I hope this post is superfluous. Surely everyone has discovered and enjoyed and scoured every page of every book in the I Spy series. (photographs by Walter Wick) Scholastic has been releasing new additions to the series for decades. But then, sometimes we miss things. Hence the value of Story Warren’s Handy Resource Wednesdays. Now…
As I write, the temperatures in Virginia rival the bitter winters of the far north. My children and I just finished reading a book about a hero of those brutal, wintry regions. Canada values the feat of courage and fortitude displayed by one of her pioneers so much that a statue stands on the bank…
I’m genuinely thrilled to share this brief book review with you today. My wife and I are big fans of Sally and Sarah Clarkson, and they are also very dear friends who mean so much to us. We love the Clarksons. Sarah was our first Clarkson friend, a kindred spirit in so many things. Clay…
One of the things I love about discovering a new favorite contemporary author is the gift of waiting with eager anticipation for their next book to come out. I’ve been enjoying that anticipation over the past few months since I heard about the October publication date for Gary D. Schmidt’s new book, Orbiting Jupiter. I…
Anyone remember Beverly Cleary’s celebrated series of Ramona novels? The eight books centering on the childhood of one Ramona Quimby captured my attention early. I remember reading about Ramona’s sister Beezus arguing with her mother as to whether or not they’d made a wrong turn in the car. I remember how Ramona squeezed an entire…
I always like to be on the lookout for imaginative new picture books. One day, I read a review of a book that sounded perfect for Story Warren readers. So, I went and got it. The end. A simple enough story, right? All of the sentences in the book I found, Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s One…
The opening line of the classic, Little Women, is famous: “’Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo.” But, of course, Mother did not let them down and presents were given–copies of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Each of the March girls go on with their own pilgrimage to adulthood throughout the rest of that novel…
As you know, we are BIG fans of the ladies from Rain for Roots. Great news! Their new album of Advent songs is out and ready to be enjoyed for the coming season and beyond. The record is Waiting Songs, and it’s excellent. Here’s a song for your Friday from the new album: Isaiah 11….
When I married my husband, I married a single dad of two young children. One of my earliest memories of our time together was observing a weekly routine that he had with seven-year-old Ashley. Every Sunday evening, they had a standing date for David to paint her fingernails. Hair still wet from the shower and…
You’ve got to hand it to Andrew Peterson: The man isn’t afraid to take a risk. I first saw Peterson perform at Wheaton College’s Edman Chapel, a venue we fondly termed The Big Blue Cave. Few musicians seemed to be able to handle its cavernous acoustics, but I remember how Peterson filled the venue with…
Usually Fridays at Story Warren are reserved for “shorts” — fun little stories and poems to share with the young ones in your life. In the spirit of masquerades, today’s Friday post is a Wednesday post (a recommended resource) wearing a disguise. If you’re a guest this year at our annual October 31st bonfire, you…
Growing up in a family of girls, the ways of boys were always a bit of a mystery for me. Since raising three of my own, I understand them more, but this is also in part thanks to Ralph Moody. Otherwise known as “Little Britches,” Ralph enlightened me considerably about a boy’s thirst for danger,…
