Five Children and It by E.B. Nesbit
C.S. Lewis said, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” In that case, Five Children and It by E.B. Nesbit is a very good children’s book. We finished it for the third time recently, and it is one…
Michael’s Gentle Wife by Karen Andreola
As a young teenager, I got caught up in “Christian” romance novels. All that entailed was God’s name being inserted haphazardly between pages that aroused romantic desires, and set forth unrealistic expectations about marriage. Mercifully, a distaste developed for this kind of literature. It was largely predictable, and unedifying; hardly…
The Rifle by Gary Paulsen
I had very little desire to read The Rifle by Gary Paulsen, but since it was of great interest to our boys especially, and covered one of our favorite time periods, it was chosen as a read aloud. The author described the fashioning of a rifle in 1768 so vividly,…
Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
If you stopped reading Breaking Stalin’s Nose after chapter 1, you might think Communism was a noble ideology. Everyone shares everything. There are 48 people living in Sasha’s little apartment and only one bathroom. He is often hungry, but never complains. Good Communists learn to repress cravings for such unimportant…
Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language
Now that our oldest is nearing the end of highschool, we have finally invested in a proper dictionary: Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. It seemed every word we wanted to look up in our Collins Canadian English Dictionary was either missing, or had an unsatisfactory definition.…
One With Everything by Mike Cheney
One With Everything would be a terrible title for a theological book, but not to worry, this one is about family entrepreneurship! Mike Cheney quit his soul-sucking job as a business executive and started a hot dog stand in order to spend more time with his family. “One with everything”…
Unity and Diversity by Sandy Finlayson
One of my favorite things about Book Study is the opportunity to read literature I likely wouldn’t have picked up on my own, and being totally blessed by it. Unity and Diversity: The Founders of the Free Church of Scotland by Sandy Finlayson is one such book. This easy-read collection…
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jerimiah Burroughs
The thing about the Puritans is that they never let you read their writings with eyes and ears for other people. Modern Christian writers often deal with other people’s sins against us; the Puritans go straight for our sins against God, reminding us that we are not the greatest victims,…
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Across Five Aprils is a wonderfully written, coming-of-age story by Irene Hunt about the Civil War. Less about the Union versus the Confederacy and the defining issues that brought the United States into conflict, Across Five Aprils focuses more on the travesty of war itself. Stalin famously said that “one…
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
I greatly enjoyed reading A Single Shard last week with our middle two girls, ages nine and ten. Tree-Ear is an orphan boy who lives under a bridge in 12th century Korea with Crane-man, a homeless man with a bad leg. He epitomizes the saying, “The wisdom of the wise…
It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach
It Could Always Be Worse is a good book to read with young children when the temptation to self-pity is high. (For us, that was last week when the stomach bug made its way through the family over Thanksgiving!) Humor can be an effective way to drive a needed message…
Following God Fully: An Introduction to the Puritans by Joel Beeke and Michael Reeves
Following God Fully: An Introduction to the Puritans seemed like an appropriate book to review for Thanksgiving. Many of the pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower were Puritans. Facing persecution in Europe from the Church of England because they desired to worship God only as He commanded in…
Fill your Morning Basket.
What is a Living Book?
When your children plead, “just one more chapter!” and you find yourself complying for your sake as much as theirs, you may just be reading a living book!
What is a Morning Basket?
A Morning Basket is not really about mornings, or baskets, but having a set time of day to read living books to your children.