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…

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…

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…

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…

Heaven and Nature Sing is a collection of advent essays on the curse that sin imposed on nature and the grace that allows us to enjoy God’s glory while we anticipate our Redeemer’s return. *Heaven and Nature Sing by Hannah Anderson. B&H Publishing, 2022. 166 pages. Reading Level: Teen/Adult Ages 16 and up Recommended For: Ages 16 and up Using a pen dipped in nature, blended with home, and saturated with Scripture, Anderson reflects on the longing we share with creation for Christ to return and make all things new. While we typically use advent to prepare our hearts to remember Christ’s incarnation and celebrate the fulfillment of God’s Old…

Editor’s Note: November is National Picture Book Month! Participants in our “Honey for a Child’s Heart Read-Along” are considering that topic in chapters 13 and 14. Gladys Hunt mused further about picture books in a series of blog posts, exclusively published here. Some thoughts about picture books Originally published on the Tumblon website, July 26, 2009 We take for granted the amazing combination of words and pictures in story books for children. Words alone can create all sorts of delight; they can help you see and feel and imagine. Words tell stories and help us understand. Words rightly used are power. Swedish poet, Helga Henschen, said it beautifully when she…