#bookaday Perloo the Bold by Avi

While we were waiting for our plane in Orlando, I spoke with a family about Star Wars. I had noticed one of the boy's R2D2 backpack. We didn't say much, just a few words about our mutual love of all things Star Wars and how fun the events were at Disney World. The father and his oldest son both resumed their reading, as did I. Dad had an ebook while his son had a copy of Perloo the Bold by Avi. Being a former elementary librarian, I was shocked that I had not heard of this book by such a famous and familiar author. (It still makes me laugh at myself that I don't know every book in the world...just because I wish it, doesn't make it so.) I wanted to ask him about it but I didn't want to interrupt their reading. Sometimes my introvert characteristic of noticing EVERYTHING is annoying, but this particular day, I watched the father and son interact, enjoying every minute. At one point the father shared something from his book with his son. His son then asked him a question about it. I didn't actually hear any of the words they were saying, I just watched their faces, while trying not to gawk. Whatever the father was telling him, he did so in such a respectful way, and extremely interesting to his son. I could almost see the wheels in his brain mulling over what his Dad was telling him. The look and rapt attention on his face was wondrous. He would ask him more questions and the look on his face was priceless in its intensity and wonder. It gave me such joy to witness this as an onlooker and one of my favorite memories of our whole trip. Reading is such an incredible gift. To witness the love of books makes me grateful and so very happy.  

I came home and went straight to the library and today just finished Perloo the Bold. A fun fantasy about a shy bookworm named Perloo who finds out that after the death of the leader of their tribe, she has proclaimed that Perloo now be in charge. He never imagined such a notion and does not want anything to do with it. But beyond his control he is thrown into stopping a war between his tribe and another. It's a great story of knowing who you are and standing up for yourself, as well as being about how war should be avoided at all costs. Wonderful.