The Old Woman Who Named Things (multicultural)

Tonight was the first night reading one of the many books by Cynthia Rylant.  She is a relatively new author to our household. I always associate Cynthia Rylant with the Henry and Mudge series and unbeknownst to me Rylant has written books that span from early elementary through adolescence. Tonight's book choice was The Old Woman Who Named Things.  It was a story of an elderly woman who had outlived all of her friends.  She refuses to name anything she feels she will out live so she has taken to naming her house, her car, her chair and her bed. A puppy begins to visit her everyday and she refuses to allow it to live with her or name it out of fear she will out live it.  The visits continue through the year until one day the dog doesn't show up.  The old woman searches and finds the dog, then names him lucky, which represents her luck for having such amazing friends through her life.

 My Review: This book was sweet and slightly quirky and embraced a sad reality of growing old alone. The illustrations are creative and cool, which is probably where I found the quirkiness. The content was an issue that most children never think about, which can create a nice empathy and appreciation for their elders.  My son Dutch thought my old lady voice was funny and liked the fact that she named inanimate objects.

Dutch's Review (in his words): I like this book, its so funny she names her house.  I think it was sad when the dog didn't come back and he was at the dogcatchers.  "Dutch why do you think she named her house and her chair, but not the dog?"  I think she didn't want to outgrow the dog and a house she can't out grow.  She was sad she out grew her friends mom, so she didn't name the dog at first.  I like that he lived with her and I like his name Lucky.