My family and I have developed a fun little habit of heading to our local St. Vincent de Paul Charity Resale shop about once a month to donate our excess and rescue books. Sometimes I discover homeschool gold like a 1980s set of Childcraft. Sometimes I find a book set I know nothing about but … Continue reading The House of Wings
Emily’s Quest
It seems that even in the 1920s there must have been some demand for trilogies. As much as I love Emily herself, I think Montgomery might have done better to have resolved all the love affairs in a longer second book. In this book we see Emily grow into an admirable, caring woman intent on … Continue reading Emily’s Quest
Emily Climbs
In this sequel to Emily of New Moon, Emily is 14 years old and has successfully graduated from the local country school. In order for Emily to go on to high school, she has to board in town with nasty, suspicious Aunt Ruth. Aunt Ruth is a trial to Emily because if she doesn't understand … Continue reading Emily Climbs
Billy and Blaze
I have a cowboy kid. You know, a little guy who loves horses, dreams of living on a cattle ranch, and who believes that the wild untamed West is still out there, waiting for him to put on his boots and spurs so he can saddle up to that special kind of man’s work. I … Continue reading Billy and Blaze
All of a Kind Family
I didn’t read Sydney Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family until I was homeschooling my children. My first thought was, “Why didn’t I know about this sweet story when I was a child?” The first book in the series was published in 1951. June Cummins, who wrote the foreward for a 2014 edition of More All-of-a-Kind Family, says … Continue reading All of a Kind Family
Emily of New Moon
Besides loving L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables because it’s a great story with a timelessly loveable heroine, it is special to me because it is one of the few books my mom introduced me to that she had loved when she was young. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon is special to me because … Continue reading Emily of New Moon
Understood Betsy
In 1899 Dorothy Canfield received a B.A. from Ohio State University, then went on to receive a Ph.D. in Romance languages from University of Paris and Columbia University. At a time when women rarely attended college, Canfield was distinguishing herself as a serious academic. In addition to her college and graduate school degrees, she received … Continue reading Understood Betsy
The Water Horse
“Writing my books is like handing out presents. Giving children pleasure gives you a wonderful sort of Father Christmassy feeling.” - Dick King-Smith, October 1995 Dick King-Smith was a gift to children. A beloved English children’s author, King-Smith grew up in a sort of well-to-do existence. His family owned a quality paper company and King-Smith … Continue reading The Water Horse
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 … Continue reading The Wilderking Trilogy
Signature: The Story of Clara Barton
Published by Grosset and Dunlap, the Signature “Story of” books are a biography series very similar to the famous Landmark and North Star children's biography series. Like those series, the publishers at Grosset and Dunlap commissioned excellent authors to write biographies that would be appropriate for children. After having read several books in each series, … Continue reading Signature: The Story of Clara Barton