cover image Today I Will: A Year of Quotes, Notes, and Promises to Myself

Today I Will: A Year of Quotes, Notes, and Promises to Myself

Eileen Spinelli, Jerry Spinelli, , illus. by Julia Rothman. . Knopf, $15.99 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-375-84057-9

From inspiration to confession, here are three books to enlighten and entertain.

Today I Will: A Year of Quotes, Notes, and Promises to Myself Eileen and Jerry Spinelli , illus. by Julia Rothman. Knopf , $15.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-375-84057-9

This small and elegant gift book spotlights 366 quotations from children's books, one for each day of the year. The Spinellis use excerpts from works by such authors as Tomie dePaola, Donna Jo Napoli, Avi, Roald Dahl and Madeleine L'Engle as springboards to provoke contemplation and positive choices. For March 18, a line from Linda Trice's Kenya's World (“ 'What is that music?' Kenya asked. 'It's jazz,' Daddy said. 'Jaaaazz' ”) is followed by a suggestion to give “America's music” a try. While readers may find some sentiments corny (on giving: “Inside me is a miracle waiting to happen... I could give for a thousand years and never use up half of my heart”), the advice offered is genuine and inspiring. Ages 10–up. (Oct.)