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One Last Secret by Adele Parkes
Coming 8th December 2022 One Last Secret by Adele Parks is due out 8th December. Please see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDpnnZeqU08 Pre-order your copy today. It’s a great read. #OneLastSecret by @adeleparks is publishing in paperback with @HQStories on 8th December. Would you kill to keep it? Pre-order now: https://amzn.to/3GpePI8
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The King of Christmas by Todd R. Hains and illustrated by Natasha Kennedy
The King of Christmas reminds young children where to look for Jesus, just as the wise men looked for Him at that first Christmas. The King of Christmas: All God’s Children Search for Jesus by Todd R. Hains and illustrated by Natasha Kennedy. Lexham Press, 2022, 44 pages. Reading Level: Picture books, ages 4-8 Recommended for: Ages 4-8 Where is the King of Christmas? The wise men from the East are searching for Him, asking where they might find him. The King isn’t in the natural world (water, farms, etc.). He isn’t amongst the political and religious leaders. He’s not with the soldiers. No, He is in a manger. And…
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The Highland Girls At War by Helen Yendall
Pulling Together The Highland Girls At War by Helen Yendall is a simply marvellous historical novel that gripped me from the start. The action surrounds the lumberjills who were very much a part of the war effort during World War II. These are hard working young women who cut down and suppled the timber needed. […]
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Dastardly Deeds At St Brides by Debbie Young
Entertaining Dastardly Deeds At St Brides by Debbie Young is a highly entertaining contemporary cosy mystery that amused me from the start. It is the first book in the Gemma Lamb series. All the action is set at St Brides, a girls boarding school. No men are officially allowed, so all the staff are called […]
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Whispers Through Time by Joni Scott
A Brave New World Whispers Through Time by Joni Scott is a fascinating dual timeline novel that grabs the reader’s attention from the start. The novel is a fictional tale woven around the author’s grandmother’s early life. It began as research with Ancestry, just names and dates. The author wanted to fill in the bare […]
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Finding Friends On Beamer Street by Sheila Riley
With Love And Laughter Finding Friends On Beamer Street by Sheila Riley is a wonderful historical novel set in Liverpool in 1921. The leading lady is admirable and likable. Fresh off the boat from Ireland, she possesses a strength of character and has a will to succeed. She will stand her ground against anyone. Dreams […]
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The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
The Door of No Return uses beautifully modulated verse to communicate the humanity of the Ashanti people and the horrors of the African slave trade. The Door of No Return by Kwami Alexander. Little, Brown, 2022, 398 pages Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 12-15 The Life Before Kofi Offin is not a champion wrestler like his brother Kwasi, but he can swim like a fish. As grandson of the village storyteller and son of its head gold digger, he holds some status in his Ashanti village. His cousin Kofi thinks nothing of that—only a week older, but bigger and stronger, he’s the bane of younger Kofi’s…
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Fairy Tales and Folk Tales: A Picture Book List
Google the difference between fairy tales and folk tales (or is it folktales?), and you’ll find some answers. For instance, folk tales are part of the oral tradition (“Little Red Riding Hood”) whereas fairy tales are ascribed to particular authors (such as Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”). Another difference is that, usually, folk tales feature ordinary folk and are for ordinary folk. Fairy tales often feature fairies (or other magical elements) and target a more literary or aristocratic audience. But it’s hard to determine a precise line, particularly if we start adding in myths, legends, and the like. So those answers you google may, or may not, agree with…
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Family Advent Devotional List
Do you have a favorite family Advent tradition? Perhaps your family does a Jesse Tree together. Or maybe you have an Advent wreath on your dining room table. Do you wait until the day after Thanksgiving before turning on Christmas music? We have a great lineup of recommended family Advent devotional guides for you, no matter what ages your kids are. If you’ve never read an Advent family devotional together before, this is a good year to start! If you have, perhaps you’ll find a new resource below that can expand on an existing tradition. If you are a classroom or Sunday school teacher, you can adapt several of these…
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The Light Before Christmas by Marty Machowski
The Light Before Christmas is a thoughtful family Advent devotional that focuses on Christ as the light of the world. The Light Before Christmas by Marty Machowski. New Growth Press, 2022. 96 pages. Recommended for: All ages, particularly ages 4-12. This devotional guide uses the Advent wreath and its four candles as the structure for looking ahead to Christ’s birth. But Machowski doesn’t stay with the traditional one-word references for each week (such as “joy” or “hope”). The Light Before Christmas, as you might expect, zeroes in on light as a metaphor and sign of Christ. A frame tale about Mia and her blind grandmother preparing for Christmas fleshes out…