Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Jack Baker has lost his mother and his home all at once. He also gained a father he's not seen since before World War II began. They don't know how to be together without Jack's mom. And now Jack is at a strange boarding school in Maine - a continent away from his home in... Continue Reading →
Here’s a classic I have never read - until this weekend. I found it in the homeschool box, realized the kids all had to read it and thought I’d better read it, too. Who knew Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne would be so captivating? Maybe you did, but I didn’t! This... Continue Reading →
This short book by John Reynolds Gardiner must have been a reader for my children when we were homeschooling, because I don’t ever remember reading it before this morning. Little Willy is concerned for his grandfather, who suddenly took to his bed and quit talking and laughing with Willy. Doc Smith says nothing is wrong... Continue Reading →
When Turtle’s mom gets a maid position with a woman who doesn’t like children, her mom sends her to her aunt’s house in Key West. In the middle of the Great Depression, you do what you have to do to get by. Turtle’s aunt and cousins aren’t thrilled to see her. And she isn’t thrilled... Continue Reading →
By all accounts Taro should be dead. The son of a samurai is always killed when his lord is defeated in battle. But Lord Takeda's soldiers decide to spare him, and take him with them. So Taro becomes a servant in the house of Lord Akiyama, learning how to be a servant. But when his... Continue Reading →
Trad is an orphan living with his grandfather, who ignores him most of the time. One day, Trad is out on the moors, and finds a wounded knight. Somehow, Trad realizes he needs to hide the knight from his grandfather, which he manages to do. But as the knight recovers, he feels compelled to complete... Continue Reading →
Nicholas Young was tired of his life in England. He hated school (for good reason - made me shudder!) & when he ran away, his father apprenticed him to a butcher. Even worse than school, if you could believe it. So Nick stowed away on a ship. But not just any ship - the HMS... Continue Reading →
Adam and his father traveled the roads of England in the 1200's as wandering minstrels - and Adam loved every minute of it. At least until the day he was separated from his father. Then his beloved spaniel, Nick, disappears too. Now Adam wanders the roads of England looking for his father and his dog,... Continue Reading →
The Minnipins live in a remote valley, cut off from the rest of their world. They remember how their ancestors got to the valley, but nothing that comes before that event. Why did they leave their former home? What were they fleeing? These questions feel irrelevant to the current inhabitants of the valley. Instead they... Continue Reading →
Georgie knows that her sister is not dead. She believes it with all her heart - even after the sheriff brings back a body with long auburn hair wearing her sister's ballgown. Even after her mother identifies the body as Agatha, Georgie's sister. Even after the whole town turns out for Agatha's funeral. Georgie refuses... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 