Reviews for Anaya Reader

The average rating for Anaya Reader based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-02-06 00:00:00 Anthony Markowski Once upon a time when I was a little girl, we would get I Am Lavina Cumming out of the library on cassette tapes. We would listen to this story over and over and over in the car to and from various activities... And then CDs took over, we got a new car with no cassette player, and the library got rid of it's books on tape. I got caught up in the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, amongst other reading material... and Lavina faded from my life, though her story was always there in the back of my mind. I found I Am Lavina Cumming online for 99 cents and ordered it up - and read it just as fast! This book follows ten year old Lavina as her father sends her away from the ranch they live on - along with Lavina's five brothers. She is going to California to live with an aunt, who will give her an education and make her lady. So many parts of this story have stuck in my mind all these years... Lavina's train trip all alone, the Cumming family motto "courage," the letters sent back and forth between Lavina and her father and brothers... Lavina's friends Birdie and Susan who each have their own distinct personalities, Lavina's cousin Awful Aggie... and how about all those stories? Throughout the book are stories that Lavina has carried with her - true stories that her father told her, true stories that Luz has told her, and the stories of the Arabian Nights. And the ending: the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and the "aftershocks." This story encompasses everything that I love in a good story: great writing, great characters, history, stories within stories, and typical life situations. It's amazing that so much can be fit into a 198 page book. The books that you read or have read to you (or that you listen to on cassette tapes) as a child never really leave you. They have an impact on you. For me, one of those books is I Am Lavina Cumming. It will always be a part of my life.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-04-20 00:00:00 Jacob McNutt Not heavy with personality conflicts or historical issues, nor with didactics, but not fluff nor sweet & light either. It seems to me that the author told the story from her heart, to children... not to librarians or teachers... which makes this a special read. It's also special because it's stories within stories, and inspired by the author's family history. She doesn't worry about stopping to explain something that youngsters would be interested in learning, like what a leghorn hat is, for example, or what route a train would take from southern Arizona (Calabasas, actually) to Santa Cruz (Watsonville, actually). But she doesn't slow down the tale by, for example, overexplaining about why Mrs. Grover Cleveland is against women's suffrage; it's just mentioned. And some of the writing is just lovely. Lavina is, naturally, having trouble adjusting being in a new home, away from her family: "When she glanced at herself in the mirror, dressed for church, she hardly knew the girl who looked back.... this girl didn't fall in the mud while catching foals by the river.... This bashful girl dressed in white never flew into a rage... Even Lavina's skin felt different--hard... always cold.... And her head felt different inside. She seemed to watch what happened from a long distance, without emotion, as though she drifted in a strange dream." "At home in the desert, rain was always a blessing, but mostly it came down with a crash and a bang in the summertime. This slow California autumn rain made her feel sad, lonely, and trapped." Because this author is so conscientious about telling her stories to the child reader, I'm finally learning several things myself. For example "least said, soonest mended" means that an apology should be brief & sincere, and acceptance should be even more brief, no nagging or warning. I also learned that goose tastes like the dark meat of a chicken. No wonder Tiny Tim's family was excited to have one for Christmas! Popular songs of the day I hope to find to listen to are Juanita, Sweet Adeline, and Come away with me Lucille, in my merry Oldsmobile." 'Coraje' in Spanish means both Courage and Anger. I did have trouble with one bit, and I don't know if it's the author's mistake or Lavina didn't tell the author the memory accurately. Lavina packs in her travel case enough oranges for her father and brothers, but none for Luz, the local herbalist who gave Lavina the good luck charm. Anyway, I highly recommend this historical fiction for young 'tweens (or for all ages interested, really, and it would make a good read-aloud for families); I will look for more by the author, and I will look for more by the imprint, Milkweed Editions, www.milkweed.org.