BOOKS I FINISHED - MAY 2012

Europa, Europa: A Memoir of World War II, by Solomon Perel

This book was referenced in Can I See Your I.D.?, which I read last month.  It's the autobiographical story of a Jewish boy who survived the Holocaust by living life as a German boy in the Hitler Youth.  It's amazing what a person can and will do to simply stay alive, ridiculous how much we assume about a person simply by how they look or what they wear, and always neat to hear stories of people who did the right thing, even at great personal risk.

We Bought A Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever, by Benjamin Mee

I'm pretty out of the loop when it comes to movies, but I saw a poster for this at the store and decided to read the book before watching it.  What this family did is certainly interesting, but I'd have been happy if the book had been shorter.  That being said, people who like lots of details about animal and/or medical information would probably be perfectly content with how it's written.  Neat story, long book, looking forward to seeing the movie.

Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces, by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan

Just looking at how people decorate and organize their homes. 

The Safe-Keeper's Secret, by Sharon Shinn

I heard about this, the first in a trilogy, on the Sonlight forums and really enjoyed it.  In fact, I just picked up the second book yesterday.  This is the fictional story of Damiana, the Safe-Keeper (one who people tell their secrets to because she'll never repeat what she's told) of her village, and the two children she raised - the daughter she bore and the son who was brought to her home by a stranger.

Where Children Sleep, by James Mollison

Super easy read, as this is just a book of photos with captions for each picture.  Each page has a photo of where a child sleeps, from a mattress in a field to a mat in a hut to a fancy suite in a mansion, a photo of the child, and a paragraph telling you a little about the child's life.  It was fun for the kids and I to see all the different places that kids konk out at night.

Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Real Design Solutions, by Max Gillingham-Ryan
More looking at how people decorate their homes.

A Smile as Big as the Moon: A Special Education Teacher, His Class, and Their Inspiring Journey Through U.S. Space Camp, by Mike Kersjes

Melanie had recommended the movie by the same title to me, but I accidentally reserved the book, which I didn't know existed, from the library, not the movie.  Oops.  The title is pretty self-explanatory, the book is written by the teacher, and I enjoyed the book.  Now I need to reserve the movie.