Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Over my toes goes the soft sea wash see the sea wash the soft sand slip see the sea slip the soft sand slide see the sea slide the soft sand slap see the sea slap the soft sand wash over my toes. Readers will find fun, rhyming poems, silly stories and funny illustrations in... 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 →
Some of my kids are afraid to attend the public schools because they've read so much about bullies. It doesn't matter what I say, what their public-schooled siblings say - they have seared into their brains the stories they've read or listened to about bullies at school. Bully by Laura Vaccaro Seeger will be 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 just realized that I've been writing book reviews for nearly three years and have not written anything about one of my favorite series of all time - The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. Perhaps it goes without saying, except it's worth saying again, how delightful these books are. Originally, The Lion, the Witch... Continue Reading →
How odd is it that an otter would fall in love with his food source? Everyone agrees, it's pretty odd. Unusual. Impossible, even. Otter cannot love a fish. It is just not right. After much consternation, wondering and questioning, Otter realizes that he does love a fish. And the fish loves Otter. So they buck... Continue Reading →
As Penny plays outside with her doll, she spots a beautiful blue marble in her neighbor's yard. She wonders if she should take it, and she decides she can. But Penny hadn't asked permission to have the marble, and as her conscience nags her, she loses interest in life. When she finally decides to return... Continue Reading →
I have to be honest. When I first finished My Happy Life by Rose Lagercrantz, I wondered, "What was that about?" It didn't particularly strike me as a great book. But the more I thought about it, the more the story grew on me and the more I liked it. Dani, the main character, is... Continue Reading →
Emily lives a very quiet life. She never runs, never shouts, and hardly plays. She lives with her mother and the wealthy Miss Luella Nash, who doesn't like noise at all. But then, Emily finds herself alone in the world, after a horrible carriage accident. And suddenly, everyone wants to make decisions for her -... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 