I’m a big believer in reading out loud to my children: we read on road trips, we read on Tech Sabbath afternoons, we read at night before bed. In more ways than one, I hope this is a practice that doesn’t go away anytime soon.
As such, the middle grade novel, One Jar of Magic, by
is my book of the week.Here’s why I loved it:
The book was just imaginative and magical enough to keep the boys and me wanting more. A whole book about a special town whose residents collect jelly jars of magic once a year on New Year’s Day? Just magical enough.
All that magic was grounded in realism: Haydu didn’t shy away from tough topics children experience like physical abuse, divorce, death, and loss of friendship.
She honors middle grade readers in how she writes about the aforementioned topics. The situation were real, but they were also approached in kid-appropriate ways. She gave children agency.
So, read this. You might just like it.
Your thoughts?