fit 2 READ

weekly Weekly Reader review #4: a dog-eared favorite

2011-02-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

The tone is just right in Doris Burn's Andrew Henry's Meadow. (1965, reprinted in 2005) "Combining a delicious understanding of childish longings and a gift for comical understatement, she creates a picture book sure to become a dog-eared favorite of both parents and children." This one makes my "100 Best Picture Books of All Time" list.

Oldies but goodies: Mrs Christie's Farmhouse

2011-01-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

This is another one of those picture books that never should have been allowed to go out of print. Mrs. Christie and Rachel move to the country and teach the King (who is capital O Organized) a thing or two. Caroline Browne's lean, flowing text and more than competent, detailed illustrations make this a GOOD book. Doubleday, 1977.

Cowboy Country

2011-01-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

If there's such a thing as a gorgeous book for boys, surely this is it. Ann Herbert Scott's "laconic, wonderfully well-honed descriptions" tie together Ted Lewin's "splendid watercolors...in glowing impressionistic detail. Authentic information, presented with real artistry." Kirkus Reviews

weekly Weekly Reader review #3: Grandfather's Cake

2011-01-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

What we have here is lots of animals, bears especially, tons of action, and a modest moral dilemma; in other words, the things that David McPhail went on to perfect, following this 1979 title. Grandfather's Cake is still a very good, short read-aloud for five to nine year olds, and one more reason to keep old Weekly Reader hardcovers in your library. P.S. Make sure the "tremendous BOOM" rocks the room.

Old Ramon

2010-08-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's great to see the older Newbery Honor books brought back into print from time to time. This boy and dog story is a good example of a worthy "it's time to grow up" story. Jack Schaefer (who also wrote Shane) writes with a spare style that is a good match for this adventure in the Southwest desert. Who would be a good choice to do new illustrations for Old Ramon?

The Woman With the Eggs

2010-03-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

Our generation has been said to be the first to grow up on slogans rather than proverbs. To our loss. One way to combat that omission is to read picture books, especially those serving up folklore. In 1836, when he was thirty years old, Hans Christian Andersen published a simple poetic version of the proverb--Don't count your chickens before they hatch. In 1974 Jan Wahl and Ray Cruz teamed up to put that poem into what is probably the most colorful picture book I have seen. This out-of-print, hard-to-find book is, of course, available to borrow from the Mason County Christian School library.

Uncle Elephant

2010-03-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

Arnold Lobel's 1981 "I Can Read Book" is the perfect introduction to chapter books; definitely a Don't Miss Book for Kindergarten. When a little elephant's mother and father are lost at sea, he learns many important things from his kindly uncle, things he would not have learned apart from his (temporary) orphan experience.

Clever Beyond Words

2010-01-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

So, with more than 200 different A-B-C books on the shelf, why get excited about a slim, 25 year old title that showed up yesterday?
Because What's Inside? The Alphabet Book by Satoshi Kitamura is great fun for both parents and kids. Full of engaging animals, music, color and surprises, this one passes the test--you'll want to read and re-read it.
Available to borrow, of course, from the Mason County Christian School library.

As Tove Jansson used to say...

2010-01-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

"My mother made illustrations and dust covers for books all day long and well into the night. Every book she contributed to she got free when it was published, our bookcases grew all over the walls and I read without restriction, anything and anywhere, with pocket flashlights under the bedcovers and on the dumpsters down in the yard if I was told to get some fresh air. If any book was really unsuitable for a child my mother only had to say, "that one you should read, it is very instructive, to ensure that I didn't...The happiest childhood is, I think, the one which offers both security and excitement...In my books...if there are any greys they are not the colour of gloom but rather those half tones necessary for the unspoken, the hidden. In a book for children I think there should always be something left unexplained and without any illustration. There should be a path at which the writer respectfully stops to let the child continue alone."
Tove Jansson, winner of the 1966 Hans Christian Andersen Medal,in Third Book of Junior Authors, 1972

The Silver Whistle

2010-01-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

Anita Silvey probably wearies over being second-guessed as to which writers to include in her terrific book The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators. But really, how can you ignore Jay Williams? Co-author of the popular Danny Dunn series and author of many picture books, Williams teamed with illustrator Friso Henstra on The Silver Whistle. A clever twist on the poor, plain girl gets the rich prince story, this book is just too good to miss, and much better overall than most of the predictable, frequently inane recently published books.
A title in the Parents' Magazine Press series that competed with the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club, The Silver Whistle is available to borrow from the Mason County Christian School library.

weekly Weekly Reader review #2: The Violin Man

2010-01-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

Based on the true story of Luigi Tarisio, who traveled through the towns and villages of Italy in the 1880s searching for lost Stradivarius violins.
So what can be said for Maureen Brett Hooper's pleasant, but largely unremarkable story? Three remarks, actually: 1. We learn a little about violins in general and Stradivarius in particular. 2. It could help kids realize how different their lives are compared to children their own ages in other times and places. 3. It models patience in both action and conversation.
Not a classic, but not bad, not bad at all. 1991. Available for check out from the Mason County Christian School Library/Weekly Reader Collection

weekly Weekly Reader review #1

2009-12-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

Nancy Willard's "Stranger's Bread" is a surprisingly terrific short story, complete with a lovable main character, a wagon load of kooky animals, and a moral worth learning. I'm not a great fan of David McPhail, but his pen and ink drawings are just right for this one. A 1977 Weekly Reader Children's Book Club selection. And available, of course, from the Mason County Christian School library.

Find of the Week: The Book of Modern Airplanes

2009-03-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Our local Goodwill Thrift Store continues to yield an astonishing number of good kid's books. This week, this sixty year old son of a WWII seaman discovered Harold H. Booth's Book of Modern Airplanes. Published in 1940, this little treasure features hand-tinted pictures of each of the fighter planes in use by the U.S., France, Britain, AND Germany in that year. And in great condition; even the unvarnished paper hardcover is clean and intact. My next-door-neighbor grandsons and I will enjoy this one.

