treasure Chest for Tweens is a great site.

I don’t always agree wholeheartedly with her reviews; I can think of a few authors she loves and I don’t, and even some content issues she doesn’t catch, but mostly they are literary quibbles than anything else.  I appreciate this great site, and I hope you have a chance to visit the site and search for some good books  there.

Do you have any favorite blogs or websites to discover new authors for your tweens or teens?

I love books that make me cry, and I love books that make me laugh. The Loser Letters, the new book by Mary Eberstadt, made me laugh out loud on almost every page; that’s why we’re reading it next month at the Catholic Post Book Group. Go get it now so you’ll be ready. You’ll thank me, I promise.

But Till We Have Faces is one of those that make me cry.

A lesser-known novel of C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth, told from the perspective of a sister of Psyche. I believe C.S. Lewis considered it his finest novel, and though our family is completely enamored of all things “Narnia,” (the books for which he is most famous these days) I have to agree.

I have read this book multiple times over the years, and I can’t recall a time it didn’t bring tears with it. I read it once as a newlywed while traveling with my husband on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. I vividly remember being on the ferry, with the water all blue and shimmery around me, and there I was, crying profusely as I read, saying over and over to my husband, “This is so beautiful.” And he, poor husband, having grown up with only brothers, learned a little more about women that day.

I’m only kidding a little bit here when I say I’m shocked (shocked!) to find that not everyone loves this novel as I do. Some years back I proposed this book as a parish book club read, and it was a big fat failure. I can’t remember one person among those faithful, lovely people, who loved it or even liked it. So clearly it’s not for everyone.

But if you do enjoy Greek mythology or are a fan of anything by C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces is a great read.

Do you read together as a a family?

One of the great joys of reading books out loud as a family is the shorthand that develops.  A book everyone, or nearly everyone, in a family has read or the whole family has listened to aloud, is fodder for great family memories.

One of the most hilarious of these for our family relates  to Caddie Woodlawn, one of our favorite novels from one of our favorite authors, Carol Ryrie Brink.  Caddie Woodlawn is about a pioneer family in Wisconsin; I like to describe it as a funnier and more energetic version of the Little House books.

In the novel, Caddie’s little brother finds it difficult to memorize even his short little poem (“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again…(a poem you can find in Favorite Poems Old and New….)
for a school recitation. His older brother taunts him with “If at first you don’t fricassee, fry, fry a hen” until he freezes at the recitation and recites the “fry a hen” version instead of the original. The teacher is mad until Caddie and the guilty brother explain the situation, and all’s well that ends well.

Some years back, halfway through a long drive to visit my parents (sans husband, with children), I thought it an excellent time to rig up our portable DVD player to let the kids watch a movie. It was intensely frustrating to get the straps “just so” to make my little movie critics in the back reasonably happy with the set-up, and I have to admit I was doing it with more than the usual amount of “irritable monologue.”  If you’re a parent, you know what I mean by “irritable monologue.”

When it was all in place and movie was about to start, and I could continue driving the long hours onward east, my  oldest daughter said encouragingly, “See, Mom, you didn’t give up and you tried different things and you made it work!! Good for you!” Pause. Then, in her then sweet 9-year-old voice, “If at first you don’t fricassee, fry, fry a hen!”

Giggles all around.  We still like that expression.

What are your favorite book lines from a book your whole family has read or knows well?

As I think you’ll be able to tell from this month, fiction is my passion and first love when it comes to reading.  I’m a Catholic reader, in that I am a Catholic and love Catholic fiction, old and new, but I’m also a catholic reader in that I read and enjoy lots of different kinds of fiction.

My biggest problem was trying to figure out how to narrow things down here.  Specifically I want to organize and structure a month of talking about books from a Catholic and a catholic perspective, and inspiring discussion about these topics.

Here’s what I’ve come up with, loosely based on the  days of the week:

Teen Tuesday:  “Kitlit” or children’s literature, is one of my passions, both because I have children, but also because in a busy lifestyle, children’s and young adult fiction can be less demanding and just plain more fun than the adult stuff.  Here I plan to feature great young adult fiction that teens and adults can enjoy.

Words Wednesday:  This day I hope to share some great “quotes” from Catholic (and catholic) poetry and fiction, and invite you to do the same.

Family-Friendly Friday:  This day we’ll talk about books that the whole family can enjoy.  Here is also where we’ll share great ideas for family summer travel, like audiobook versions of great novels.

Weekend Review:  On Saturday and/or Sunday, I’ll post a review of a great Catholic novel and invite your comments.  I hope we can all inspire each other to discover new authors and re-discover worthy classics, whether from last decade or several centuries back.

Sprinkled occasionally through the month (Mondays or Thursdays perhaps?  those days is looking a little lonely right now)  will be ideas and links about reading–how do we approach reading as Catholics?  Does the author’s life have any impact on his/her fiction?  And should that influence how we read a work?

As always, I invite your comments and ideas.

The final chapter of The Handbook for Catholic Moms is full of great ideas for promoting a Catholic culture in one’s home.

This is actually a very timely discussion among my friends.  I’m on an e-group for Catholic moms, and one new Catholic asked how we as moms live out a Catholic culture in our homes.  There were quite a few good answers of doing Mass readings, praying with children, and others ideas to promote a family culture that is Catholic and joyful.

For some reason, the first thing that I remember when I heard the question about making a Catholic culture in the family is praying the Hail Mary when an ambulance passes–I know many families do this.  Some people might consider that “Catholic lite” or only culturally Catholic instead of truly Catholic, but really, helping kids to pray for others and think of people they don’t know is helpful.  Once we were in a big city and the kids were non-stop praying Hail Marys, until my husband and I told our children that most of the sirens were police directing traffic, and it was okay to say one Hail Mary for all the intentions and wait until we were back in our small community to resume the practice.

More seriously, the one practice I think is most successful in our family is “the little blessing,” something we have done in our family for years.

Many years ago, my husband attended a retreat at a Virginia monastery where the monk leading the retreat suggested parents bless one another and their children with  the sign of the cross each day or night, with the words, “The Lord bless you and keep you.”  The monk pointed out that there are times in life when spouses may be angry with each other, or teen children may pull away from physical signs of affection, but the sign of the cross helps bond families with the sign of the Savior.

I can think of many nights when I have been frustrated with one of my children (or my husband!), and they with me, but we still give the little blessing.  The very act of tracing the sign of the cross on the forehead seems to soften the frustration and remind us we do love each other, for both the giver and the receiver.

And now our children bless us, as well.  Often one of the children will bless us three times, saying, “Three for the Trinity.”  It has become a sacred time for our family, and it only takes a moment.

I vividly remember the first time my husband told me about “the little blessing,” when we were dating, never realizing that all these years later we would still have the “little blessing” for one another and our children, every single night.  Our family spiritual life has changed and grown (and sometimes shrunk) over the years, and devotions have come and gone–I can think of many that have been helpful as times goes by–but “the little blessing” has been a constant.

What are the ways your family lives a Catholic culture?

One great feature of The Handbook for Catholic Moms is a section of favorite saints for moms, where moms and others give suggestions of a Catholic “communion of saints for moms.”  I would have to say two of my favorites are St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus, and St. Gianna Beretta Molla.

Who are some of your favorite “saints for moms”?  Why?