Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Clearie’s dad is in the Navy, which means she’s moved around a lot. Now, she’s moving again - this time without her dad. He has to go overseas to occupied Japan. So Clearie is going to Alaska to live with her mother’s people. Alaska! What is in Alaska? Clearie barely remembers her mother. She’s never... Continue Reading →
Author Ingrid Law continues to share her love of alliteration in Scumble, the first companion novel to Savvy. I will say a different narrator made all the difference in my enjoyment of her writing. I wasn't as distracted by the tumble of words and was able to enjoy the characters and their outlandish predicaments. A... Continue Reading →
While Savvy by Ingrid Law was a fun story, it contained a plethora of alliterative adjectives. The audiobook narrator was rather bland, but I listened all the way through, so she wasn't horrid. I did like the characters. I just glanced at some of the reviews on GoodReads - and like me, there are many... Continue Reading →
The Poet’s Dog is another beautiful tale from the author of Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan. Nickel and Flora are stranded in a blizzard when Teddy finds them. He takes them back to the cabin he shared with Sylvan, before he left. Teddy and the children get to know each other and begin to... Continue Reading →
I decided I needed to reread Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne after Masterpiece Theatre on PBS aired a mini-series based on the book. Well - loosely based on the book. The mini-series was fun to watch, but Phileas Fogg is nothing like the character in the book. In the book, Fogg... Continue Reading →
One very special harmonica changes the lives of three hurting children in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Friedrich in Germany is the first to find the harmonica. It brings him hope and courage as he fights for his music, his dream, and his father, under Hitler’s regime. Then Mike in Pennsylvania discovers the harmonica. It gives... Continue Reading →
Jack is a part of a small community of humans who survived a global apocalypse and are currently orbiting the earth as they wait for Earth’s restoration. Supplies are running low and the scientists on board think that Earth can support human life again. Except. Except dragons have moved in. And they’d poisoned the Earth’s... Continue Reading →
Judith goes by many different names. Aunt Cora calls her Jubliee. “You’re a celebration, my dear!” she says. Gideon, the ferry pilot, calls her Red, because of her red hair. The neighborhood boy, Travis, calls her No-Talk Girl, which she doesn’t really mind because she can tell he likes her. But Judith really wants a... Continue Reading →
Baseball is Jeremiah's life. He eats it, breathes it. So when the doctors tell him he can't play after a major operation, Jeremiah decides to shift his focus. He will coach baseball. His opportunity comes sooner than he expects. He and his dad move to a small town in Ohio with a great baseball tradition.... Continue Reading →
Northwind by Gary Paulsen starts like a fable, with “The Saga of the Sea Child.” It’s an interesting way to start a book - my one complaint is that the font it’s printed in is difficult to read. All caps with very little punctuation. Which I guess makes it feel more like the reader is... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 