Story of Rosy Dock

2009-02-19T21:04:00.000-08:00

No, Rosy Dock is not someone you should know; apparently it's a pest, a non-native species of flower introduced more than a hundred years ago into Australia, where it's exuberance is threatening native species. (Can you say "scotsbroom" and "evergreen blackberries"?)
As an environmental message book, Jeannie Baker's prose is awkward at best; but the book is worth reading for the illustrations-amazing collage that draws you in to take a closer look at a beautiful, but troubled land.
Greenwillow Books, 1995

Matthew's Dragon

2009-02-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

Forgettable.
I'm having trouble figuring out how the labored prose of this picture book could come from the same gifted mind that gave us the award-winning The Dark is Rising fantasy series.
Susan Cooper, illustrated by Jos. A. Smith. 1991

The Midnight Horse

2009-02-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

So how can you put down a book that begins..."It was raining bullfrogs." You can't. And before long you meet a villain with "eyes as wet and baggy as live oysters!"
Does anyone write melodrama and tall tales better than Sid Fleischman? I doubt it. Winner of the Newbery Medal for The Whipping Boy, Sid and his son Paul are the only father/son pair to each win the coveted award.
Peter Sis's illustrations lend an appropriately eerie tone to The Midnight Horse.
(Note: The concluding chapter is inaptly titled "Black Magic". 84 pages. 1990.

NOW will you read to your kids 20 minutes?

2009-01-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

"Literary experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality. There are mass emotions which heal the wound; but they destroy the privilege. In them our separate selves are pooled and we sink back into sub-individuality. But in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do."
C. S. Lewis (who else?) Quoted in Innocence and Experience: Essays and Conversations on Children's Literature, p. 437.

The Whole Story

2009-01-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

What would it take to get kids to read the children's classics? This series might do it. Printed on glossy paper with durable stitched bindings, The Whole Story series should grab and hold the attention of many who would otherwise pass on these books. Each includes the unabridged text, "with striking illustrations and extended captions that provide background information modern readers could otherwise access only through a broad range of supplemental research." The series includes Treasure Island, The Call of the Wild, The Jungle Book, Around the World in Eighty Days, and others. Some titles are still in print; all are worth watching for and paying good money for, used.

Alejandro's Gift

2009-01-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

Two things about what at first glance might appear to be just another run-of-the-mill picture book: Having spent the first fifteen years of my adult life in the Arizona desert, I am stunned by the authenticity of Sylvia Long's illustrations. She did extensive research for this book, and it shows-right down to the curly "hairs" on the agave.
The other amazing (and encouraging) thing about this book is that author Richard Albert wrote it for his great-grandchildren when he was 83 years old!
Smithsonian says Alejandro's Gift is "a book enthralling beyond words." That's a little much... but just a little!
Alejandro's Gift keeps on giving.

The Comeback Dog

2008-12-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

Do you still have some of your old Weekly Reader Book Club titles? I do, and wish I had kept them all. How many tens of millions of kids do you suppose have fed their growing appetite for reading with these prolific, durable books? With some happy exceptions, most are not great literature, but many are still good stories, and they are widely available at thrift stores.

Jane Resh Thomas's The Comeback Dog is a good case in point: a short, very serviceable boy and dog story, published in 1981. Virtues of thrift, responsibility and quality workmanship are affirmed without preaching. And where else these days is a kid going to hear the phrase "going like sixty!"?

The Afternoon Treehouse

2008-11-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

This is, very simply, a fabulous picture book. Multiple award-winning illustrator Robert Ingpen has given us a beautiful, detailed look at a mysterious treehouse. (And left the door open for a sequel?) This "Notable Australian Children's Book" is a treat for guys (and girls?) of all ages, and has earned a spot on our "100 Best Picture Books of all Time" list. Lothian Books, 1996.

Bored-Nothing To Do!

2008-11-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

One of Peter Spier's fifty picture books, this is a rollicking ride through a "boring" day in the life of two brothers. The fact that none of the characters are named is a plus, as every parent and child will see themselves in the story. Known for wordless books--his Noah's Ark deservedly won the Caldecott Medal thirty years ago--this book would probably have been stronger without the spare, sometimes awkward text. The title alone is enough words, and the message is priceless.

No child should miss Peter Spier.

The Reluctant Dragon

2008-10-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

"Rules always come right if you wait quietly."

25 years ago Michael Hague illustrated Kenneth Grahame's (The Wind in the Willows) The Reluctant Dragon. Even Middle School kids enjoy this fable if you read it well.

Family valued

2008-10-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

"In an age in which one can be sure of only one thing-change-the family circle gives the child an anchor of stability and security in the midst of spatial geographic bounds, technological innovations, and social upheavals. It is important that some children's literature emphasize family unity since a child usually is neither consciously aware of, nor appreciative of, the feeling of togetherness in his own family. If the young reader unfortunately is not a member of a closeknit family in his own environment, it might motivate him to value and desire strong family interrelationship when he, in his turn, is an adult and has children of his own."
Julie Carson, writing about her mother's books for children in 1968. Quoted in Hoffman, Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books.

What about you? Did hearing or reading children's books that featured strong family relationships help you to value them in your own life?

Election year reality checks: #2

2008-09-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

"Any great gift or talent or power is a burden...and you will often long to be free of it. But there is nothing to be done. If you were born with the gift, then you must serve it, and nothing in this world or out of it may stand in the way of that service, because that is why you were born and that is the Law."
Susan Cooper: The Dark is Rising, p.43

Mr. Gumpy's Outing

2008-07-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

John Burningham's 1970 award-winning story begins--"This is Mr. Gumpy." (Note: NOT Grumpy)
A Kirkus reviewer said it well: "Mr. Gumpy's little scow becomes a miniature ark when he takes two children and one each of various domestic animals for a ride... The water appears so warmly inviting, and the tea they all share so satisfying, that the promise of the first glowing page is fulfilled. Burningham's sketchy yellow lines make the sun shine on his pages, and his animals--sometimes jaunty, more often appealingly hesitant--are his alone, unostentatiously distinctive. Mr. Gumpy has a bumbling charm, and his outing is an unqualified pleasure."

