I love walking into the library without a specific read in mind and finding a wonderful new book. On a recent visit to the Ridgefield Library, our favorite librarians handed us a copy of "Futhermore" by Tahereh Mafi, which they highly recommended and said would be the book for the Reading is a Family Affair discussion. We took the book home and began reading the story aloud. It is a magical fantasy that takes the reader through a different world. It's captivating, and Mafi creates this world of color that the reader immediately feels immersed in.
While each member of my family has different book preferences, we all thoroughly enjoyed this book. We went to the discussion last night and love the book even more after talking about it with our friends. The story is about adventure, family, home, being different, friendship, trust. The story is big and complicated, yet Mafi somehow makes this giant story easy to follow. She pays homage to so many incredible books. The main character, Alice, reminded us of Alice in Wonderland combined with Dorothy from "The Wizard o Oz." Alice's journey reminded me of Swift's "Gulliver's Travels." While the book felt like it had ties to so many other great books, it was still very much Mafi's own unique world.
One thing I truly enjoyed in this book was the narrator's voice, which almost acted as the conscience of the book. The voice shared little tidbits of extra information with the reader and was hilarious at the same time.
The wonderful librarians at the Ridgefield Library (my home away from home) made the evening so amazing. In addition to great book discussions, they found a way to incorporate the book into a special dessert. In the book, Alice loves to eat flower petals, and somehow the librarians found edible sugared flower petals that the children (and adults) were able to use to decorate their own cupcakes.
Thank you to The Ridgefield Library for making reading fun, special, and a family affair. I love that my children have the opportunity to read with their community, discuss books with friends, and step inside the books with a magical book-themed dessert.
If you haven't read "Futhermore" by Tahereh Mafi, you should. My family highly recommends it!
Photo by Jessica Collins
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