“I, like countless of his readers, found the humour that runs through the stories to be one of James Herriot’s most appealing qualities. He himself had an acute sense of humour— an ability always to see the funny side of things— and it shows in his writing.” – Jim Wight of his father, Alf Wight…
Author: Sara Masarik
Curators of things Good, True, and Beautiful
The Winged Watchman
Hilda van Stockum’s The Winged Watchman is an edge-of-your-seat adventure story that paints a vibrant but challenging picture of WWII life for Dutch families in German-occupied Holland. “Joris Verhagen was six years old when the Germans invaded Holland. At ten he could remember little of what it had been like before the war. Dirk Jan,…
Overview: Childcraft Children’s Encyclopedia Series
In my childhood home, we had a room called “The Library”. It was a beautiful room with dark wood built-in book cases and glass doors. It was always my favorite room in the house. My dad had a deep and lovely leather chair which was perfect for getting lost inside of a good book. My…
Great Courses Company: How To Read and Understand Shakespeare
I was a theater minor at Hillsdale College. When I participated in the Oxford exchange, I travelled to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see several plays. During two of my Hillsdale summer breaks, I travelled with the theater department to the Canadian Stratford Festival. Shakespeare was central to my liberal arts education. Confession: all that exposure to the…
The Children of Noisy Village
Oh. Oh. Oh. This review breaks my heart, and it is wrong. 3 Stars – “The content is too old for kids in 2016. Too old school story.” (An Amazon Reviewer) Confession: I am not a big fan of Pippi Longstocking, also by Astrid Lindgren. I love the charm of Lindgren’s writing but Pippi’s unconventional…
The Hedge School
The Hedge School by Gloria Whelan is a gripping middle-grade tale of faith, family, and secret education under Ireland’s Penal Laws in the 18th century.
Twenty One Balloons
“We are slaves of our own piggishness, we have locked ourselves in a diamond prison. On the other hand, we are very happy here; and I suppose the fascination of knowing that we are each one of us richer than the combined Midases, Nabobs, and Croesi of history enters too into the Krakatoan spell which…
Nurse Matilda
Nurse Matilda makes me cringe. I really don’t think there’s anything objectionable in the book, but her magic is part of what makes her frustrating.
The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic
“If the pages that follow are inspiring, enlightening, or life changing, I take full responsibility, but if there are any errors it is not my fault.” – Prologue from The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic “There is a very good possibility that you will not believe a word I say.” Excellent opening words for…
The Woman Who Was Chesterton
Who is not aware of the giant that was G.K. Chesterton? Even if we post-moderns haven’t read much or any of his brilliant writings, knowledge of the “Apostle of Common Sense” (a term used by Dale Ahlquist in a definitive Chesterton biography by that name) is inescapable. Chesterton was a lion for truth, and his…
Exciting and Educational Brain Games
ese f A year or so ago, my family discovered the National Geographic Channel show Brain Games. It isn’t perfectly family-friendly, but there is much about it to love. We are a puzzle family and love Mad Libs, brain games, Ravensburger puzzles, etc. We love to exercise our mental muscles. Several years ago we removed…
Great Courses Company: Everyday Engineering
I always knew that houses were complex systems of systems, but I never fully appreciated all of the aspects of engineering that go into making them snug, safe, and efficient. Thanks to Dr. Ressler and The Great Courses Company’s Everyday Engineering course, this non-science mama is now able to appreciate how rain water does not pool…
Fairchild Family Series: Happy Little Family
Turning four is practically turning ten, or at a minimum, almost six. Just ask sweet little sister Bonnie who is thrilled to be graduating from babyhood, and who is scrambling to play catch-up to her four older siblings in this charming story about an Appalachian farm family living in the early 1900s. Reprinted by Bethlehem…
Mysterious Benedict Society Series
The Mysterious Benedict Society is more secular than the Christian authors I listed above, but also timely and good. I know practically nothing about the…
The Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
The angel looked into my eyes in a perfect stillness. A stillness without words and a stillness without questions, but a stillness with more meaning than all words that were ever spoken and all questions that were ever asked. The angel knew me. I knew that. The angel knew Papa and the dog. – The…