Non-fiction comes of age: the Orbus Pictus & Sibert Awards

2008-06-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Frequently referred to by the unfortunately drab title of "Information Books", accurate, well-written, engaging non-fiction for children has been one of the last major genres to show up at the dance. But thanks to Jean Fritz, Russell Freedman, Milton Meltzer, James Cross Giblin, Jim Murphy, and others, that has all changed.
It's hard to say how much impact the increased recognition (and resulting sales?) of non-fiction awards has had on attracting good writers to this form, but information books no longer have to just compete with fiction for the Newbery and Caldecott Medals (the big two in children's book awards in the U.S.) There are now two major non-fiction awards annually, and many lesser ones.
In the days and months ahead, we will feature a few of these award-winners; they deserve to be widely read and enjoyed.

Jan Brett missed the boat on this one!

2008-06-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong--I like Jan Brett's illustration work a lot; we've included her Ukranian folktale, The Mitten, on our list of 100 Best Picture Books of All Time. But her On Noah's Ark is a big disappointment. How can you tell this great story without so much as mentioning the hero? The hero, as throughout the Old Testament, is God.
Three other "Noah's" are much truer to the original story/events, and are top-notch picture books as well: Arthur Geisert's Ark is rich in suggestive detail; even better is Peter Spier's Noah's Ark, a wordless 1978 Caldecott Medal winner. From cover to cover, this is a fine work.
And then there is Noah and the Rainbow by Max Bollinger, artfully handled by Aichinger. Both of these last two books include the element of judgement in very useful ways;
Good picture books can help us teach our children a healthy fear of God.

The Bee Tree

2008-06-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Maintaining her characteristically high standard of storytelling and artistry, Patricia Polacco has her own read on the words of the Psalmist- "The law of the Lord...is sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb." In her case, she "celebrates the unexpected joys-and adventure-of reading itself!"
And, I might add, of community.
Do you think this method of tracking down a honey tree has actually been used successfully?

Ernst Kreidolf (1863-1956)

2008-06-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

"What is there that children cannot imagine! They personify everything. If they have not got a doll, then a chunk of wood will do. It is therefore quite natural for flowers to have faces-and especially when nature comes to their assistance, as it does with the pansy."
Ernst Kreidolf, (autobiography) Quoted in Bettina Hurlimann, Three Centuries of Children's Books in Europe.
If you would like to see Kreidolf's pansy-children, I recently found a copy of Servants of the Spring, one of the first translations into English.

Anno's Magic Seeds

2008-06-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

If you have ever wished that math could be interesting or even fun, MEET MR. ANNO! This Japanese artist/mathematician is a treasure. For older students, Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar is a great way to introduce "factorials". Anno and his co-author son, Masaichiro, say, "Learning about numbers and how they can expand almost without limit by such simple means as are shown in this book will, we hope, give readers an idea of the remarkable order that underlies our universe, and a sense of the mystery, wonder, and excitement that can be experienced through mathematics."
That's my kind of math, and my kind of magic!
PS: Don't worry if the computations in either of these books is over your children's heads; mystery and wonder don't require mastery of facts or techniques.

And now a word from Aslan

2008-06-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

A monstrously important reminder in an election year:
"Welcome, Prince Caspian," said Aslan. "Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?"
"I--I don't think I do, Sir," said Caspian. "I'm only a kid."
"Good," said Aslan. "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not."
C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian. p200

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

2008-05-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

All across the country, this entire year, the weather has been unpredictable and difficult. But at least we haven't had to deal with storms of hamburgers, pea soup fog, and tomato tornados, like the folks in the little town of Chewandswallow. Thirty years ago, Ron Barrett's goofy illustrations lit up Judi Barrett's story of a place where "Everything that everyone ate came from the sky."

I have it on good report that four year old boys consider this book "hilarious".

SAQ #3 Where are the "deals" on used kid's books?

2008-05-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

From cheapest to not so cheap:

1. Garage sales. (But who has time to wander around burning up gas?)
2. Public library periodic sales. (Semi-annually or monthly at most libraries)
3. Thrift stores. (Independent, like Treasures Two in Shelton WA)
4. Goodwill.
5. Discount retailers. (Like Half Price Books; they usually keep a close-out cart just for kid's books)
6. Used book stores.

We'll focus on Internet sources in another post.

Where have you found good deals on kid's books?

Queen of Hearts

2008-05-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

I wish I could have sat and had a cup of coffee with Vera Cleaver. (She died in 1992.) I'd like to see how a woman who so obviously loved WORDS used them in conversation. She seems to me to be an example of the "greatest strength is also greatest weakness" principle; a stunningly crafted phrase will be followed a few lines later with a sentence so awkward that you have to read it twice. But the payoff is more than worth the effort.
Cleaver and her husband Bill are best known for the multiple award-winning Where the Lilies Bloom (1969).
Queen of Hearts finds "twelve-year-old Wilma being chosen as her willful and peppery grandmother's choice for a (live-in) companion." I won't forget Wilma Omalie Lincoln and what she learned about getting old and about growing up.
We all need to bury our plastic six-shooters at some point.
Quality = 4 out of 5; Acceptability = 4 out of 5.

Chronicles of Narnia "reloaded"

2008-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

"The Narnia Chronicles are worth reading over and over by every child and in every family. They are profoundly good books on every level--theme, plot, characters, action, language."
Gladys Hunt, Honey for a Child's Heart. p. 31

Do you agree?

SAQ #2 Do you post comments on every kid's book you read?

2008-05-13T10:07:00.001-07:00

No.

