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A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson
Absolutely Charming A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson is an absolutely charming contemporary Christian festive tale that will warm your heart. Every year I look forward to Melody Carlson’s Christmas offering, they are always beautiful and heart-warming. All the characters are well drawn and realistic. They are an eclectic mix from a four year […]
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The Darlings Of The Asylum by Noel O’Reilly
Atmospheric The Darlings Of The Asylum by Noel O’Reilly is a compulsive historical novel that consumed me from the start. Written in the first person enables the reader to become intimately acquainted with the lead character. We empathise with her feelings of frustration and applaud her bravery and guts. The novel has two different time […]
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A Child For The Reich by Andie Newton
Heart Breaking A Child For The Reich by Andie Newton is a heartbreaking historical tale that consumed me from the start. The story is fiction but based on fact. The Nazis stole upwards of 200,000 children from Nazi occupied territories and assimilated them into Germany as they had them adopted into Nazi families. It is […]
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A Hope & A Prayer by Julie Lessman
Powerful A Hope And A Prayer by Julie Lessman is a powerful Christian historical novel with lessons for us all. The action is set towards the end of World War II in Europe and then moves to post war America as we follow lives adjusting to peacetime. Julie Lessman doesn’t write cosy Christian novels. She […]
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Season Of Memories by Jennifer Rodewald
Of Mercy And Grace And Love Season Of Memories by Jennifer Rodewald is the most charming Christian novel and the nineth book in the Murphy Brothers series. It can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading the previous books first for maximum enjoyment. This book concentrates on the Murphy brothers parents who have […]
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Hound On A Scrounge by Maria Bucci
Absolutely Delightful Hound On A Scrounge by Maria Bucci is an absolutely delightful book for the under fives and the young at heart. We join Buddy, a hound, as he sits under the table waiting for titbits. The book is very cleverly done as Buddy draws the reader into his world. He interacts with the […]
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Peace Is a Chain Reaction by Tanya Lee Stone
Peace Is a Chain Reaction tells a little-known story of World War II and how former enemies of opposite sides of an ocean came together in forgiveness. Peace Is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together by Tanya Lee Stone. Candlewick, 2022, 143 pages plus notes, index, and bibliography. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-15 War Although born in California, and thus an American citizen, Yuzura Takeshita had spent some of his childhood in Japan because his parents had wanted him to appreciate his ethnic heritage. He appreciated it so much that he returned to America with…
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Haven: A Small Cat’s Big Adventure by Megan Wagner Lloyd
Haven: A Small Cat’s Big Adventure is a realistic but heartwarming animal tale of loyalty and friendship. Haven: A Small Cat’s Big Adventure by Megan Wagner Lloyd. Candlewick, 2022, 129 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: Ages 4-8 as a read-aloud, 7-10 for independent readers Home threatened If the kitten had not found a home with Ma Millie, she would have perished of cold or hunger or predators in the wild. But a single “mew” at the door brought rescue from “loneliness, fear, and the cold, unfriendly forest.” The elderly lady and the kitten took to each other right away, leaving Haven with a name and a…
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Once Upon A Winter Wonderland by Various
Delightful Once Upon A Winter Wonderland is a delightful collection of four novellas by four Christian authors. Each story deals with the same time period and setting but is told through different eyes. Each story perfectly complements the others. This is aa perfectly charming book to read in the run up to the festive season. […]
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Christmas Book Flood: A Reflection
This will be my family’s 7th year of enjoying one of our favorite bookish Christmas traditions: the Icelandic Christmas Book Flood, or Jólabókaflóðið (“Jolabokaflod”). We have no Icelandic heritage, just a shared love of books (and chocolate!). As I wrote in 2018, this is a lovely, simple tradition that my family is able to keep in the midst of the hustle and bustle this time of year: I give my children each a book along with some chocolate on Christmas Eve. They sleep under the tree and are allowed to stay up as late as they want with their new books and treats. No one has to brush their teeth.…
