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Mañanaland by Pam Muños Ryan
Mañanaland presents a dreamlike Latin-American landscape and a young boy taking a giant step toward adulthood. Mañanaland by Pam Muños Ryan. Scholastic, 2020, 247 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Somewhere in the Americas, many years after one-upon-a-time and long before happily-ever-after, a boy climbed the cobbled steps of an arched bridge in the tiny village of Santa Maria, in the country of the same name. The boy is Maximiliano Cordoba, or Max, the only son of a stone mason who has inherited his father’s and grandfather’s talent for (and love for) soccer. He’s secure in his small village with good friends and a loving…
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The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin
The Brendan Voyage is the real life adventure story of a man who tried to recreate a Medieval legend: sailing across the North Atlantic from Ireland to America in a small leather boat. The Brendan Voyage: Sailing to America in a Leather Boat to Prove the Legend of the Irish Sailor Saints by Tim Severin. Modern Library, 2000 (first published 1978). Reading Level: Adult, ages 16 and up Recommended For: Ages 12 and up When I was in school, we learned that “Columbus discovered America.” But most scholars now are pretty sure Vikings reached the Americas before Columbus… and some of the Irish. The Brendan Voyage is about one man’s…
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Accept Me by Marion Ueckermann
Searching For Roots Accept Me by Marion Ueckermann is a most delightful contemporary Christian novel and part of the Chapel Cove Romance series. It can be read as a stand-alone but I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces. Marion Ueckermann always writes novels that warm and soothe the soul. She draws characters that always move […]
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I am NOT a Reader
I am not a reader. I am not a writer, despite childhood ambition. I am not a knitter, though I used to claim that identity. I am not a homeschooler, a baker, or a pianist. (There are other things I could wish I were: a gardener, a runner…but I am not.) A recent severe identity crisis challenged these assumptions with a sobering reminder that my overwhelming sense of hopeless failure was a manifestation of one recurrent habit: claiming too many nouns instead of verbs. What difference does that make? If I say that “I am a reader” I tend to feel guilty if I am not reading the right books…
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The Animals At Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey
A Marvellous Debut The Animals At Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey is an epic historical read in the gothic tradition. I found it a curious blend of Jane Eyre and Rebecca as passions consumed various inhabitants. Lockwood Manor was reminiscent of Mandalay as the house took on a personality all of its own. In true […]
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When I Meet You by Olivia Newport
Roots When I Meet You by Olivia Newport is a fascinating historical and contemporary novel that had me enthralled from the start. It is the third book in the Tree Of Life series but can be read as a stand-alone. The novel is set in 1909 and present day. There is a mystery to solve […]
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Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker
“The Real World” poses a creative challenge to a pair of enterprising middle-graders with conflicting motives. Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker. HarperCollins, 2020, 308 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 One little event can upend an entire summer, although in Ware’s case, it’s a pretty big event. He was looking forward to reading about knights and chivalry and daydreaming around the pool at his grandma’s retirement village. But on the first day of summer vacation she has a stroke, meaning weeks of rehab for her. For Ware, it means the kids’ summer program at the community center (a.k.a. “Rec”). He’d rather do…
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The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick
Parallel Lives The Forgotten Sister by Nicola Cornick is a marvellous time-slip novel that has its roots in fact. The story has two time periods – 1550’s and present day. Actual historical figures are within the tale including Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. They were both familiar to me as a historian. The novel is […]
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Anchored By Death by Catherine Finger
Thrilling Anchored By Death by Catherine Finger is a contemporary Christian suspense thriller and the third book in the Jo Oliver series, which I am loving. This novel sees Jo Oliver tracking down a serial killer. As the bodies mount up, so do the clues which the police put together. The book is about the […]
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The Real Beatrix Potter by Nadia Cohen
The Peter Rabbit Lady The Real Beatrix Potter by Nadia Cohen is a fascinating insight into one of the world’s best known and loved children’s author. Beatrix Potter was so much more than just a famous author. She was a woman ahead of her time, caring little for the fashionable drawing rooms of Kensington and […]