Series Books....Part 2

2008-05-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

"Series books" have been controversial from the beginning. But before going on, we need to clarify what we mean by the term. Anita Silvey offers a helpful distinction--"Perhaps the books should be termed "formula series" to distinguish them from literary works that also follow a continuing character through several volumes. Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series and Beverly Cleary's Ramona books have three-dimensional characterizations, thought-provoking themes, and high-quality writing that sets them far above the series label. [This kind of] literary series is guided by an artistic vision, while the formula series seems to be driven by commercial considerations. Quantity, rather than quality, is the key for most formula series." Anita Silvey, The Essential Guide to Children's Books and their Creators. p. 407
To the worthy "literary" series list, we would add Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising (all fantasy).
What series would you add to this list?

What about "series books"? Part 1

2008-05-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

A lot of readers don't know that many, if not most, series have been written by a stable of hack writers who crank out the formulas handed to them. (Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and others). This hundred year old pattern raises a number of issues.
"Creative writing of any kind must come naturally from well-springs within the author and it is improbable that any deliberately created collection of stories, uniform in length and treatment, but by a variety of authors, will produce writing of the first class. It may, and often does, produce adequate writing, in a recognizable set of books on which parents and other present-givers can rely if they are incapable of selecting for themselves, or unwilling to make the effort. But it rarely produces the best..." Frank Eyre, British Children's Books in the Twentieth Century, p. 73.

Amos & Boris & .....Scot

2008-05-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

Amos is William Steig's mouse who loves to sail; Boris is a whale with a great sense of timing; and Scot, well, Scot is our Second Grade teacher. He decided to read this "faintly Aesopian tale" (who writes these reviews?) right up to the resolution, and then have his students write their own conclusions (before they heard Steig's). How about this for a seven year old--
"Amos thot and thot. then a ideaya came to him so he walked down the roed. he whent to a man's hous. when the man soa him he chased him down to wher Borus wus. the man got the hole town to the Beach. And thay helped Borus into the water. The man looked at Amos. "you did a good dead today my little frend. then Amus whent happly home and so did Borus the end."
The New York Times Book Review described this multiple award-winning story as "pellucid and profound." Pellucid? An unclear word that means "clear in meaning or expression". I prefer "full of wonder, full of enterprise, and full of love for life."
As Boris would say, "Holy clams and cuttlefish!"

Park's Quest

2008-05-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

March 27, 2008-My first visit to the Washington, D. C. area includes an early morning stop at the Vietnam Memorial. As a (non-combat) Vietnam era vet, I was a little unsure of how it would go for me.
April 15, 2008- Reading Katherine Paterson's Park's Quest helps me humanize the shiny marble endless list of names; remember the men I knew who didn't return; and empathize again with my friends who came back alive, but have never been the same.
Although written at a sixth grade vocabulary level, this is definitely Young Adult material, with a few crude phrases and themes not for the under 15 crowd.
Gary Schmidt thinks Paterson (Bridge to Terebithia, etc.) is the most important writer for young people in the 20th century. What do you think?

Rembrandt's Hat

2008-05-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

When you read this story aloud (and please do), be sure to give the little bear a low-key Eyore sound. This is a fairly recent picture book that will probably be around for a long time. Our sixth graders enjoy it as much as our six year olds. Rembrandt loses his hat, which results in "a frustrating predicament, especially as a bossy bird, a bored cat, and an outspoken rabbit decide to help."
I don't know who first thought of cataloging Picture Books as "E" for Everybody; Rembrandt's Hat is one of those precious few that is.

The Silver Swan

2008-05-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

What do you get when an acclaimed British writer of Young Adult novels, namely Michael Morpurgo, teams up with a talented illustrator to produce a Picture Book, namely The Silver Swan? You get an intelligent, sensitive story of life and death in the natural world that will even hold the attention of a class of sixth-graders. Christian Birmingham's moody paintings contribute to the text.
We parents and teachers are missing a good thing in not reading more Picture Books with our older children. The Silver Swan proves why.

Beware the sausage vendors

2008-04-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

"How sad it is that writers whose books are, on the whole, worthless, produce them like sausages out of a machine, whereas the real artists among children's writers (with few exceptions) write so few."
Frank Eyre, British Children's Books in the Twentieth Century, p.150. 1971
Want to take a run at naming today's "sausage vendors"?
Or, perhaps more usefully, who do you consider to be "real artists among children's writers" today?

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

2008-04-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Three months ago, Gary D. Schmidt learned that his latest youth novel, The Wednesday Wars, had won a coveted Newbery Honor. This is the Calvin College Professor of English's second such award. He previously won it for Lizzie Bright, a finely crafted and beautifully phrased story of friendship and courage drawn against racial bigotry. Sprinkled profanity and a brave, but ultimately unsatisfying attempt to be fully human from an evolutionary worldview make this work not appropriate for our younger students. But, I ask you, where else is a kid going to learn the adjective "hugger-mugger"? (Yes, it is in the dictionary.) Quality = 5; Acceptability = varies with age of reader.

SAQ #1: What are SAQs?

2008-04-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

SAQs are "Seldom asked questions."
Francis Schaeffer used to say something along the lines of, having correct and useful answers is to no avail if people aren't asking the right questions. So, from time to time I will answer a question that no one has asked.
Thanks for asking.

What is it about Alphabet books?

2008-04-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Other than fables, legends and fairy tales, no genre or type of kid's books has been more enduring or perennially popular than Alphabet Books. There are thousands; did you know? You are probably familiar with several--perhaps Lobel's On Market Street; Graeme Base's Animalia; or Dr. Seuss's On Beyond Zebra.
Since their inception, alphabet books have fallen into one of two broad categories-those intended to teach children the letters as a prelude to reading; and those books that use the format as a way to organize information around a common theme. The latter, of course, are more sophisticated and frequently satisfying for readers of any age. A few to consider: O is For Orca features the stunning photography of Art Wolfe as he A-B-Cs his way around the Pacific Northwest; Leslie Tryon's first book, Albert's Alphabet is a wordless book. (Booklist says, "Children (and their parents) will enjoy pondering Albert's various construction techniques and marvel at his ingenuity."
One of our family's current favorites is A Mountain Alphabet, with well-crafted paintings by Andrew Kiss that invite searching for hidden letters as well as items that begin with each letter.
If you enjoy woodcuts, Mary Azarian's A Gardener's Alphabet is worth a close look.
And my favorite simple A-B-C was compiled by Seattle artist Cooper Edens. The Glorious ABC reproduces illustrations by thirty different great children's book artists of the past, including Caldecott, Greeenaway, Potter, Rackham, and Parrish.
I've been trying to resist the temptation to collect Alphabet Books; just in case I fail, what is your favorite?

