David Macaulay again turns his drafting ability and clear prose on a massive engineering project, and this time it’s personal. Crossing in Time: Steam Engines, Fast Ships, and a Journey to the New World by David Macaulay.  Roaring Brook, 2019, 126 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-up Before David Macaulay developed a fascination with engineering and building and The Way Things Work, he was a little boy growing up in England.  In 1957, his father accepted a job in America, which meant the whole family would be moving to New Jersey.  “All I knew about America was cowboys on horseback . . . and the…

Anachronistic values mar this otherwise compelling account of the short career of Joan of Arc. Voices: the Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliot.  HMH, 2019, 194 pages Reading Level: Teen, 12-15 Recommended for: ages 13-up She was tried as a heretic (and possible witch) by a French court under English supervision.  In the “Trial of Condemnation” of 1433, she testified in her own defense.  A later “Trial of Nullification” heard testimony from her village priest, her childhood acquaintances and family members, and declared her innocent.  By then, of course, she was long dead, burned at the stake and passed into legend.  The “voices” of her final hours…

Lovely War is a satisfying romance that will leave readers with much to think about. Lovely War by Julie Berry.  Viking, 2019, 451 pages. Reading Level: Teen, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 15-up There’s a war going on and a spirit of grim purpose in the air. But everyone in the swank hotel lobby pauses to watch an impossibly handsome, muscular man and a breathtakingly beautiful woman check in.  An old bellhop escorts them to their room, but instead of leaving them to the delights of amour, he drops his disguise and then drops them into the bonds of a golden net.  For the bellhop is actually Hephastion, god of…

Have you seen the newest movie version of The Pilgrim’s Progress? Did you know there are other movie versions? Have you read the original book? What about one of the {many} retellings? Odds are good that, even if you have never seen a movie version, or read a literary version, you are familiar with the idea of The Pilgrim’s Progress. Why? ~image from Wikipedia Simply put, The Pilgrim’s Progress is one of the most recognizable, most translated, most sold works in the English language. And that’s significant given that Shakespeare also wrote in the English language. In fact, The Pilgrim’s Progress has never been out of print since it was…