March 2010

I think Valentine is my favorite Adriana character. Maybe it's because we have so much in common as small business owners, food lovers, and romantics.

Whatever the reason, I cannot get enough of this series. If you replaced custom shoes with books, this could be my life....except I haven't been to Italy. And, well, my family is considerably smaller, less-insane, and stays out of my business mostly. Um. Well. This review is falling apart a bit.

Anyway... Brava, Adriana for writing books that are many cuts above most books about the lives of women, whose characters are so real you feel like you know them as well as your own friends and family, who makes you want to drive to her house in New York so you can grab the manuscript for the next one to find out what happens next.

For those like me who would like to skip the actual raising of children and go right to the being a grandparent part (I'm settling for "auntie"), this is a lot of fun. Of course, if you chose the usual path to grandparenthood, this will be good for you too.

Illustrated with evocative photographs and the author's watercolors, this magical book shows how to do 130 activities that connect grandmothers and grandchildren through nature-in the kitchen, the garden, and the art room.