Innocence is what you make it.

2008-04-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Patricia Polacco's Just Plain Fancy is chock-full of the friendly folks and animals we have come to expect from her. Her illustrations are always full of life and action, without being frantic. This story of the "plain folk" and an unexpected fancy bird is the kind of work that can help us nurture a healthy innocence in our children. More on that subject another day. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5

Too many (mediocre) books for kids!

2008-04-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Even half a century ago, an unnamed whiner in the London Times Literary Supplement proposed:
"Writers should every now and then be rigidly kept from writing for a year. If at the end of that time they have a nervous breakdown from frustration, they should be allowed to write. If, on the other hand, they are quite fit and happy, they should be put on to office work, knitting, gardening, or some other pleasant occupation, permanently and full-time. This would be fairer to children."

Baseball Saved Us

2008-04-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

The text of this picture book is barely adequate to carry the illustrations; but what illustrations they are! Dom Lee's "scratched beeswax and oil paint" pictures recreate the somber but not hopeless tone of the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II. This little book can help us and our children's children not forget. Text by Ken Mochizuki. Quality = 3; Acceptability = 5. Talking points: race relations; baseball.

Wee Gillis

2008-04-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

So, with five or six thousand new children's books published each year, why recommend one that is 80 years old? Several reasons. Who cares how old a story is if it's a good one? This one, by the author of the award winning The Story of Ferdinand, is a good one. Robert Lawson's black and white drawings carry the story well.
But what I most like about Wee Gillis is the Christian worldview lesson to be learned--the Almighty wastes nothing; He will use adversity in our lives to get us ready "to do good works, prepared in advance for us to do." Did Munro Leaf have this in mind as he wrote the story? I'm sure he didn't, but that is just the point. Common grace says that all people experience some of the grace of God, regardless of their religious convictions, simply by being created in His image and living in a world that He made and ordered. If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we will see truth everywhere. Even if the artist doesn't.
Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

How many ways can you say "compromised"?

2008-04-10T10:00:00.001-07:00

So there I was, plowing through the kid's books at Goodwill, hoping for some 99 cent treasures. Bingo. Four volumes of Beatrice Potter's Peter Rabbit stories, in like new condition. Sold. But wait, here's another, an "adaptation". What, we're going to shorten these stories, edit them, put several original pages on one page? Please! Avoid books that use these terms: adapted by; abridged; based on; re-told. (There is one class of exceptions. Since folk tales and legends were, by nature, spoken rather than written, they can frequently be re-told in contemporary grammar without compromising the story.) For the rest, for the classics, avoid adaptations. If necessary, wait to read them until your children are ready for the real thing. You, and they, won't be disappointed.
Question: Are there exceptions to my rule? (Abridgments or adaptations that are actually preferable to the originals)

Don't miss Magers and Quinn

2008-04-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

It's great to be home after two weeks of traveling (my excuse for not posting recently). My first ever visit to Washington D. C. and New York City with our school's 7th and 8th graders was amazing and blessed in every way. I'll travel with that group anytime!
After a brief 18 hours at home, my wife and I headed back to SeaTac to spend a few days with our younger daughter Kari in Minneapolis. It is still winter in Minnesota, but we thoroughly enjoyed walking each day. (Kari is trying to complete all 60 Walks Within 60 Miles of the Twin Cities--only twelve to go, before she moves back to Washington this summer!)
Which leads me back to the subject of books; in particular, kid's books. If you go to Minneapolis, don't miss Magers and Quinn-a terrific new and used bookstore on Hennepin St. That's where I picked up a couple of treasures: a fairly clean copy of G. K. Chesterton's Coloured Lands, Rock Crystal by Adalbert Stifter (more on that one another day), and an excellent collection of essays on kid-lit-crit: Only Connect. I'm hoping that the essay book will lead to a presentation on the history of children's books at our Christian teachers convention next Fall.

From "The Dragon's Grandmother"

2008-04-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

The soul is sane "but the universe is wild and full of marvels. Realism means that the world is dull and full of routine, but that the soul is sick and screaming.... In the fairy tales the cosmos goes mad; but the hero does not go mad. In the modern novels the hero is mad before the book begins, and suffers from the harsh steadiness and cruel sanity of the cosmos."
G. K. Chesterton essay, quoted in Only Connect, p.155

Genius, according to R. L. Stevenson

2008-03-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

"I am not a man of any unusual talents; I started out with very moderate abilities; my success has been due to my really remarkable industry--to developing what I had in me to the extreme limit. When a man begins to sharpen one faculty, and keeps on sharpening it with tireless perseverance, he can achieve wonders. Everybody knows it; it's a commonplace, and yet how rare it is to find anybody doing it--I mean to the uttermost as I did. What genius I had was for work!"
Quoted in The Green and Burning Tree, by Eleanor Cameron.

The Van Gogh Cafe: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

2008-03-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

"The Van Gogh Cafe brings out the best in people.." But I'm not sure it brought out the best in Cynthia Rylant. Publishers Weekly said, "Readers will share the wonder of ten-year-old Clara and her father Marc, the cafe's owner, as they witness a series of serendipitous occurrences involving stranded seagulls, aged film stars, magic muffins, lost pets, and mysterious travelers." I think it was the gluttonous seagulls and aged film star that lost me toward the end.
School Library Journal enthused- "A lovely title that's perfectly suited to all readers who can recognize the special magic of the world around them." Of course it is lovely; Rylant will not, perhaps cannot, produce anything else. It's the special magic that I'm unsure of. What do you think of this kind of "magic"? Is it similar or different from the kind of magic in, say, Narnia?
Reading level = 4.5; not recommended.

