Many years ago I got lost in James A. Owen’s Here, There Be Dragons and its sequels. At the time I was reading solely for my own enjoyment and found the series to be exciting, wholesome, and a fantastic literary puzzle for me to solve. When my well-read teen book club readers begged for more … Continue reading Here, There Be Dragons
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling
“In this way Penelope’s happy and sad feelings got all mixed up together, until they were not unlike one of those delicious cookies they have nowadays, the ones with a flat circle of sugary cream sandwiched between two chocolate-flavored wafers. In her heart she felt a soft, hidden core of sweet melancholy nestled inside crisp … Continue reading The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling
Percy Jackson
"We can at least try to save something of the goods of which we are the common trustees; the legacy of Greece, Rome and Israel, and the legacy of Europe throughout 2,000 years. In a world which has seen such material devastation as ours, these spiritual possessions are also in imminent peril." - TS Eliot, … Continue reading Percy Jackson
Why I Won’t Read “The Handmaid’s Tale”
I won’t read The Handmaid’s Tale. And it isn’t because I am a Christian who is afraid of being confronted by ideas that are unsettling. I graduated from Hillsdale College in the very late 1990s with a BA in Philosophy and Religion. I spent two semesters at the University of Oxford studying theology. I own … Continue reading Why I Won’t Read “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Easy to Read Wonder Tales
Easy to Read Wonder Tales, and Easy to Read Spooky Tales Veronika Martenova Charles’ “About the Author” page says that she, “creates stories for children that are inspired by her own travels around the world as well as her fascination with the stories and folklore of many lands.” She has published ten “Easy to Read … Continue reading Easy to Read Wonder Tales
The Great Brain
We are boy moms. Diane and I have a daughter each and two sons a piece. Diane also has grandchildren, most of whom are boys. We love our daughters and we know that our culture has some special snares and traps for them. But as mamas of boys, we are particularly aware of today's cultural … Continue reading The Great Brain