Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
My daughter has been telling me to read The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates series by Caroline Carlson since she first found it several years ago. I finally listened to Magic Marks the Spot and loved it! It’s a fun story about a girl who wants to become a pirate, her governess and best... Continue Reading →
Other than Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia, I'm not a huge fantasy fan. I did, however, really enjoy this story. Bonus for middle-schoolers (& high schoolers) who love fantasy, this is the first of many in this series - seven, if I counted right. This story had everything. Fight between good and... Continue Reading →
With all the change in my life right now (I wrote this review several years ago), I find myself gravitating towards books that feel like familiar friends. I remember listening to The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry years ago with my children and enjoying it. I find it ironic I listened to it again so... Continue Reading →
The last companion novel to Savvy. I think they get better. Again, a different narrator helped immensely in enjoying author Ingrid Law's writing and the abundance of alliterations. If I were more clever, I'd write this review in rhyme - I think Law would appreciate that. 😊 Another fun story with crazy characters. I think... 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 →
Kestra Dallisor has been exiled to the Lava Fields for three years when suddenly, she’s heading back home to her father, Sir Henry. As Kestra wonders how that happened, her carriage is attacked and she is kidnapped by rebels. They want her to find the Olden Blade, the only weapon that is able to kill... 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 →
The subtitle is what really made me pick up The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz - Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. Gidwitz tells the story of these children through the recounting from many different people, all gathered at an inn in rural France during the Middle Ages. It's a fascinating tale... Continue Reading →
Maggie doesn’t know who her parents are. She only knows widow Minka, who took her in and continually threatens to send her away to beg on the streets. That seems a fate too difficult to bear, so Maggie continually tries to please widow Minka. Until one day, widow Minka announces to Maggie that she’s arranged... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 