Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Ranofer dreams of becoming a goldsmith in Ancient Egypt. He was well on his way to becoming one too, until his father died. Now Ranofer lives with his truly awful half brother, and instead being apprenticed to a goldsmith, works as a laborer in a goldsmith's shop. He dreams of changing his destiny, but cannot... Continue Reading →
The cover illustration of children riding stone winged lions through the air caught my attention. It looked interesting - and unusual. And Through the Skylight by Ian Baucom certainly was both interesting and unusual. Set in modern-day Venice, siblings Jared, Shireen and Miranda are stuck exploring every. single. art. exhibit. in this Italian city. Their... Continue Reading →
A fairy tale written by George MacDonald, The Light Princess has echos of Sleeping Beauty - a forgetful king does not invite a guest he should have invited to his daughter's christening. But there the similarities end. The king forgets to invite his own spiteful, but terribly clever, sister. She comes anyway. In her clever... Continue Reading →
If you have only heard of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, but haven't read any of their stories, please do! You don't need to read the original stories in the ancient English. Gerald Morris has done a great job of retelling the old stories for modern ears. The stories are a... Continue Reading →
You know you have found an excellent book when everyone in your family loves it - including your 15-year-old and your husband who doesn't enjoy listening to audio books. My 10-year-old picked out A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup to listen to in the van. The children and I keep an audio book... Continue Reading →
I so thoroughly enjoyed The Cay by Theodore Taylor that when I discovered Timothy of the Cay, I pounced on it. "Kids, look!" I cried. "Remember The Cay? Here's a prequel-sequel." "What does that mean?" they asked. Good question, I thought. What is a prequel-sequel? It's a masterfully-written story, telling Timothy's story before he ended... Continue Reading →
Lucas Bell lives a rather dreary life, even though he lives in the largest house in town. His guardian is a stingy old man, not much interested in his existence at all. His tutor is nice enough, but quite distracted. He's stuck in a bedroom or schoolroom most every day, and the town he lives... Continue Reading →
Ellsworth Duncan has an interesting family history. He's heard all about it, even though he lives across the country from the square where his father grew up. Then comes the invitation to return to the square to hunt down the last treasure of his great-great-great... grandfather John Matthew Smith. The family is in trouble, and... Continue Reading →
We first met Rosalind in Small Acts of Amazing Courage, also by Gloria Whelan. In All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens, we are back in India with Rosalind, her parents and her aunts during the turbulent times of the 1920's. Rosalind's 'adopted' baby is doing well in the orphanage, where her Aunt Louise... Continue Reading →
I almost squealed with delight when I discovered Hattie Ever After, the sequel to Kirby Larson's Hattie Big Sky. Of course, I immediately came home and devoured it, I was so anxious to find out what happens to Hattie after she leaves Montana. I appreciated Larson's treatment of Hattie - even though she loves a... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 