Great Read and Folded Ear Cat in Spring

Folded Ear Cat is enjoying the warming sidewalks of Spring!

I just finished a lovely little book called The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.  It really is a tiny book (120 pages), which makes for a quick and satisfying read.  It seems the Queen's dogs are barking at a bookmobile on the palace grounds one day, so she pops her head inside to say sorry and then decides she should check out a book since she's there.  She also meets Norman, a boy who works in the palace kitchens and is an avid reader.  The two of them share the books they are reading, building a friendship which enriches them both.  As the Queen gets lost in the joys of reading, it turns out those around her don't appreciate a queen with her nose in a book.  When she is on walkabouts she starts asking her subjects what they are reading, and they are taken aback, feeling foolish if they aren't reading anything.  She stashes a book behind the cushion in  her carriage and security absconds with it - thinking it might be a bomb.  Who knew a queen reading could raise such a ruckus!  Check out this sweet little book for yourself.