Adventure meets fairy tale in this delightful fantasy read for teens (and their parents!). The Arrow and the Crown by Emma Fox. Independently published, 2019. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended For: Ages 12 and up A poor girl and her uncle, living on the outskirts of town, can’t afford to lose their trusty horse Tabbert… even if he was pursued by the Beast. Anna knows better, knows her uncle would never let her rescue Tabbert if it means heading into the Grünwald Forest. There’s more than a beast to fear if the stories are true; even the trees could be alive and watching. But Anna heads off in…

My Name is Tani is the hopeful true story of a young boy who finds a place and a passion in America. My Name Is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles by Tanitoluwa Adewumi with Craig Borlase (Young Reader Edition). Thomas Nelson, 2020, 195 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-14 “Miracles are all around us. All you have to do is look.” Tani Adewumi enjoyed a comfortable life in Abuja, Nigeria up until around the age of five. Then the trouble began. His father owned a print shop and his mother worked at a bank, so they were able to afford a nice…

Young children need Truth, and it’s never too early to begin. Board Books by Danielle Hitchen, illustrated by Jessica Blanchard. Baby Believer series. First Bible Basics: A counting primer An excellent God-centered, doctrinally solid, appealing introduction to the Bible and the Trinity. One God, two natures of Christ, three persons in the Trinity, four gospels…eight beatitudes, nine fruits of the spirit, and ten commandments. These are foundational truths that are worthy to be shared with little eyes who will enjoy the illustrations, ears that need to hear them, and hands that can be hard on regular paper. (Note: there is an illustration of Jesus and the apostles who wrote the…

The new graphic novel When Stars Are Scattered brings the refugee experience into sharp yet sympathetic focus. *When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohammed. Dial, 2020, 264 pages including author notes. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-15 “For me, the first years are lost. Now, in a place as crowded as this, I’m afraid we’ll never be found.” The place is Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya, now overcrowded with Somalis after the civil wars of the mid-1990s. Omar barely remembers his birthplace, but some memories are the stuff of nightmares: mainly how his father was killed in an attack on their village and how…

My friends, have you been swapping books? Last week, I got to visit three young friends of mine (and their mother). I traded wildflowers from my yard for books from my friend. #winwin I also talked her girls into reading Farmer Boy, even though it’s not about Laura. We discussed how many books there are with my name in the title (their shelves had B is for Betsy, Betsy Tacy, and Understood Betsy). And we visited the bunnies and chickens. Earlier this summer, I loaned stacks of books to young friends. I received some school books I’d loaned out last year and handed over some new ones. I picked up…