Welcome to the Stories We Shared Reading Quest Challenge In this post we have linked some of our favorite book recommendations for The Serial Bookworm Challenge. We will continue to update this post as we review more books which would fit into this challenge. This post is part of our Stories We Shared Reading Quest Challenge. Check … Continue reading Quest: The Serial Bookworm
Five For Victory
Drawn from real life World War II experiences, Hilda van Stockum created an endearing story about children and family life during the second world war in Five For Victory. Miss van Stockum was born in Holland to Dutch-Irish parents where she was homeschooled through the age of eight. As a teen, she moved to Ireland … Continue reading Five For Victory
Sara’s Ancient History: Cycle 1
This article has been updated and enhanced. Please find the new post here.
The Miracle of St. Nicholas
"Why can't we celebrate Christmas tomorrow in St. Nicholas?" Set in a small Russian village, young Alexi asks his babushka (grandma) why they cannot celebrate Christmas in their village church of St. Nicholas. In the wake of the Bolshevik revolution, the communists vigorously worked to eradicate religion because it threatened the Russian people’s dependence on … Continue reading The Miracle of St. Nicholas
Happy Times in Noisy Village
In another post, I commented that my first exposure to Astrid Lindgren was through Pippi Longstocking and I wasn’t terribly impressed. Along the way, however, I was persuaded to try some of her other work. I read Children of Noisy Village and fell in love. In my review of that book, I note a Santa … Continue reading Happy Times in Noisy Village
Old Sam Dakota Trotter
“It was this way with many things, for there was no sure guide to go by. It was the beginning of experience. Of course no two settlers were working under the same conditions, and their methods differed… as they learned to overcome their own difficulties in their own way, uncertainty gave way to a good … Continue reading Old Sam Dakota Trotter
The Red Falcons of Tremoine
The Red Falcons of Tremoine by Hendry Peart opens in the middle of a complex story. It took this reader more than a few pages to feel at home in the text, partly because it felt as though I had walked into the middle of a conversation, and because I was met with a lot … Continue reading The Red Falcons of Tremoine
Good Old Archibald
When Bethlehem Books was having their big summer sale, I combed through their catalog for books that would captivate my reluctant boy reader. My nine-year-old son is a much better reader than he gives himself credit for, but he is easily intimidated by long or text-heavy books. I knew that Bethlehem Books would have some books … Continue reading Good Old Archibald
Philomena
Reading aloud is hard. It is work, it requires focus, it demands stamina, and it usually requires good habits. Reading aloud, like almost anything truly valuable, is hard to do. Over the years, I have heard great mentors give the same piece of advice: choose a book you love. Read aloud can be much easier … Continue reading Philomena
Enemy Brothers
“England and her Allies aren’t just fighting the Axis countries - they’re fighting the evil spirits that have laid hold of Germany and Italy and Japan.” War always turns things on their heads. Real life during WWII was especially good at turning things inside out and upside down. During that creatively brutal time, so many … Continue reading Enemy Brothers