Tag: Purple House Press

The Shy Stegosaurus of Indian Springs

  “‘You see, everything changes, the world and everything in it. Everything but me. Goodby, little friends.’       They stood openmouthed, but no words came to them. There was so much they wanted to say. They wanted to persuade him to remain, to explain how much he had done for them, and to assure him that the…

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The Christmas Stove

In Alta Halverson Seymour’s beautiful Christmas story, The Christmas Stove, 11-year-old Peter and 8-year-old Trudi lose their parents in an avalanche. The children make the difficult journey down the mountain to the village of Zimmerli, looking for their Tante Maria in the hopes that she will adopt them. The children arrive a few weeks before Christmas to find a kind-hearted but sickly woman who is quite poor. Together, the three of them share the struggle for existence and feast on the love they have for each other. A sweet and innocent story, this one reminds a little bit of Ralph Moody’s Mary Emma and Company.

A Grandma For Christmas

This loving retelling of a special Christmas Alta Halverson Seymour’s father had as a boy in Norway is the jewel in her Christmas collection. A short read of only 59 pages (plus a few extra pages of Christmas recipes), it is warm and lovely and full of goodness. It is also exciting and perfect for boys. And, the Purple House Press reprint has full-color illustrations generously spread across nearly every page.

The Christmas Rocket

Dino is almost ten years old. Many years of working in the family pottery shop have shriveled his grandfather like an old pea with a knitted cap upon his bald head, and made his Papa’s back stooped.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and Dino must go down to the village with his Papa to sell their…

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The Avion My Uncle Flew

Then follows Nazi plots, new friends, language mixups, and last but not least, l’avion, built by oncle Paul, which is a central part of the story. Even if, like me, you’re not a plane enthusiast, you will become personally invested into this avion. 

Urchin and the Raven War

“He wriggled his arm to see the bracelet, true and clear on his wrist. Somewhere stored in his heart, were all the bright days he had ever known, all the love ever shown to him, all the joy he had ever felt. It was all there, still inside him. And he knew that somewhere in and beyond the beating of his own heart was the Heart that broke with love for Mistmantle, and was beating still, and always would.”

On the Edge of the Fjord

This story is fictional, but it feels as if it were true. Living in the U.S., Alta Halverson Seymour published this book in 1944. Because of that, there is no resolution on how the war ends for the Engeland family. By the end of the book, the war is still raging. We know that the family is reunited and as safe as they can be doing the dangerous work that needs to be done. The fact that there is no resolution does not, in my opinion, lessen the book in any way. As a matter of fact, I think that it makes it more incredible. 

Down the Big River

“His over forty books cover genres of adventure, biographical fiction, nautical historical fiction, entrepreneurial or occupational fiction, environmental fiction, sports, mystery and war. His books were meant to educate the mind and cultivate the character as well as entertain which make them books we highly recommend.” – taken from the Biblioguides author profile of Stephen…

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