Family Fridays – Lost In The Woods
Book: Lost in the Woods (2004) by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick Category/Age: Picture Book (Older) Blurb: The authors of New York Times’ best-seller, Stranger in the Woods, bring you this beautiful springtime fantasy about trust, patience and waiting for your time. Woodland creatures are concerned for a newborn fawn they believe to […]
Toolkit of the Trade: When You Don’t Feel Like Reading
Occasionally I’ll find myself in a reading slump. I’m not interesting in picking anything up, and when I do, I just don’t enjoy it. I doubt I’m the only one who goes through phases of not wanting to read anything, so I thought I’d devote a “tools of the trade” post to some of the […]
Family Fridays – Jack London
Books: White Fang and The Call of the Wild Category/Age: Middle Grades, 10+ Blurb – Call of the Wild: The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as […]
Writing Wednesdays – Getting “it’s/its” correct: it’s its own reward
It’s or its? Based on the extremely scientific survey of homophones I see misused on various media: books, Facebook, emails, etc. this has got to be the number one most commonly misused. Let’s start with an example: I saw this going around Facebook recently, and it is a prime example […]
Review of C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy
Review: C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strengthh) is the most disjointed trilogy I have ever read. That’s not to say it isn’t worth reading, or even good, but it feels more like a very loosely related collection of books than a trilogy. What makes it feel so […]
Family Fridays – The Going to Bed Post
Book: The Going to Bed Book (1982) by Sandra Boynton Category/Age: Picture Book (Younger), Board Book Blurb: This classic bedtime story is just right for winding down the day as a joyful, silly group of animals scrub scrub scrub in the tub, brush and brush and brush their teeth, and finally rock and rock and […]
Review of The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973)
Bottom line: A movie that is 100% fun, and the book that inspired it. Rating: Strongly Recommended for the movie, Recommended for the book Blurb: William Goldman’s modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that’s thrilling and timeless. Anyone who lived through the 1980s may […]
Family Fridays – Tillie and the Wall
Book: Tillie and the Wall (1989) by Leo Lionni Category/Age: Older Picture Book, 2+ Years Blurb: All her life Tillie the mouse has wondered what lies on the other side of the wall. Imagining all sorts of fantastic possibilities, she digs a tunnel to get to the other side, where she discovers . . . […]
Review of Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (1975) (Amelia Peabody #1)
Bottom line: A fun Victorian cozy set on the banks of the Nile Rating: Recommended Blurb: Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to […]
Family Fridays – Five Minutes’ Peace
Book: Five Minutes’ Peace (1986) by Jill Murphy Series: The Large Family Category/Age: Older Picture Book, 2+ years Blurb: All Mrs. Large wants is five minutes’ peace from her energetic children, but chaos follows her all the way from the kitchen to the bath and back again. Review: How could you not love a book […]
