Children's Book Monday

Ask anyone who knows me; I love to read. As a child, my mama would say, "Put that book down - it's a beautiful day! Go get some fresh air!" She would usually find me a little later, sitting under a tree with my book. Now there are typically 3-4 books on my nightstand for bedtime, according to my mood.
In my young wifehood, before children, my days usually included an hour or two of reading. But in the last few years, my personal reading time has become limited to bedtime only (astonishing, I know, with three children and a minister husband). At first, this was very difficult for me - I longed to lose myself in a book a hundred times a day. But then I discovered something wonderful.
Reading to my kids helps fill that longing in me! I love it! And so do they. On a normal day, we will probably read up to half a dozen books together, as well as a chapter from a book like "Farmer Boy", which we are enjoying right now. I have discovered so many wonderful children's books - with great messages, beautiful drawings, and engaging prose.
So now, (drumroll please!) I begin my very first Children's Book Monday!
This weeks' choice:

Sophie's Masterpiece
by Eileen Spinelli
illustrated by Jane Dyer
This is such a sweet story. Sophie, who is "no ordinary house spider", is also an artist who spins beautiful webs, blankets; even hammocks! When she strikes out on her own, she moves to a boardinghouse and is misunderstood in spite of her beautiful web-spinning, which is only intended to be helpful. When she finally finds kindness, once she is old and gray, she repays it with a beautiful kindness of her own.
The illustrations are gorgeous - Sophie is a long-legged spider with an artist's beret on a human face - maybe a litte strange at first, but you fall in love with her all the same. My favorite picture is of Sophie from the back as she gazes out the window on a dark, snowy night. Her gray hair is wrapped in a braid around her head, and she uses a bobby pin as a cane. It evokes a lovely, tender feeling, as you realize she is about to make a decision that will require much of her. I choke up a little every time I read it to the boys.
I will not spoil it with much more detail, but I will tell you that it made my sons exclaim over the message of sacrificial love. Micah, who is five, requests it every time we go to the library. It disappeared after we returned it last time, but, I'm happy to say, our librarian found it and called us and it is in our possession again!
Go check out "Sophie's Masterpiece". Your sons and daughters alike will love it. And so will you!