Theodore Boone: The Abduction is the second in John Grisham’s mystery series for kids. In my review of the first book, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, I said: “I appreciate Grisham’s handling of young teens and his respect for the family. The story has plenty of excitement without vulgarity or gore. It can be done!” I…
Category: Book Lovers Community
The Odyssey – Discussion Questions
As I said in this short report of one of my classes, there are countless people more qualified than I am to analyze The Odyssey. So I don’t pretend to be anything other than someone who has read the book many times and walked students through it more than once. This year, I taught a…
Audio Recording: Sara’s Handmaid’s Tale
In 2017, Sara wrote this reflection on why she wouldn’t read The Handmaid’s Tale. It continues to be our most popular post. You can read it here. As we explore the possibility of hosting a podcast, however, we are starting to record some of our reflections and book reviews as spoken tracts. If you would…
Audio Review of The Ark
For many years, we have had a number of requests for us to record our book reviews so that busy moms could listen while they work. Well, after much discussion, we have decided to explore the idea of recorded book reviews as well as a regular podcast. While we finish exploring the idea and sort…
Danny and the Dinosaur
Syd Hoff was a well-known cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine before he began writing “I Can Read” books for children. Danny and the Dinosaur, Hoff’s first book for the series, was published in 1958, the year after Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) began the series. I discovered Syd Hoff in our school library when…
A Baby Sister for Frances
A Baby Sister for Frances is the second Frances book written by Russell Hoban (1964), but the first illustrated by his wife, Lillian Hoban. Frances is obviously struggling with the fact that she is no longer the center of her parents’ attention. Frances is well known for her little songs, but no one even comments…
Purple House Press Sale
Here is a cheat sheet for the books we have reviewed that are in the Purple House Press Spring 2022 Sale – May 6-9, 2022. From their Facebook Sale Post: We had our 22nd birthday a few days ago, so naturally we’re having a 22% off sale….wait no, we can do better…let’s have our biggest…
Rowan Farm
Rowan Farm is a delightful sequel to Margot Benary-Isbert’s treasure, The Ark. This sequel picks up just a few weeks after The Ark concludes. I enjoyed this book. Rowan Farm is just as wholesome and enriching as the first. I am handing it to my 13-year-old without any concern except for one which I will…
The Ark
Oh, how I would have loved Margot Benary-Isbert’s The Ark when I was a teen! The Ark’s main character, Margaret Lechow, is a lovely soul whose sympathy with animals resonates with my own deep longing to have been raised on a farm. Like Margaret, I was never more comfortable anywhere than when I was at…
Urchin and the Heartstone
Urchin and the Heartsone, the sequel to Urchin of the Riding Stars, is easily one of the most beautiful books I have read this year. And, I read a lot of good books. In my review of the first Mistmantle book, Urchin of the Riding Stars, I mention that I was surprised and delighted by…