Missing May: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

2008-03-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Deservedly the winner of the 1993 Newbery Award (and many others), this is the story of a death in an unusual family, a family that God brought together out of the mutual need of its members. The book is PG on our shelves, due to mild profanity and a (futile) attempt to contact the dead. I use it, with some editing, as a middle school read-aloud. Another sensitively written story from a great writer. Reading level = 6.7; Quality = 5; Acceptability = 3.

The Relatives Came: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

2008-03-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

So who could craft an award-winning picture book out of a visit by a station wagon full of relatives from Virginia? Cynthia Rylant and illustrator Stephen Gammell could. And did. This affectionate, exuberant memoir gets a 4 for quality and a 5 for acceptability.

The Blue Hill Meadows: This Week with Cynthia Rylant

2008-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Rylant is one elegant writer--she handles words with clarity, ease, and great sensitivity; and she does it across a surprising range of reading levels. This book includes four stories of the Meadow family, drawn from the author's childhood in the Appalachian Mountains. Ellen Beier's interspersed watercolors set just the right tone. A good read-aloud for younger children.
Reading level = 4.5; Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

Thunder Cake

2008-03-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

So what do you do with a Ph.D. in art history? Write and illustrate children's picture books, of course! At least, that's what Patricia Polacco has done. Thankfully. For us. Frequently drawing on her Russian heritage and Michigan childhood, Polacco's "stories are perfectly complemented by her distinctive style of art." (Silvey, 361) Thunder Cake is classic Polacco, with Talking Points on "courage", and should, I think, have won the Caldecott Medal in 1991. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

What will be next in the Government usurpation of parents' rights?

2008-03-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

With the recent California court decision that apparently outlaws homeschooling unless the parent is a certified teacher, will the Government decide it is illegal to read to your kids unless you are a State-approved librarian?
Until that happens, check in to this site frequently, or better yet, subscribe to our free feeds, and we will do everything we can to help you find and select quality children's/young adult reading. (The advantage of subscribing being that, without having to remember to look at our blog, you will get four or five reminders each week to do the very thing you want to do more--read to and with your children!)

What should we do about Gary Paulsen?

2008-03-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Use great caution. Here's why: "At various times a teacher, field engineer, soldier, actor, director, farmer, rancher, truck driver, trapper, professional archer, migrant farm worker, singer and sailor.." Gary Paulsen is a multiple award-winning writer of youth (and adult) books. He is wildly popular, obviously talented and extremely prolific. He cannot be ignored; and yet, neither of the two most useful Christian book resources (Honey for a Child's Heart and Books Children Love) mention his work at all. Many of the themes and some of the language in Paulsen's books are just not appropriate for the twelve and under crowd. So, Gary Paulsen earns our first YELLOW FLAG AUTHOR designation, given to those writers whose work is outstanding in some respects, but parents should use great caution in guiding their children's selections. (His Newbery winner-Hatchet- is very popular among boys.)
Most recently, I read The Night the White Deer Died. The story line is so improbable at so many points, that Publishers Weekly resorted to calling it "an allegory, rooted in the chasm between actualities and pretensions." I suppose. The book typically includes themes of divorce, alcoholism, and an oblique reference to teen sex. There are a few expletives. And a standard helping of Paulsen's philosophizing-"before she learned that all things beautiful are sometimes ugly and that many ugly things are just waiting for beauty to come to them." This one is PG.

Three ways of writing for children

2008-03-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

"There are three ways of writing for children....the third way, which is the only one I could ever use myself, consists in writing a children's story because a children's story is the best art-form for something you have to say." C. S. Lewis, "On Three Ways of Writing for Children"
Aren't we grateful he did!

How to use this website

2008-03-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

1. Use the search function (upper left of screen) to find a book, an author, or even key words.
2. Use the labels feature to find Talking Points-books that are useful in talking to your kids about a lot of really important things.
3. Please leave your comments: agree, graciously disagree, or steer us all to other books, websites and resources of value.
4. In addition to posting brief comments and evaluations of books, I will be sharing thought-provoking quotes, author profiles, and other comments relating to children's books.

Christian writers--listen up!

2008-03-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

"It is not necessary to make a great show of seriousness to be serious, and the stories most likely to help children to a better understanding of life and the strangely-constructed human beings with whom they will have to share it, are often those least obviously designed to do so." Frank Eyre, British Children's Books in the Twentieth Century, p.80.
I add: Trust the Spirit; trust your art; don't preach. Tell a good story, and children will get the message, children who will never hear or listen to a sermon.

Hildilid's Night

2008-03-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Hildilid hated the night. Arnold Lobel, Caldecott Medal winning illustrator of nearly 100 books, deftly chronicles her varied attempts to rid herself of the night. This 1971 fable by Cheli Duran Ryan is another keeper. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5. Read it aloud and talk about foolishness.

When I was Young in the Mountains

2008-03-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

Richly deserving of a 1982 Caldecott Honor, Cynthia Rylant's childhood memories are beautifully illustrated by Diane Goode. In a future post, I will talk more about children's literature awards; for now, it is enough to say that, especially with the Caldecott Award for illustration, not all past award winners deserve our time and money. This one does. This would be a great read-aloud for grandparents who would, I'm sure, personalize the story. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

Stories play a vital part.

2008-03-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

"...something that everyone seriously interested in children's books has known for the past century--that the stories children read play a vital part in their total education. A part that may be at least as important as their formal studies." Frank Eyre, British Children's Books in the Twentieth Century, p. 79.

The King's Equal

2008-03-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

Katherine Paterson's spoiled rich Prince is no match for Rosamund, the plucky, pretty, poor farmer's daughter in this short fairy tale. Curtis Woodbridge's illustrations add to the story. Reading level 4.2. Quality = 4; Acceptability = 5.

