Three books from New Growth Press are helpful for teaching children who Jesus is and what he has done for us. The Darkest Night/The Brightest Day: A family devotional for the Easter season by Marty Machowski, illustrated by Phil Schorr. New Growth Press 2022, 64 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, Ages 8-10 Recommended For: Ages 8-10, Ages 10-12 Machowski weaves together accounts of each day of Passion Week from the three Synoptic gospels, but he doesn’t end with the empty tomb. If you flip the book over and begin at what was the back of the book, you find a narrative of the first week after Jesus rose from the…

The Lost Year uses multiple voices to narrate a sad chapter of history: Stalin’s deliberate starving of Ukraine. The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine by Katherine Marsh. Roaring Brook, 2023, 368 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 12-15 History at eye-level Matthew is confined to his New Jersey house by an overprotective government and overattentive mother, while his divorced father is reporting on the Covid crisis in Europe. After finishing his online schoolwork, Matthew has nothing to do but level up in Zelda, but his mother has other ideas. His great-grandmother GG has moved in with them, along with boxes of memorabilia…

My Brother Is Away offers an empathetic glimpse into what it’s like, from the child’s perspective, to have a brother (or sister) off in jail. *My Brother Is Away by Sara Greenwood and illustrated by Luisa Uribe. Random House Studio, 2022. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Recommended For: Ages 4-8 “My brother doesn’t live here. He’s far away.” This gentle book opens with an image much like the cover along with the words I just quoted. But where is the brother? Readers don’t know until several pages in that “any lie is easier than the truth.” The girl’s brother is in jail. He did something wrong. But…

Editor’s Note: “Literacy” begins long before a child can read for herself. Here, Gladys Hunt muses about how to take those first steps. How do you encourage preschool literacy? Originally published on the Tumblon website, June 16, 2009 Preschoolers develop an awareness and an interest in reading at different times. A child’s brain, eye-coordination and curiosity is an individual matter of maturity. One child may want to learn the alphabet at age two, and another may not be interested until age four and a half. Don’t judge intelligence by early or late maturity. Be patient and encourage. The National Institute for Literacy has developed a checklist for parents of preschoolers…

A Place for Peter is a good choice for boys who are avid readers and enjoy character-driven, literary coming-of-age stories, or families who are looking for a read-aloud that many have overlooked. A Place for Peter by Elizabeth Yates. JourneyForth, 1994. 192 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12, Ages 12-15 Recommended For: Ages 10 and up Martha observes the tense relationship between Andrew, her husband, and their son Peter. She recognizes that Peter needs challenges that will shape him into manhood. Shortly thereafter she is called away for an emergency that extends over several months, leaving Andrew in a position of relying on his son first to do what…