MADreads

After 30 years together, Mia’s husband Boris announces that he needs a “pause” in their marriage. This sends Mia off the deep end and she is locked up and medicated in a mental hospital for a week and a half. Once discharged, she realizes she can’t stay alone in her Brooklyn apartment, so she leaves to spend the summer in her Minnesota hometown where her mother is living in a senior community.

Looking for a way to help your child find their own quiet place in a busy, noisy, clambering world? Charlotte and the Quiet Place by Deborah Sosin takes a gentle look at how to find quiet and peacefulness inside your own self. Charlotte, the young protagonist in the story, lives in a noisy house, a noisy neighborhood, and a noisy school. She has trouble finding one spot that’s quiet and peaceful. Then, one day while she’s walking her dog, she finds a place in nature – that’s quieter than quiet.

In 2017 a painting, the Salvator Mundi, was sold at auction for $450 million. The question remains, was it painted by Leonardo da Vinci?

The Owl Diaries young reader series by Rebecca Elliot is officially the nicest and the cutest. Eva Wingdale lives with her owl family in Treetopolis. Eva's best friend is Lucy Beakman and her frenemy is Sue Clawson. The level of clever owl and bird word play in this series is spectacular. But what's really notable is the recognition and practice of thoughtfulness throughout all of the stories.