INKSPOKES Review posted Sept. 24, 2015
http://www.inkspokes.com/2015/09/23/inkspokes-select-books-awards-announced/
Click on blue INKSPOKES SELECT BOOK AWARDS. Then click on the TEAPOTS book cover
Review: “For those who believe in the importance of little things (or prefer the small to big), Teapots, Buttons, Memi and Me will be one of those stories that will touch you and stay with you for a while. Beautifully written, the story tells of a young girl named Sophia and her visit with her grandpa in the summer after her grandma’s (Memi’s) death. Sophia is given a box with things left her by her Memi: a calico blue apron, a teapot and, within the belly of the teapot, Memi’s little things — an antique brass key, sapphire sea glass, a mother-of-pearl button and a glass ladybug. We come to learn that each of these little things has a story. The stories are stories of family, stories of courage, hope, new beginnings. And Lisa Rose Bauer’s book Teapots is a little of each of these. For even as Sophia experiences the anger and sadness that comes through in her grief, we also see the presence about her of something else – the strength of love, the possibility of new beginnings – embedded in the stories that her Memi told her, much as the little things were embedded in the belly of the teapot. Lisa Rose Bauer writes in a fluid style that writers can only envy. There is not only detail but a smoothness to the writing that makes it a joy to read. It is not a long book – one almost wishes it were longer so that the pleasure of reading it might extend. But what it is, it is a book with depth. Memi tells Sophia in a letter: “In life, the little things always matter most of all, the blessings we have and give to each other.” In the end, it is most likely that these little things and the stories that envelope them are the things that hold us together.” ~ Inkspokes
Review posted ~ March 23, 2015:
“There is so much to love about this slender little gem of a book. Goes without saying that I’m a sucker for stories that are hung on the artifacts of everyday life, be they teapots, buttons, tools, shiny keys, or sea-washed shards. I loved the way the small keepsakes in the story revealed details of Memi’s history. Sophia’s struggle to reconcile with her loss reminded me of being twelve and losing a grandparent. Unforgettable. Congratulations to you, Lisa Rose Bauer. You took me to the seaside. You made a beautiful book.”
Leslie Connor is the author of several award-winning books for children, including Waiting for Normal, winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Crunch, Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel, and Dead on Town Line, a young adult novel in verse.
So happy to receive this wonderful review from KIRKUS REVIEWS last week …June 5, 2014!! Teapots continues to pick up steam…
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/search/?q=Teapots%2C+Buttons&t=all
~ a story yet to tell... 