The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. HarperCollins, 2012, 304 pages. Age/interest level: 8-up. Last week, a little bluebird appeared in our wood stove. The stove was not fired up, of course: at this time of year it’s an iron box about 18” square with a sooty floor and a glass door. My husband [...]
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Thinking Different(ly)
I’m way behind on my Saturday reviews, so it’s time to catch up—with a Tuesday review tagging off of last Friday’s Steve Jobs post. Jobs was known more for his insights than his inventions—he never really invented anything, but he could see how new technology could be adapted to new uses. “Think Different” was one [...]
Steve Jobs: American success story?
Steve Jobs: Thinking Differently, by Patricia Lakin. Aladdin (Simon & Shuster), 2012, Age/interest level: 10-14. Who Was Steve Jobs? by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso, illustrated by John O’Brien. Grosset & Dunlap, 2012, 105 pages. Age/interest level: 8-12. “I started thinking that maybe Thomas Edison did a lot more to improve the world than Karl [...]
Bunnies For Hire
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire! by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Schwartz & Wade, 2012, 248 pages. Age/interest level: 8-12. Madeline is a very resourceful young lady, especially for going-on-eleven, but even she is flummoxed when her parents are kidnapped by what appears to be a [...]
Huddled Masses and Deadly Desperados
City of Orphans, by Avi. Atheneum, 2011, 350 pages. Ages 10-14. New York, 1893: “Look at someone on the street and you may never see that person again—ever. Then you bump into a stranger and your whole changes—forever.” Hawking newspapers on the street is no way to make a living, especially when all you make [...]
Bad Trips
Summer is the traditional time for road trips, and road-trip novels traditionally roll out in the spring. A title from this year and one from last have some interesting “faith” connections, but it’s unclear what faith is getting connected . . . You Don’t Know About Me, by Brian Mehl. Delacorte, 2011, 404 pages. Age/interest [...]
To The Avengers…and Beyond!
COMICS: Guy Kryptonite? Why do guys like comics so much? Especially the super-hero variety? It’s an enigma I spent quite a lot of energy trying to unravel last week. Lord willing, I’ll polish off my World Magazine review of The Avengers tonight. (My guess is that it may appear online at worldmag.com before the weekend, [...]
Cowboys and Other Guy Stuff: Poems by David Harrison
The title is a misnomer; poetry is stuff for girls, too—and humans in general. In spite of my lazy attitude toward it, poetry is the highly personal act of touching the heart of human experience in a way that communicates to others like nothing else. Not to all others, of course. But to enough. With [...]
Not-So-Secret Gardens for Kids
This week kicks off a fun week here at Redeemedreader: Poetry Week. April is National Poetry Month, after all, and there are some great poetry books out there for kids. Before we get too lost in reverie, though, I want to use today’s post to finish up a few more gardening book recommendations. Also, be [...]
How Our Gardens Grow
Planting a garden is an exercise in faith—the assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Young children are fascinated with the phenomenon of planting a seed and watching a tiny green sprout thrust itself above the soil—the bowed necks of pole-bean sprouts making their first shy appearance still thrills me. [...]
Podcast 14: American Girls, Dangers and Delights
What are the dangers and delights of the American Girls series of books? I gave you guys an intro to this subject in an American Girls post last week. Today, I discuss the Kirsten series with my oldest daughter. So far, we have read the first book in the series, Meet Kirsten, and a short [...]
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Picture Books on Death (You’ll Never See)
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American Girls
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Interview with Avengers Illustrator, Sergio Cariello
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Emily: I appreciate these suggestions very much. I actua...
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A Children’s Guide to Pilgrim’s Progress
