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My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
Extraordinary Bravery My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor is a comprehensive historical novel that will educate you as you read. The novel is set in occupied Rome in 1943. It has its’ roots in fact but is a work of fiction set around real life personalities. There are two alternating time periods – Rome 1943 […]
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Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah
Wow – Top Notch Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah is a totally gripping contemporary crime drama that consumed me from the start. Kia Abdullah is a marvelous author whose novels are always top notch. She writes gritty fiction that is always heart breaking. In Those People Next Door we witness, with horror, the […]
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Just The Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica
Wow – Jaw Dropping! Just The Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica is a marvellous psychological suspense that totally consumed me. The action is set in suburbia and seen through two different points of view, one on either side of the situation. The reader is completely immersed in the action. We believe what we are being […]
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The Flame Tree by Siobhan Daiko
Extraordinary Bravery The Flame Tree by Siobhan Daiko is a fascinating historical novel and part of the Hong Kong Collection. The story is fictional but has its roots in fact. It is set in 1939 and into the World War II years in Hong Kong. I was educated as I read about the brave people […]
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Your Place Or Mine? by Portia MacIntosh
Delightfully Fun Your Place Or Mine? by Portia MacIntosh is a delightful contemporary offering that made me smile from the start. I always adore Portia MacIntosh’s novels. They are very charming and make me feel good. Your Place Or Mine? is wonderfully light-hearted and highly amusing. I found myself chortling out loud at times. It […]
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Out For Revenge by Tony Bassett
Fast Paced & Exciting Out For Revenge by Tony Bassett is an exciting contemporary crime novel that intrigued me from the start. It is the fourth book in the DCI Roscoe and DS Roy series but can be read as a stand-alone. This is a novel that requires you to remain on high alert as […]
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Poetry on Earwigs (and Also Goats With Beaks)
My husband still teases me about my first poem, which has hitherto never been published. There once was a goatWho lived in a boatHe went to town every week, And to all he would not speak.But the funniest thing about himWas that he had a beak. By Megan E. VanderHart, age 8 (Taking a bow.) I have always preferred composing unexpected endings. Thankfully we have more talented young writers among our readers. We received close to one hundred entries and enjoyed the challenge of deciding which ones to include in our next quarterly (the deadline to join the Golden Key Fellowship to receive your copy is Saturday the 21st). I’m…
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Newbery Buzz #2: The Door of No Return
Back for our second buzz, Janie and Betsy talk over a troubling but moving verse novel. Out of Africa Janie: Kwame Alexander scored a gold medal in 2015 with The Crossover, a verse novel about a tight-knit black family. We liked The Crossover a lot (see our review). Alexander’s latest verse novel is generating a lot of speculation that this may be his year again. The Door of No Return has appeared on almost every “Best of” list there is and I gave it high (though qualified) praise in my Redeemed Reader review. Before we talk about it,here’s the synopsis: Kofi, the protagonist, enjoys the love of his family and…
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Sunrise With The Silver Surfers by Maddie Please
Delightfully Fun Sunrise With The Silver Surfers by Maddie Please is a delightfully fun contemporary novel that will make you smile as you read of sun-filled days. The novel is set in Australia. Maddie Please has some wonderfully descriptive passages enabling the reader to ‘see’ the landscape and ‘feel’ the heat. As with life, it […]
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Gladys Hunt on Metaphor and Imagination
Editor’s Note: Continuing this month’s Honey for a Child’s Heart Read-Along, we’re thinking further about value of literary fantasy. A Metaphor Says This is Like That Originally published on the Tumblon website, May 26, 2009 The fact that Stuart Little is a mouse rather than a boy is not a problem for children. They love him for his essence, his integrity and fortitude. When we say that Stuart is “just best kind of mouse” we are not talking about his clothes or his grades. Jane Stephens, a teacher of English at UNC. A mother called in on a talk show, when I was discussing children’s literature, to tell me that…
