Unlocking Worlds by Sally Allen Book Tour and Giveaway

Book Description:

Award-winning
writer and teacher Sally Allen knows that good books don’t just draw us
in; they talk to us, shape us, and transport us to times, places, and
minds different from our own.

In
Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers, Allen deftly
weaves personal stories with fifteen thematized, annotated, and
illustrated reading lists for what to read next. By sharing some of the
treasures in her library and the secret lives they reveal, she gives us
permission to embrace the shameless book lover inside each of us.
Unlocking Worlds is a testament to how reading passionately—and
compassionately—can unlock the world beyond our back yard. Celebrating
books and those who read them, Allen shows how the solitary act of
reading can be a powerful thread that creates community and connection.
Thought-provoking and eloquent, Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion
for Book Lovers is a must-have for anyone who can’t leave the house
without a book in hand.

Buy the book:   Amazon   Barnes & Noble

GUEST POST;

We at 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! would love to thank author Sally Allen for sharing her thoughts with us today!!

3 Children’s books grown-ups can appreciate

by Sally Allen, author of Unlocking Worlds

During a moment of confession in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore tells Harry, “Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” Dumbledore’s statement beautifully expresses why I believe so strongly in the value of reading children’s literature as an adult: Reading (or rereading) them reminds us of what it feels like to be new in the world. Reading them can help us understand generational differences. Reading them can even help us recapture a sense of wonder and possibility that may have slipped from our grasp with time and experience. At least, this has been my experience.

This is why, in my book Unlocking Worlds: A Reading Companion for Book Lovers, I devote a chapter to ten novels I read and loved as a child that continue to resonate with me in adulthood. Because I limited myself to discussing ten, several favorites did not make it onto the list. Here are three of those favorites:

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Raskin’s Newbery Medal-winner about a group of apartment residents who compete to solve a murder is the first mystery novel I remember falling in love with, yet somehow, I had forgotten the book existed … until my son brought it home from the school library. Guess who took the book off his nightstand after bedtime? Rediscovering the novel was like being reunited with dear old friends.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Harriet inspired me to keep my first notebook, though instead of spy missions, I filled mine with observations and thoughts about books. Rereading it as an adult, I hadn’t remembered how unvarnished Harriet’s internal turmoil was: She experiences loss and loneliness, anger and powerlessness, and she learns hard lessons about how to get along in life. Rereading the book filled me with empathy for how confusing and overwhelming childhood can be.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

I think of this heartening novel about sacrificing for love every single time I see a wardrobe or a box of Turkish delight. I reread it with my son and felt moved and inspired all over again.

Have you reread favorite books from your childhood? How did they hold up with time?

Author's Bio:

Award
winning writer and teacher Sally Allen holds a Ph.D. from New York
University in English Education, with an emphasis in writing and
rhetoric, and a M.A. in English Language and Literature. She teaches
writing, literature, and communications, leads book group discussions,
and is the founder and editor of Books, Ink at HamletHub.

Connect with the author:  Website   Twitter




                                             

5 winners will each get a copy of Unlocking Worlds & a copy of

Book Life: A Book Lover's Journal

  

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