Book Thoughts: The Circus Ship (Van Dusen)
Type: picture bookAges: 4-8Author: Chris Van Dusen This is our kind of picture book. Your kids are sure to enjoy hearing it and examining the details of the pictures!
Keenly Kept
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Book Thoughts: Avery the Dogless Orphan and the Interdimensional Stray (Pawn)
Type: chapter bookAges: 11-15Author: Prim Pawn I’ll start out by saying that the author did very well in keeping my attention! It certainly stuck in my mind during times I wasn’t reading it. The descriptions made vivid mental pictures, allowing…
Book Thoughts: The Laughing Dragon (Mahood)
Type: picture bookAges: 3-8Author: Kenneth Mahood This is definitely out of print and a bit difficult to find secondhand, but if you see it, snatch it up! It’s a great non-scary dragon story.
Book Thoughts: Mr. Biddle and the Birds (Anderson)
Type: picture bookAges: 4-8Author: Lonzo AndersonIllustrator: Adrienne Adams It’s hard to tell if it’s an extra small man or extra large birds! Either way, its message is one of perseverance and working together. The birds weren’t usually helpful nor good…
Book Thoughts: Contending for the Faith (Beeke, Boekestein)
Type: longer picture bookAges: 5+Authors: Joel R. Beeke, William BoekesteinIllustrator: Naomi Kamphuis This story is told in a matter-of-fact way and gives life to what can be an obscure part of church history, even when many of us have used…
Book Thoughts: April’s Kittens (Newberry)
Type: picture bookAges: 3-7Author: Clare Turlay Newberry This book was originally published in 1940, but very little indicates that in the story, allowing it to be understood by multiple generations. The father is a bit too short and ungracious in…
Book Thoughts: Peter in Blueberry Land (Beskow)
Type: picture bookAges: 3-8Author: Elsa Beskow What an adventure Peter has! Being shrunk down to miniature, he sees a giant (friendly) spider and blueberries the size of apples. He rides a boat made from a piece of bark and a…
Book Thoughts: The Ark (Benary-Isbert)
Type: chapter bookAges: 9-14Author: Margot Benary-Isbert *Regarding the lying: the mother is honest about something the boys found (she reported it to the police) while her kids think she should have kept it. One girl calls her old-fashioned and says…
Publishers and Subjective Revisions of Old Books
Have you ever read a book and wondered if it was properly translated into your language? Have you ever read an abridgment you weren’t satisfied with? Did you feel like something was missing? What do you think about publishers revising…
Book Thoughts: God King (Williamson)
Type: chapter bookAges: 9-14Author: Joanne Williamson *It should be noted that “God” is capitalized each time the pharaoh is mentioned as such. The time setting for this book is a period with minimal recorded history (and, subsequently, less historical fiction),…