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The Year of the Baby

November 28, 2022 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

28 Nov

Title: The Year of the Baby
Author: Andrea Cheng
Major Themes: Friendship, Family, Adoption, China
Synopsis: Anna’s baby sister is not eating, and therefore not growing, and Anna needs a project for the science fair—can she solve both problems at once?

After having The Year of the Baby on our shelf for a year and a half or so, we finally got around to reading it. What a delightful story! My seven-year-old daughter chose it for her read-aloud, and everyone ended up enjoying it. I like realistic books that we can picture happening.

Anna’s parents have recently adopted Kaylee, from China. Anna loves her new baby sister, and Kaylee loves Anna. Anna is able to calm Kaylee down when nobody else seems to be able to. However, Kaylee is not growing. She does not want to eat. What can Anna do to help the baby?

Meanwhile, Anna has other problems. She is doing well in Chinese school, learning to speak Chinese with her friends, but she can’t come up with a project for the school’s science fair. What can she and her friends possibly come up with for that? She doesn’t want to do a project out of a book—but how can she come up with her own? Then one day, she has a great idea that might solve both problems at once!

There is so much to love about The Year of the Baby. Anna has learned a lot about being friends over the past year, and continues to learn. She is also now learning about being a big sister and how to love the baby and care for her. This book mainly focuses on family relationships, but also on friendship. It also includes blending cultures, since Anna and her family are Chinese, living in the United States, as well as adoption. I highly recommend this book as a family read-aloud and for children who enjoy gentle stories to read to themselves.

No warnings!

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 7 – 9, 8 – 12

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback

Charlotte’s Web

November 25, 2022 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

25 Nov

Title: Charlotte’s Web
Author: E. B. White
Major Themes: Pigs, Spiders
Synopsis: Wilber the pig is lonely, so a spider befriends him and tries to save his life.

I remember reading Charlotte’s Web when I was a little girl. It was a delightful story that I loved! I never read it to my children, though, until just recently. Someone gave us a copy, and my 12-year-old chose it for a read-aloud when it was his turn. The children loved it!

One morning, Fern learned that her father was going to kill one of the piglets born that morning, because it was smaller than the others. She couldn’t stand it, and adopted the piglet. Very soon, Wilbur, as she named her pet, was too big to live in the kitchen, so he was sold to Fern’s uncle down the road. Though Fern spent all the time she could with Wilbur in his new home, he was often lonely. Then one night, he heard a voice from above him, telling him that he had a friend who would be revealed in the morning.

When Wilbur heard that his destiny was to be killed when the weather grew cold, he grew very upset about it. His new friend, the spider, set to work to try to save him. Wilbur learned that he was “Some Pig,” “Humble,” and “Radiant.” But would Charlotte’s words be enough to save Wilbur’s life?

This is a lovely story of friendship. My children thoroughly enjoyed the story. I have mixed feelings about it because it promotes the notion that animals have thoughts and feelings just like people, which I do not believe is true. I have been around animals all my life, and know that they are different from people. So, I can’t wholeheartedly endorse Charlotte’s Web, although I will say I like it as a story.

WARNING: See the last paragraph.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 7 – 9, 8 – 12

Links to buy this book:

The Scribe

November 23, 2022 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

23 Nov

Title: The Scribe
Author: Francine Rivers
Series: Sons of Encouragement, book 5
Major Themes: Apostle Paul, Early Church, Rome
Synopsis: After witnessing the martyrdoms of Paul and Peter, Silas is very discouraged, but with the encouragement of friends, he begins writing his memories of Jesus and the first years of the church.

About a year ago, I came across Francine River’s Sons of Encouragement series in the list of books recommended to supplement the ancient (Biblical) history program we were working our way through. I knew Francine Rivers as a romance writer, so I was a little bit skeptical that her books would be in any way suitable to read aloud to my children, but I pre-read the first one and was quite impressed. We have ended up reading the entire series now. The Scribe turned out to be a bit different from the rest, but it, too, was very good.

This book begins with Silas fleeing Rome immediately after the martyrdoms of Peter and his wife, and Paul. He is lonely and discouraged and in shock, and he just needs to get away. At a market, he comes across a Christian man who directs him to a home where he can stay while he recuperates. While there, he is encouraged to write his memories of Jesus.

As Silas writes down everything he remembers, his brief contacts with Jesus before the resurrection, the exciting days in Jerusalem after Pentecost, and his extensive travels with Paul, his faith returns and he finds himself able to preach and teach again. He frequently spends an evening reading Paul’s and Peter’s epistles to the group of Christians who assemble to hear him. The scrolls are the most important objects in the world to him – he must protect them at all costs.

