Visiting Dominica

I love to travel by book. My most recent literary vacation was on the island of Dominica, which is not to be confused with the Dominican Republic. Joanne Skerrett's newest novel, Letting Loose, provided me with a free tropical vacation in Paradise via the adventures of high school English teacher Amelia Wilson in this third work of African-American chick lit. by Skerrett. Although I rarely read chick lit. or romance novels, particularly because I'm put off by the women who need a man to feel complete, I still enjoyed Amelia's character. (Please understand, wanting a relationship is one thing, feeling incomplete without a partner just irritates me.) Beyond the needing a man aspect, I liked that Amelia taught public school in Boston, that she had a good sense of humor in spite of some students' disrespectful behavior, and that she allowed herself to indulge in a tropical adventure (albeit to meet the man of her dreams). From the edgy opening to the satisfying conclusion, Skerrett's novel kept me coming back for more. (See also my review at GoodReads.com ) ...Thanks, Joanne!

The Picnic Basket

The Picnic Basket is the brainchild of Deborah Sloan, whose company (Deborah Sloan and Company of Andover, MA) helps children's authors market and promote their work. When Sloan saw an online need for a book review site for the newest children's literature, she created The Picnic Basket. Speaking to "librarians, teachers, and other gluttons for good books," Sloan's site provides multiple reviews by and for those who know children's literature well. As one who has reviewed for VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine, published by Scarecrow Press of Lanham, MD) for some years, the advantage I see in Sloan's site is that it includes multiple reviewers for each title. Another aspect is that The Picnic Basket reviewers are self-selected, as are the titles they review; whereas, VOYA screens its reviewers, matches books to reviewer interest and expertise.

I love VOYA and what it does for YA literature and the youth advocates who write for and subscribe to the magazine. Teachers, you want to either subscribe yourself, or push for your local librarian to subscribe for you and your colleagues, for VOYA cannot be replaced. Although, for quick sampling, I recommend you bookmark www.thepicnic-basket.com on your computer.

Read on!