Can just barely make out the two peaks on St. Croix through the haze, but at least it hasn't started raining yet. I am going to take a chance and head off for Tutu and the mall to do some shopping. We call it the mall but it pretty much is all shoe stores and beauty supplies. Shoes are very big deal with the women down here as are hair extensions of every color and style you can think of. I would kill myself walking on the rocks and uneven sidewalks (where there are any) in the spike heels that are so popular. Give me my Dr. Scholls sandals! Man am I becoming an old woman!

How many times have we picked up a book because the cover art was appealing and then found out the story wasn't? Well, that isn't the case with Vivian Vande Velde's The Book of Mordred. The book is as dark and intriguing as the cover art. For those of us who can't resist a bad boy, this is the perfect book for us. Mordred is multidimensional in this novel. His involvement in three women's lives is narratated from their point of view and you see him as a loving but often arrogant and bullheaded man. How many of us remember King Arthur had made him a Knight of the Round Table. This book suggests there was more than a personal grudge that caused the battle between father and son. Alayna, the young widow of a magician, and her daughter Kiera become an integral part of Mordred's life. He is their champion. Enter Nimue, the sorceress who imprisoned Merlin in a tree. By his request in this version of the story. I was spellbound as deeply as if Nimue or Merlin had cast the spell themselves. I have always loved Vande Velde's writing style and her latest book is no exception. A wonderful addition to any HS library collection.

While I was selecting books for Montessori the other day I saw a picture book by Michael Bolton! What celebrity isn't going to take a stab at writing a children's book? The ones I have liked so far are John Lithgow's and Jaime Lee Curtis' books. Garrison Keillor attempt at a children's book is called Daddy's Girl. The illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser are a delight, but the four separate poems by Keillor are not. His rhythm and rhyme is very choppy. Let's just say he shouldn't give up his radio show to become a children's author! There is also a CD of songs he written for his little daughter Maia Grace. If you are a Keillor fan (my husband is and listens to his show every Sunday afternoon) you might like this book and CD, but I will admit right up front I find his voice very irritating so I have a hard time listening to him sing or speak. But, to each their own - which is fine since we have thousands of children's books to choose from. :-)

Off to the mall to drop off three rolls of film from when the kids were down and then back home to grading before a chat with my online class tonight.