In these four tales inspired by Kipling’s Jungle Book, Mowgli the man-cub learns the backstories of his fellow creatures. *Into the Jungle: Stories for Mowgli by Katherine Rundell.  Walker Books, 2018, 231 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: All ages as a read-aloud, ages 8-12 as independent readers Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book ends with Mowgli, the man cub, returning to his own people.  But before that happened, he must have had many more adventures with his wolf-pack siblings and the other animals in the wild.  And between those adventures, wiser heads, including his wolf parents, would have had stories to tell him.  The four tales recounted here,…

It’s time to reclaim “Women’s History Month” (March). How about “Women in the Church Month,” complete with deep conversation about our shared faith, discussion about great books, and multi-generational fellowship? Let’s pursue godly, real world relationships, particularly in our Christian communities and churches. Faith, Fiction, & Fellowship Gather your daughter(s) for a book club experience like no other. No daughters at home? No problem. Gather your friends, some college girls at church, a group of teens at the high school where you teach, other women in your church…. We’ve got you covered with books for multiple age groups, discussion questions, recipes, and more! Put aside those social media “relationships” and…

A teenage Syrian refugee is the “Nowhere Boy” whose fate falls into the hands of an American 13-year-old. Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh.  Roaring Brook, 2018, 353 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-15 Ahmed’s short life was already ravaged when a bomb killed his mother and siblings in Aleppo, Syria.  But in the water passage from Turkey to Greece, he lost his father as well.  Tagging along with another refugee family to Brussels, he decides to cut loose and try to get to France.  That plan goes awry on a cold and rainy night, when he’s robbed and threatened by an unscrupulous smuggler. Desperate, he…

image from ALA website According to the ALA, “the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year.” In an age that prizes and publishes “informational texts,” (thank you, Common Core), this is not an insignificant award. The Sibert Medal committee spends just as much time–perhaps more time–as the Caldecott and Newbery committees spend in determining their award winners. Not only is excellence in text/visuals considered; accuracy is essential. A book can lose if an illustration depicts something not quite accurate or if a quotation is deemed to be false. Thus,…

Astrid, the thunderbolt of Glimmerdal, charms readers as easily as she charms those around her in this delightful middle grades novel. *Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr. Candlewick, 2018 (English language version). 320 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10Recommended For: Family read aloud, ages 6 and up“Blistering badgers!” She’s managed to sled —with speed and self confidence— clear down from Gunnvald’s house on his new invention —a steerable sled, over another mountain, and onto the ferry! Astrid, with her lion curls, is unstoppable. Unstoppable, that is, until her godfather Gunnvald has an accident and the fierce, towering Heidi shows up. Who is that fierce woman and what gives her the right to stay in Gunnvald’s house? And how dare she plan to make changes to Glimmerdal? Astrid leaps off the pages as energetically as her Scandinavian predecessor Pippi Longstocking. Astrid’s 9-year-old heart is in the…