Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Stories of courage and sacrifice inspire children, and adults, to become courageous and sacrificial themselves. Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki is one such story. Mochizuki tells the story of Hiroki Sugihara, the son of the Japanese ambassador to Lithuania in the 1940's. If you remember your history, you'll remember that the... Continue Reading →
The Souls - an academic bowl team made up of sixth-graders. Not just any sixth-graders, though. These four sixth-graders are connected in some very unexpected ways - not the least of which is their Saturday afternoon teas at Julian's house. And their teacher is also unique. She's returned to teaching ten years after being paralyzed... Continue Reading →
My younger son is slightly obsessed with dogs right now. He's read dozens of books on dogs, different breeds of dogs, how to care for dogs - all in the hopes of convincing his daddy and I that he needs a dog. He figures if he can find the *perfect* dog, we'll have to say... Continue Reading →
About a year ago, I was writing an article of book recommendations for families to read aloud together. I asked my friend if she had any ideas of great family books. "Oh yes," she said. "You should write about that book you read last year to your kids. The one about the young driver." "Which... Continue Reading →
When studying World War II, too often the difficulties of living in Nazi-occupied countries is overshadowed by the horrors of the Holocaust. Books like Winter in Wartime and The Winged Watchman, help children get an understanding of the average person living in such a place. The place, and time, of both stories happens to be... Continue Reading →
In Nazi-occupied Holland, the business of surviving took so much time that many children were left to their own devices. Fifteen-year-old Michiel would rather be in school, but it was too dangerous to cross the river, between the Nazi soldiers looking for strong men and boys to send back to Germany to work in the... Continue Reading →
Three little Swedish sisters with blond hair and blue eyes have many adventures together - in the kitchen, at the neighbor's house, on the farm, and even in town. They dress alike, love to help people and animals. The Flicka, Ricka, Dicka books by Maj Lindman were first published in the United States in the... Continue Reading →
Benjamin's historic seaside school is about to be torn down to make way for a huge amusement park. Benjamin is kind of excited about it, until an unusual encounter with the school janitor right before he dies. The janitor entrusts Benjamin with a heavy gold coin with a long history, and directions to 'save the... Continue Reading →
I mentioned Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco in an earlier post about Polacco's books. But I enjoy this book so much, it deserves it's own recognition. Chicken Sunday is a personal story from Polacco's childhood in southern California. She and two brothers from her neighborhood are siblings, "by a solemn ceremony [they] had performed in... Continue Reading →
Every day in winter, Babushka would prepare for the Easter Festival in Moskva by painting an egg shell from her basket. Until one day, when the goose she rescued was startled and broke all of Babushka's eggs. Babushka was so sad - she would not be going to the Easter Festival that year. But her... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 