Books to Inspire, Thrill and Engage Children
Emmy loves her life in Illinois. She lives close by her grandparents, she helps her mother with the quilting bees, tying off the women's threads (which she doesn't enjoy as much), and she lives in a comfortable farmhouse. But Emmy's pa isn't so happy. He's just home from a trip west to the booming state... Continue Reading →
In the modern age of consumerism and materialism at Christmas, Patricia Polacco's An Orange for Frankie tells a beautiful story of gratefulness and generosity. Based upon Polacco's own family history, the picture book tells the story of Frankie, the youngest boy in a large family. It's close to Christmas during the Great Depression, and the... Continue Reading →
How many times have you heard the Christmas story, and the gifts of the wise men from the East? How many times have you wondered, "what exactly is myrrh?" The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park is beautifully illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, and tells the story of a young boy who is learning his father's... Continue Reading →
Generally, I am not a fan of repackaging beloved stories for marketing purposes, but I make an exception for the Little House story books. (See my review of other Little House story books here.) For the holidays, HarperCollins Publishers pulled out all the Christmas's Laura Ingalls Wilder described in some of her Little House on... Continue Reading →
Author Allen Say takes readers on a very personal journey in Grandfather's Journey. Say recounts his grandfather's journey from Japan to America, the wonders he saw and the adventures he had wandering America's vast and differing land. Say's grandfather ended up moving to California. But as he grew older, he missed his homeland more and... Continue Reading →
When I first came across the My First Little House Books series, I was disgusted. Is there no end to repackaging, marketing and otherwise destroying my favorite books? But curiosity overcame my disgust and I picked up a variety of them and brought them home to read and evaluate. I was pleasantly surprised at... Continue Reading →
In the spirit of Black Stallion, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo tells the story of a horse. Joey, a big red bay, narrates his story - from the time he was a colt sold at auction to the time he returns from World War I. He enjoys a special relationship with Albert, the son of... Continue Reading →
After reading Tippy Lemmey, my eight-year-old decided he wanted a chow. Tippy Lemmey is the only dog Leandra knows with two names, and Tippy Lemmey is a chow. Not just any chow, but a scary chow. This dog chases Leandra and her friends whenever they pass by his house. And his house is between them... Continue Reading →
Ethel, Kermit and Archie are under strict orders to be good. Their dad, President Teddy Roosevelt, is hosting the Russian ambassador that evening, trying to negotiate the end to the Russian-Japanese War. (Whatever THAT is, thinks Archie.) They decide to settle down to an interesting book, Treasure Island, when they find a mysterious paper inside... Continue Reading →
Private Voytek of the transport company of the 2nd Polish Corps of the British Army in World War II turned lots of heads, and made many other soldiers scream in fright. Why? He was a bear. Yes, a Syrian brown bear. A few Polish soldiers who had escaped Russia into Iran picked him up somewhere... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 