The Kite Fighters

2008-02-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

"In "Seoul, Korea, in 1473, Young-sup and his older brother Kee-sup, are excited about the New Year kite competition." This great little story of sibling rivalry, family tradition, and craftsmanship is more likely to hold the interest of young readers than Linda Sue Park's Newbery Award winning A Single Shard. Why not read this aloud and make and paint your own kites? 136 pages. Reading level = 6.3; Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5.

Berenstain Bears' Nature Guide

2008-02-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

With the immodest subtitle: Everything small bears and kids need to know about the wonderful world of Nature, this is a classic example of the still largely ignored truth that there is no neutral moral ground in education (and literature). Years ago, my friend Christian Overman tipped us off to the in-your-face religious claims of this colorful, supposedly harmless book. An example: "Nature is every person, thing, and place here on Earth and out in space. Nature's the sun, the moon, the stars. It's far away planets like Venus and Mars. It's the mountains, the valleys, the shore, the sea. Nature is you! Nature is me! It's all that IS or WAS or EVER WILL BE! (Capitalization is the author's, not mine!) That, my friends, is a big time religious claim, and one that every Christian parent should jump all over. Be careful with all of the Berenstain's books; some are more obnoxious than others, but many contain attitudes and values that do not build up.

The Kingdom by the Sea

2008-02-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

From the opening sentence-"He was an old hand at air raids now."-this is the perfect lost boy meets lost dog story. The beaches of WWII England is the setting for what I think is Robert Westall's best novel. (An opinion apparently not shared by the experts.) However, due to some profanity and thematic elements, this book is PG in our library. Which provides, I believe, an opportunity: if I had a son, say ten or twelve years old, I would consider reading this story to him, editing out the profanity and discussing the scene where Harry is rescued from the danger of sexual abuse by a soldier. The incident is reported sensitively and is germane to the story, which artfully follows Harry's learning how to relate to various men in his life. Westall's style is engaging and his story compelling.

You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

2008-02-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

Fasten your seatbelts, if you expect to keep up with the whirlwind that was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Jean Fritz, where were you when I decided, like most kids, that history is boring? (You were probably in Grade School at the time.) This is one of a series of biographies that are great for discussion--short, fast-paced and interesting. If you read this one along with your children, you can talk about commitment, handling opposition, and the role of women. Unusual for a short work, the book includes brief notes, a bibliography and index. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 5. Leave me a comment if you have read other Fritz books that are not to be missed.

A House Is a House for Me

2008-02-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

I knew we were in for a treat when I had to stop and examine the illustrations on the title page--they were that good. My thanks to Edie, our two year old granddaughter, for introducing me to this gem of a book by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrations by Betty Fraser. The poetic text is clever and moves right along; but the pictures are even better--colorful, imaginative, full of interesting detail. The New York Times said (in 1978), "A brisk, even headlong rhyme plunges us into a swirling cluster of images...an overwhelming profusion of examples of houses. It is an astonishing book, one of the best of the year."

Books to heal and hurt

2008-02-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

"Great works of imaginative literature are hospitals where we heal; bad works of literature are battlefields where we get injured." Ted Hughes, in Myth and Education

Mouse Called Wolf

2008-02-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Dick King-Smith, WWII vet turned English farmer, is best known for his award-winning Babe, the Gallant Pig. (No, I haven't seen the movie.) This mouse called Wolf stars in a clever (borderline quirky) story of courage, creativity and general niceness. Jon Goodell's happy competent line drawings are just right. A good read-aloud, A Mouse Called Wolf provides Talking Points on Fate, not killing anything, and several musical terms that were new to me. Reading level = 3.9; Let's give it a 4 for both Quality and Acceptability.

Jim Ugly

2008-02-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

"Part elkhound, part something else, and a large helping of short-eared timber wolf" That's Jim Ugly. Sid Fleischman's "ideal boy-and-dog mystery" plays out in the Ol'e West. (I liked School Library Journal's suggestion to add "silent movie piano accompaniment".) The book is on about that level of sophistication; but hey, who cares about sophistication when you have a well-told story that will keep the attention of reluctant guy readers. I liked the cover art on this one. One minor alert: there is "a godforsaken desert" that can be read-over. Reading level = 5.8; Quality = 4; Acceptability = 4.

Tuck Everlasting

2008-02-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

Noted children's book editor Anita Silvey says, "Personally, if I had only one children's book to take to my desert island, it would be Tuck Everlasting." High praise, indeed, from a woman who purportedly has read 125,000 kid's books! But I don't disagree; this is one of the first youth novels I read, and remains one of my favorites. Talking Points: Is never-ending life desirable, and under what circumstances? 5 for Quality; 5 for Acceptability. Reading level = 5.9

Wolves of Willoughby Chase

2008-02-11T15:17:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to like this book. A lot. I'm always looking for great storytelling, and am partial to (almost) anything British. In print for over forty years, this is the first of eight volumes in Joan Aiken's "Wolves" Chronicles. The book has all the pieces, but never really comes together in a satisfying way. Virtually all of the disastrous events of the first half are resolved in predictable, though improbable, positive outcomes in the second. The pen and ink illustrations by Pat Marriott are, well, adequate. Not a bad book, but not a great one. (Note: there are a couple of English "dammes" near the end; easily read over.) Quality = 3; Acceptability = 4.

Gratefully Yours

2008-02-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

Make sure your kids know about the Orphan Trains. (We will loan you the PBS video that interviews many of the actual orphans in their later years.) There are several youth novels based on the Orphan Train experience (exceeded only by the countless Holocaust books).
Jane Buchanan has given us a good opportunity to talk about gratitude in this 117 page, 1997 "Pick of the Lists" (American Bookseller). Brief references to hell freezing and God vs. luck. Reading level = 5.5; Quality = 4; Acceptability = 4 out of 5.
Learn more at JaneBuchanan.com.

Just Juice

2008-02-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

What does it take to be happy? Karen Hesse thinks she knows and spells out a good bit of the answer in this 138 page story of family love and loyalty during hard times. Along the way she creates Talking Points on extreme poverty ("jelly so thin you can hardly find the purple"), illiteracy and accompanying pride, learning styles, doing Christmas modestly, and even a tastefully expressed home childbirth. Reading livel = 3.5 Quality = 5 out of 5; Acceptability = 5 out of 5.
My only criticism is with Robert Andrew Parker's illustrations. I'd like to see someone else take a run at this worthy work.

