-
When I’m With You by Jennifer Rodewald
Believe In Me When I’m With You by Jennifer Rodewald is a charming contemporary Christian novel. It is the third book in the Big Prairie Romance series but can be read as a stand-alone. We all have a past. We need to face our pasts before we can move forward into our futures. Sometimes our […]
-
The Lost Children by Shirley Dickson
Heart Wrenching The Lost Children by Shirley Dickson is a heart wrenching historical novel set in the North East of England mainly during World War II. The novel shows the bond of twins – a boy and a girl born in 1935. Theirs is a story of searching to belong as they are evacuated in […]
-
*Beyonders Trilogy
Jason, an ordinary American boy, is summoned into a world that needs a hero. Original, highly imaginative, full of action and characters who are ready to give their lives for a worthy cause. The Beyonders Trilogy by Brandon Mull. Aladdin Books. (paperback) A World Without HeroesSeeds of RebellionChasing the Prophecy Reading Level: Teen/YA, Ages 12-15 Recommended For: Teen/YA, Ages 12-15 Jason is an ordinary American kid who is swallowed by a hippopotamus and pulled into Lyrian, a world that needs a hero. Before long he is sent on a quest to find the scattered secret syllables of a magic word that will destroy the evil wizard Maldor. Others who have…
-
The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke
He Makes A Way The Medallion by Cathy Gohlke is a powerful Christian historical novel set in Nazi occupied Warsaw during WWII. Cathy Gohlke has woven a fictional tale around factual events. Real figures such as Dr Korczak and Irena Sendler put in an appearance in this heart wrenching tale. The fact that we know […]
-
Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke
Choose Life Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke is a marvellous Christian historical novel that will consume your thoughts and your every waking moment. At the heart of the novel are secrets and choice. We all must choose when we stand at crossroads in life. We always have the choice to do the right thing. […]
-
PB Roundup: Your Place in the Universe, If You Came to Earth, and I Talk Like a River
Three critically-acclaimed picture books tackle big subjects like the size of the universe, the scope of humanity, and the power of words. Your Place in the Universe by Jason Chin. Holiday House (Neal Porter Books), 2020, 38 pages. Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 6-12 How big is BIG? Well, in comparison with this book, the average eight-year-old is five times taller. But then, an ostrich, the tallest bird in the world, is twice as tall as an eight-year-old. And a giraffe is twice as tall as an ostrich, but dwarfs in comparison with a redwood tree, which in turn can’t hold a candle to the world’s…
-
Dogwood Plantation by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Trust And Hope Dogwood Plantation by Carrie Fancett Pagels is a fascinating Christian historical novel set in the South in 1814. There are factual details around which the author has woven her tale. America was at war with the British. A character has been invalid out of the navy, retaining a bad leg. He reminds […]
-
Pieces Of Granite by Brenda Anderson
In God’s Arms Pieces Of Granite by Brenda Anderson is a most delightful Christian contemporary novel about families. It is part of the Coming Home and the Mosaic Collection series. I originally read Pieces Of Granite in 2014 and was blown away by it. Reading it again in 2020 I found it equally powerful. God […]
-
Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar
Are you brave enough to rescue a bully from a hazardous substance, at your own risk? A thought-provoking middle grades read from the author of Holes. Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar. Delacorte, 2015. 208 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended For: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 “Fuzzy mud” is a mud that gets, well, fuzzy as potentially deadly microbes multiply exponentially. If the mud remains uncontained, the results will be catastrophic. And it’s been doing its little multiplying act unnoticed by the neighboring town…. Until two middle school kids flee into the woods in a desperate attempt to escape a big-time bully. When anyone is fleeing into uncharted wilderness…
-
The Mutant Mushroom Takeover by Summer Rachel Short
Bioluminescent fungi, a strange death, and zombie-like side effects threaten Maggie and Nate’s small town. Can they solve the mystery in time to save the town? The Mutant Mushroom Takeover (A Maggie and Nate Mystery**) by Summer Rachel Short. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020. 256 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended For: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Magnolia Stone is going to win the Vitaccino Junior Naturalist Merit Award. She has to; she’ll do anything to get her dad back from his far away job in Yellowstone National Park. But her definite-award-winning-potential photograph of a mutant insect leads her and Nate, rising YouTube star and detector…
