Leepike Ridge

“What poetry does is represent nature.  That can be handy because nature is big and changing and various and hard to look at.  Whereas with somebody with a great eye and a big soul, they could explain it to you.” I heard Dr. Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, say this in a lecture shortly…

The Wilderking Trilogy

This spring my family fell in love with The Wilderking trilogy. Much like Narnia or the Shire, the Wilderking books are set in a place that feels romantic and a bit heaven-kissed. Corenwald is a place of physical beauty, vibrant community, traditional values, exotic intrigue, relative peace, and the possibility of high adventure. The fictional…

The Bark of the Bog Owl

This review is of the first book of the trilogy. If you wish to read our review of the whole trilogy, click here. “‘Who knows what the future holds? Only the One God,’ explained Aidan. ‘You live the little bit of life that you can see in front of you. You live it well. And…

Henry and the Chalk Dragon

“He looked at his armor, then back at the door. This was a morning that needed a knight.” I love this book. Really, truly, and sincerely love Henry and the Chalk Dragon.  I love this book because it is delightful. It is funny. It is tender. It is oh so wholesome. It is really real….

The Wishes of the Fish King

In May of 2016, author Doug McKelvey and illustrator Jamin Still collaborated on a Kickstarter project to fund the creation of a gorgeous new picture book. The Wishes of the Fish King is a story that Doug wrote when his first daughter was two years old. At the time, they lived in a house on…

The Terrible Speed of Mercy

Just over a year ago my Facebook book club decided that we wanted to harness some of the fun we saw in books like 84 Charing Cross Road and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. We developed a pen pal group and started exchanging letters with book friends all over the world. As…

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 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…