The Whipping Boy

2008-02-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

"History is alive with lunacies and injustices." So ends Sid Fleischman's 1987 Newbery Medal winning offbeat story of courage and loyalty. This one is a great example of those books that, although they don't preach or moralize or quote Scripture, are quite consistent with Christian values and worldview. To say nothing of what can happen when the heir to the throne is never spanked! 90 pages; Reading level = 4.8; A 4 for quality; 4 for acceptability.

The Black Pearl

2008-01-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

In saying that this is not one of Scott O'Dell's stronger outings, I'm going against the fact that this 96 page book won not only Newbery Honors, but the Hans Christian Anderson Award and was an ALA Notable Book and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. I give it a 4 for Quality and a 3 for Acceptability. Alert: there is one reference to "having to slit your throat" (which doesn't happen). Talking points = faith versus reason/ Roman Catholic superstition. If I'm wrong on this one, please comment.

Frindle

2008-01-29T19:04:00.000-08:00

This one's fun--just good clean fun, with a healthy dose of how words work. Andrew Clements' 105 page Christopher Award winning tale has a contemporary feel without ever sliding into the crudeness or disrespect that would have been so easy to do. Reading level 4.8. Let's give this one a 3 for Quality and a 4 for Acceptability (out of 5).

Song and Dance Man

2008-01-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

The 1989 Caldecott Medal winner, this happy picture book features Grandpa's attic "with the smell of cedar chips and old things saved", lean, effective text and colorful drawings by Stephen Gammell that are as comfortable as, well, an old soft-shoe. Quality = 4; Acceptability = 5.

My Two Uncles

2008-01-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

(You see this coming, don't you!)
I wouldn't have bothered with this piece of propaganda, except that it was on display at our public library, so I picked it up. A picture book targeted at young children, it is, very simply, a mediocre run at normalizing homosexuality. The story line is predictable, the illustrations attractive, but of average quality, and the message clear--we will all get along fine if we just accept any kind of behavior as normal. Parents! Take your kids to the library often, but please don't turn them loose, unattended, even in what should be the safe area of picture books. (You might find them curled up with one of Judith Vigna's other titles--My Big Sister Takes Drugs; I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much; She's Not my Real Mother; Saying Goodbye to Daddy; or Mommy and Me By Ourselves Again. (I'm not making these up!)

The Hundred Dresses

2008-01-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

Can someone please explain to me why this 78 page book by Eleanor Estes won the Newbery Honor in 1944? (Were all of the good writers away fighting the war?) Although frequently used, even today, by classroom teachers to address bullying, etc., the characters are one-dimensional, the theme moralistic and the artwork drab at best. Reading level = 4.5; Quality = 3; Acceptability = 5.

Books on books

2008-01-18T09:19:00.000-08:00

With so many children's and youth books being published, (and such a high percentage of those either mediocre or outright garbage) how is a parent supposed to find worthy and useful titles?
Fortunately, there is help. I probably now own about a dozen books about kids' books, with lists of recommended titles. Of those, you need to own two of them. Both have stood the test of time and are regularly updated. Written from a deliberately Christian perspective, Gladys Hunt's Honey for a Child's Heart, is terrific. The other is The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. (Don't settle for older, used editions.) I will give you more details on each in future posts.

The Jazz Man

2008-01-17T09:16:00.001-08:00

Although this Newbery Honor book from 1966 is written at the 4.5 reading level, it's PG on our shelves. On the plus side, Mary Weik's lyrical description of jazz music powerfully pairs with Ann Grifalconi's sensitive woodcuts. Only 42 pages, this book builds in intensity, but. I won't spoil it for you, but I've never cared much for this formula. A parent could choose to "read around" the references to alcoholism and making love with a saxophone. Quality = 4; Acceptability = 4

The Treasure of Plunderell Manor

2008-01-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

At our school, PG means, well, PG; you know- Parental Guidance. Here's the way it works: Some books, especially those older youth titles that deal with "issues", are well enough written that they deserve to be enjoyed. However, respecting the primary right and obligation of parents to oversee the timely education of their children, we designate these titles as PG and only check them out to parents. We will only include titles that have merit, and will usually note the particular issue or concern to watch for.
This British historical fiction work by Bruce Clements, an improbable but entertaining mystery, includes a dozen or so phrases that don't meet our usual standards. It does provide opportunities to talk about what God is like as well as religion and superstition. Quality = 5; Acceptability = 3.

Fair Weather

2008-01-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

Richard Peck's amusing slice of historical fiction rates a 5 for quality and 4 for acceptability (brief mention of "bad women" and "dancing girls". Publisher's Weekly credits "unforgettable characters, cunning dialogue and fast-paced action....captures a colorful chapter in American history." Talking points: early days of the women's rights movement. Reading level = 5.1

The Golden Key

2008-01-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

George MacDonald's fairy stories still "work", although when I read them aloud I do find myself updating the language as I go. These are not to be missed and, fortunately, are usually still in print. This is one of his best. D Roller

The Light at Tern Rock

2008-01-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

by Julia L. Sauer. Only 62 pages, this would be a good read-aloud for third to fifth graders at Christmas time. (Brief mention of the legend of the Christ Child making random visits on Christmas Eve.) Reading level: 5.4

Opening the doors on fit 2 READ

2008-01-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

The focus here is on Youth fiction, with a little biography and other non-fiction thrown in. Watch for comments and short reviews, and please, participate by leaving your own comments. I will not comment on any book I haven't read myself, but I do plan to pass along review comments from other sources as well. This blog is an extension of the growing library at Mason County Christian School in Shelton WA. It is our desire to be useful to Christian parents and students who are looking for healthy, quality books for kids. Your comments will actually help us shape and refine our literature policy. Thanks for reading along with us. David Roller, Administrator