The Scribe is an amazing, thought-provoking way to look at the Gospels and the book of Acts. Of course, with the little we know about Silas from Scripture, a lot of it is a “what if” story. However, the entire scope of Jesus’ life on earth and the early days of the Christian church are told in a fresh, new way. I found this book very good, and my children enjoyed it, too. There is a bit of romance in it, more than in any of the other ones in this series, but absolutely nothing objectionable.

WARNING: Chapter 1 includes a graphic description of the martyrdom of Peter.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 10 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

Princess Paisley

November 21, 2022 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

21 Nov

Title: Princess Paisley
Author: Chautona Havig
Series: Not-so-Fairy Tales, book 1
Major Themes: Fairy Tale
Synopsis: When Princess Paisley, an unconventional princess, must choose someone to marry, things get quite interesting in her kingdom of Jackalopany.

I have been reading and enjoying Chautona Havig’s books for seven years now (actually, maybe I should say, loving her books!), but I never got around to reading Princess Paisley until now. When I was on the review team for Everard earlier this year, I decided to read it to my children. They loved it so much that we went on to read Princess Paisley. It’s another fun Not-So-Fairy Tale, and we loved it, too.

Paisley Paisley (and yes, we have discussed what paisleys are, now) was turning 21. That meant it was time for her Majority Ball, and she had to decide who she was going to marry. This was very important, because her husband, according to the laws of Jackalopany, might become the next king. All the eligible young men from the royalty and nobility of the surrounding kingdoms were invited to attend, so she could make her decision. She also invited her best friend Henry, a shepherd. Who would she end up choosing? Prince Rupert of Froggilandria sure didn’t make a good impression the day he arrived, since his first act was to scatter her sheep!

Even though she is supposed to decide what her future will look like, and with whom she will spend it, Paisley really isn’t ready to settle down. She prefers Henry, the shepherd, but he does not want to leave his sheep to be king. Rupert is sure he wants to marry her, but Kyle of Kaiandra, Cletus of Rednecky, and Marcus of Wellsbiundia all do, as well. When Prince Darius of Griffinland will not stop at anything to get his way, tragedy threatens to leave Jackalopany without an heir. How will Paisley recover from the trauma that results?

This book is pure fun. The author constantly interrupts herself to explain things about fairy tales and why things have to be phrased the way they are. I liked reading about the differences between the various kingdoms (I learned, most of the way through the book, that my children had no idea what a “redneck” was, and once they knew, Cletus was funnier than he was before.), and seeing how people interacted. We’ve been quoting from the book lately to help the seven-year-old girl in our family be a little less of a drama queen. If you read the book and meet Brielle, you’ll know what I mean. I also liked the strong family relationships in the royal families of Jackalopany and Froggilandria. Oh, and you can’t miss the “frog pox!” There are a couple of hilarious scenes involving that. If you or your children enjoy fairy tales, you must read Princess Paisley.

WARNING: There is a murder in Chapter 15.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12, 10 – 12, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback

You Wouldn’t Want to be an American Pioneer

November 18, 2022 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

18 Nov

You Wouldn’t Want to be an American Pioneer by Jacqueline Morley

Title: You Wouldn’t Want to be an American Pioneer: A Wilderness You’d Rather Not Tame
Author: Jacqueline Morley
Series: You Wouldn’t Want to…American History
Major Themes: Pioneers, Oregon TrailSynopsis: Concise text and comic-style drawings help children learn about the Oregon Trail and what it was like to travel it.

It’s fun to learn history from a book like You Wouldn’t Want to Be an American Pioneer! This is the kind of book that most of my children will pick up and leaf through if they find it laying around the living room. The comic-style pictures and little blocks of text make it attractive and easy to spend time with a book from this series.

As you read this book, imagine that you are a pioneer moving west on the Oregon Trail. What will you experience? What do you have to do to survive? Start out by loading your wagon—what will you take and what will you leave behind? Make sure you travel with other people, and help to choose the right person to lead your wagon train.

Once on the trail, what dangers will you come across? Storms, Indians, a buffalo stampede, and river crossings are only a few of the hazards. Then, there are the discomforts, like food that isn’t very appetizing. What will you eat on the trail, anyway? Then, when you reach the end of the trail, you won’t find a house and nice fields waiting for you! What do you do when you get there?

At the beginning of the book, there is a timeline of the pioneers. It begins with Lewis & Clark’s expedition and ends with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. There is also a map that shows the routes people traveled to reach Oregon. At the end of the book is a helpful glossary of terms used in the book, and more history. You Wouldn’t Want to be an American Pioneer is a great supplement to a study of American history, and a fun book for any child who likes history.

No warnings!

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8
Reading Independently—Ages 7 – 9, 8 – 12

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback | Library Binding
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com