Children believe in the impossible. Stories with heroes who face hardship, setbacks, and even defeat win their instant sympathy and when those heroes overcome, succeed and rise to fame and fortune, the child, who has been the hero’s fan from the start, is strengthened in the conviction that anything can happen if you try. I…
One of the most wonderful gifts I was ever given as a child was a box full of long-play vinyl records of dozens of the world’s favorite fairy tales. I cannot possibly estimate the number of hours they spun out perils and predicaments, fairies and fiends, wishes and wonders to me, but I am certain…
If you are a young boy, or know any, you know that you do not wake up on a Saturday morning with no intentions for the day. This is especially true if you are like Henry and have been concocting schemes to go where no one else has been. You don’t know what you will…
I just finished reading a family favorite to my youngest son: Men of Iron by Howard Pyle. It’s an old book about an even older time, but stirs the soul of most any boy with the usual craving for rough and tumble adventure, breathtaking danger, and contests of brute strength. It also happens to be…
Are you looking for a book for your young people to have along on vacation, or just to spend the lazy summer days enjoying, but discouraged by the YA offerings? Here are a couple I’ve read recently, one for boys, one for girls, but of course both perfectly acceptable for either. One boring weekend when…
What is your opinion of a 44-year-old mother who reads a children’s novel and stays up till 1:00 a.m. to finish it? And what if she reads it again 15 years later and finds it just as entertaining as the first time? Does this reflect immaturity on her taste in literature, or could it be…
An incalculably valuable benefit of reading for young children is when they become acquainted with people and places they are not exposed to in their own small world. I believe this was one of the intrigues of stories to me as a child — meeting a little girl who lived on a mountain in a…
Remember the first time you held your baby? Remember the overwhelming realization of your responsibility for this life? If changing diapers and teaching baseball were all there is to parenting, we wouldn’t tremble. Feed, clothe, and shelter—no problem, but direct their moral development, set their heart toward God, this is a terrifying responsibility. Yet, as…
What do you do when spring’s precocious mood throws winter back in your face? You take a trip to another planet! Well, you do if you are me – You pick up a children’s book you’ve never read and go away for a few hours. In this case, my destination was The Wonderful Flight to the…
The search for excellent books is a lifelong hobby. More books are being published today than ever before, but discovering the gems is nearly as tricky as, well, finding gems is. One tip I find useful is to collect good authors. When we find a great book, the next thing we crave is something else…
A lot of important things went by the wayside the day I read this book. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, by Daniel James Brown, is a gripping account that reads like suspense fiction. Maybe it is because I have two teenaged boys…
I heard a Viet Nam soldier interviewed this morning. His family has never heard him speak of his days in that ghastly battle zone, though he has several medals marking his service there. In a choked voice, he described the nightmare that has been with him ever since: The surprised, point-blank shooting of an enemy,…
