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Book Thoughts: Elephants Are Not Birds (St. Clair)

Elephants Are Not Birds (St. Clair) | keenlykept.com

Type: picture bookAges: 4+Author: Ashley St. ClairIllustrator: Steliyana Doneva “I am most free when I trust what is true.” Brave Books is a fairly new publishing company (2021) that was created to openly counter the worldly agendas taking over children’s…

Book Thoughts: The Yearling (Rawlings)

The Yearling (Rawlings) | keenlykept.com

Type: novelAges: 12+Author: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings If I had to live in the scrub of rural Florida 150 years ago, I hope I’d have a father like Penny (but with a biblical faith). Even as he dealt with many physical…

Book Thoughts: The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic (Trafton)

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic (Trafton) | keenlykept.com

Type: chapter bookAges: 8-12 (easily lower if a family read-aloud)Author: Jennifer TraftonIllustrator: Brett Helquist Could very many people write a coherent story about a basket weaver’s rambunctious daughter, poisonous giant turtles who run faster than humans, people with twig-like limbs…

Book Thoughts: Ranger in Time 12: Attack on Pearl Harbor (Messner)

Ranger in Time 12: Attack on Pearl Harbor (Messner) | keenlykept.com

Type: chapter bookAges: 8-12Author: Kate MessnerIllustrator: Kelley McMorris Some of the main characters were Japanese-Americans. Anyone who knows history will realize the depth that element immediately gave the story. A brief scene shows a mother burning all their books right after Japan attacked, because…

Book Thoughts: Kidnapped (Stevenson)

Kidnapped (Stevenson) | keenlykept.com

Type: novelAges: 11+Author: Robert Louis Stevenson If you’re looking for an adventurous fiction story set against real historic events, consider this one! The book is set a few years after violent battles had ceased between the English government and Jacobites,…

Book Thoughts: Bambi (Salten)

Bambi (Sarten) | keenlykept.com

Type: chapter bookAges: 8-12Author: Felix Sarten *This will vary depending on translation. The first bullet point above can’t be stressed enough–the descriptions of nature are gentle, delicate, and slow…then, suddenly, there is screaming, blood, torn fur, “thunder” (gun shots), and…

Book Thoughts: Stepping Heavenward (Prentiss)

Stepping Heavenward (Prentiss) | keenlykept.com

Type: biblical fiction novelAges: 14+Author: Elizabeth Prentiss “God is just as willing and just as able to sanctify as he is to redeem us.” It is now clear to me how this has become an enduring Christian classic. Katherine’s story…

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