Some might consider what I’m about to do cruel. First, I’m going to rave about The Mistmantle Chronicles. I’m going to tell you that they are everything I look for in a book. They are: a) a delight to read b) beautifully written c) shaped by a deep and rich Christian worldview And then I’m…
My father grew up on a road labeled with his family name. He lived in the first house on the road, next door was an aunt and down the road was the family farm where an uncle lived. When I was growing up we would visit my grandmother and this aunt and uncle and I…
My children have all grown up reading the children’s classic, “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,” so when it showed up on Amazon Prime as a 25-minute special we were all over it. We expected a fun, endearing story, but we got more than we bargained for. Published around 27 years ago and selling millions…
One of the beautiful aspects of Scripture that Christians can explore, especially during Holy Week and Eastertide, is the way in which it all holds together. Old Testament passages that foretell Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are remarkable — to think that the prophets and authors wrote with such detail of Jesus, centuries in…
If you are looking for a few resources for yourself or your family for Holy Week, that time between Palm Sunday (this year, April 14) and Easter Sunday (this year, April 21), check out a few of my favorites below. However you choose to observe this time, I hope it is a season of reflection…
For as long as there have been children and an interest in pets, there have been requests for pet-ownership. In my house, negotiations are ongoing for a turtle to take up permanent residence in my son’s bedroom. We’ve compromised on a handful of lively – but admittedly, not as personable – fish. Suffice it to…
I have a close cousin whose book recommendations have never steered me wrong, so when a few months ago she was singing the praises of a recent middle-grade novel, The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, I knew I had to add it to my to-read list. I finally got to it…
I’ve been aware of the work of author and illustrator Chris Raschka for some years, so when I saw that he had just published a picture book based on the New Testament letters of Paul, I knew I had to check it out. I’ve had it in my home for a few weeks, occasionally picking…
Return to the Willows by Jacqueline Kellyis a delightful and entertaining read. If I were to create a best books for laughing out loud list, this book would rank toward the top. It is Jacqueline Kelly’s sequel to Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows. The story begins with dear friends, Mole and Rat, enjoying a…
My love of stories with characters who are animals probably started with Beatrix Potter and Winnie-the-Pooh when I was too young to remember. As I got older I found Brian Jacques’s Redwall series and Watership Down and The Book of the Dun Cow and S.D. Smith’s Green Ember series and others. Towering above all these…
It is fitting that we begin on the roof. Long ago, when my parents first taught me to enjoy stories, I desired adventure and often found it on the top of our house. Yes, the somewhat dizzying height and challenge of walking upright on slanted asphalt shingles was an adventure. Yes, it felt daring to…
A small plastic bin hangs on the wall in my pantry. It’s the same kind of bin that displays travel-sized toiletries or knickknacks at the checkout registers in stores. Ours, however, is a “snack and candy” bin. It serves as a catch-all for stray pieces of Halloween candy, rejected treats from Christmas stockings, and the…
