The Warren & the World Vol 6, Issue 21

The Warren & the World is Story Warren’s weekly newsletter, providing a round-up of our favorite things from around the web as well as a review of what was on our site over the past week. We’re glad you’re here!

Around the Web

Becoming a Better Bibliophile

Megan writes at Redeemed Reader on convincing herself that books will make her better.

I keep convincing myself that I would be a better person if I simply buy another book.

Summer Reading: A Grade-by-Grade Recommended Reading List for Kids

Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition shares a book list.

There are hundreds of thousands of books written for children. The challenge is trying to discover the best age-appropriate literature.
I am grateful for the folks at Calvary Classical School—a classical Christian school in Hampton, Virginai, who have given me permission to reproduce this list below.

The Integrated Imagination: Fantasy in the Real World

Andrew Peterson shares his essay on the integrated imagination.

My grandmother asked what kind of books I liked to read. “Fantasy novels,” I said. I probably had a Dragonlance book hidden in my backpack, next to the Walkman with the Tesla tape, the TransWorld Skateboarding mag and the Trapper Keeper with a Camaro on the front.
“Isn’t that sort of thing for girls?” she asked. She tilted her head back to better see me through her glasses.
“What do you mean? There’s nothing girly about them.”
“Hmm.” She went back to her game of solitaire while I tried to tone down my defensiveness.

7 Tips to (Actually) Complete That Bible Reading Plan You Started

Rachel writes at her website about finding the way through if you want.

Years ago, I chose a Bible reading plan at the beginning of a new year and wow- was I excited! Every word of the Scripture would be soaked up that week. Somehow, I managed to even read a little ahead of schedule. I could hardly wait for reading time to come around again. Who could be more exuberant?
And then week 2 came around. My son had an ear infection and kept everyone up all night.

Around the Warren

Nurturing Goofball Island

Glenn McCarty (author of the newly Kickstarted The Misadventured Summer of Tumbleweed Thompson) reminds us of the importance of Goofball Island.

I teach in a small rural school, where the building houses students from grades six through 12. This means on most trips across the building, I end up crossing paths with a nice cross-section of young people, ages 12-18. This sort of developmental juxtaposition provides some interesting food for thought. I see seniors trudging downstairs for early dismissal and an after-school job, their shoulders slumped from the weight of college applications, school musicals, grade-point averages, and the list goes on.

Purloining a Prince

Laura Peterson introduces us to an odd book.

Everything about The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine is odd. It’s odd that the two authors, Mark Twain and Philip Stead, never met and in fact are separated by some seventy years. It’s odd that the oddly-named title character doesn’t appear until the last third of the book. The structure is odd—the chapters bounce back and forth between the main story, notes from the authors, new stories to replace bits of the old one that are displeasing, and side stories to fill us in on what minor characters are up to.