Today, I’m happy to welcome our current intern, Hayley Schoeppler, again. You guys may recall that she did a review of Mara, Daughter of the Nile for us in March. Today, she takes a look at Hattie Ever After for us. Hattie Ever After, Kirby Larson. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2013. 240 pgs. Ages [...]
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site (see our review here) hurled Sherri Rinker’s star into the picture-book firmament. Accepted by the first publisher she submitted it to, the cheerful tale of five construction vehicles settling down for the night went on to become one of the top-selling picture books of 2011. Now the same talented team (Sherri [...]
For a parent, there’s nothing scarier than sending a high school graduate out into the world—and in fact, the world looks pretty scary these days. Not to mention confusing, even in matters that used to be taken for granted. Up until about ten years ago, for instance, it was a given that high-school grads eyeing [...]
Volunteering to judge a poetry contest is simultaneously one of the best and the worst jobs I could have asked for. The best, because it is exciting to read so many wonderful entries from so many talented poets! The worst because, well, although we really want to encourage everyone, we finally had to select winners. [...]
In an earlier post I wrote about beginners “Bibles” and Bible storybooks. That was followed up by a post on the methods and merits and of the most popular English translations, then Bibles for elementary-age readers. Today, as we’re thinking about high-school graduations and college-bound sons and daughters, I’d like to look at Bibles aimed [...]
Chasing Jupiter, by Rachel Coker. Zondervan, 2012, 221 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. Our story begins in small-town Georgia, 1969—but 16-year-old Scarlett’s world seems even smaller than the town. Since her rebellious older sister Juli is sneaking out at all hours, so much responsibility falls on Scarlett that there’s no time for friends or extra-curricular activities. [...]
Introduction There are very few modern books that I see as really significant. But I see the Kai’ Ro series–an urban interpretation of Pilgrim’s Progress–by youth minister, Judah Ben, as one of those series that may actually help change the landscape of Christian publishing. How you ask? His book brings the Christian rap movement–a kind [...]
As noted in last Tuesday’s post, I encountered Maurice Sendak when I was myself a child. My acquaintance with Russell Hoban had to wait until I had children of my own, and we met over that classic childhood dilemma: going to bed and staying there. Bedtime for Frances, published in 1960, introduced a self-willed, imaginative, [...]
We’re rounding out our Poetry Month coverage with three books for middle-graders: Gone Fishing: a Novel in Verse, by Tamera Will Wissinger, illustrated by Matthew Cordell. Houghton Mifflin, 2013, 120 pages. Age/interest level: 6-up. The night before, Sam and his dad hunted night crawlers: Grass slick/ Worms thick/ tiptoe near and grab them quick. (Tercet [...]
God is a God of words and pictures. He has revealed Himself to us through words in Scripture and visually in creation, and made us in his image to reflect his beauty both ways. Some folks love words, some are gifted in pictures, a few are talented at both, and others excel through other means [...]
I first encountered the Latin phrase Ave Atque Vale in a historical novel whose appeal (the novel’s, that is) was almost entirely nostalgic. It means “hail and farewell,” a way of saluting the past while at the same time leaving it behind. A valedictory is a farewell address, and right about now high schools and [...]
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