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Heart to Heart with Rosie Boom

June 3, 2026 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

3 Jun

Title: Heart to Heart with Rosie Boom
Author: Rosie Boom
Major Themes: Homeschooling, Motherhood
Synopsis: Thirty-five delightful chapters offer encouragement and inspiration for all mothers, whether they homeschool their children or not.

A few years ago, one of my friends helped to start an annual retreat for homeschooling mothers who live on our island. The second year, one of the main speakers was Rosie Boom. I loved getting to know her and her identical twin sister, and was delighted to be able to acquire several of Rosie’s books that we didn’t have yet. However, it took me two years to get around to reading Heart to Heart with Rosie Boom! This year, I have finally figured out how to fit these sorts of books into my reading routine.

Publisher’s description:

Heart to Heart with Rosie Boom offers encouragement and Biblical wisdom for homeschooling parents. It features 35 talks presented by the author at New Zealand’s annual homeschooling conference over a period of 23 years. These messages offer both encouragement and inspiration to those on the homeschooling journey and also practical advice relevant to all parents. Chapters include topics such as starting out on the homeschooling journey; dealing with squabbles; finding the balance between structure and creativity; strong-willed children; joy on the homeschooling journey; terrific teens; selah moments; homeschooling with patience, and many more.

My thoughts:

I found this book very inspiring. I read one chapter a day, in the middle of our school day, and found that bit of time taken for myself to be very helpful. Each chapter had something I could take away and think about. Some were more applicable to my life than others, of course. A number of them made me chuckle. The one that spoke to me the most was the one titled “The Strong-willed Child.” I could see my youngest in her description! I’ve had a few that I would describe as strong-willed—but this one is definitely the strongest! I appreciated Rosie’s advice and her encouragement that a child like this has some wonderful strengths.

I highly recommend Heart to Heart with Rosie Boom for every homeschooling mother, or even for mothers who don’t homeschool. Much of what she talks about is applicable for every family. This is a book to reread every year for fresh inspiration and encouragement!

No warnings!

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Adults

Links to buy this book:

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

An Elephant in the Garden

June 1, 2026 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

1 Jun

Title: An Elephant in the Garden
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Major Themes: Germany, Zoos, Elephants, Refugees, World War II
Synopsis: Soon after her mother saved a young elephant from the Dresden Zoo, the city was destroyed, and Elizabeth and her family became refugees.

A couple of months ago, I went to a huge used book sale. One of the books I picked up, because it was inexpensive and I had heard a lot about the author, was An Elephant in the Garden. It took a while to get around to reading it because there are so many books on my TBR pile—but when I started reading it, I was drawn in to this amazing story.

Publisher’s description:

It’s 1945. Elizabeth’s father is fighting with the German army on the Eastern Front. Her mother works at Dresden zoo, where her favorite animal is a young elephant named Marlene. When the zoo director tells her the dangerous animals must be shot to prevent them running amok if the town is bombed, Elizabeth’s mother moves Marlene into the back garden to save her…and then the bombs start to fall.

Their home destroyed, Elizabeth and her family must flee the bombed-out city and through the wintry landscape, all the while avoiding the Russian troops who are drawing ever closer. It would be hard enough, without an elephant in tow…

My thoughts:

This book begins in a rest home, when an old woman starts telling a little boy a story that seems unbelievable at first. Very quickly, however, the little boy and his mother—and the reader of the book—are enthralled with the tale she tells. At least, I didn’t want to put the book down! I have decided that I like Michael Morpurgo’s books.

An Elephant in the Garden is based on fact, as far as the bombing of Dresden and the way the family had to flee. Taking an elephant with them, though—I didn’t find any information about that in a quick online search, and the author didn’t include a historical note. However, it makes a wonderful story! I would love to read this book aloud to my family sometime. This book tells about part of World War II that I haven’t seen much of yet—how many books are there about the zoos? I also loved the way the family learned to love and accept one of the enemy and realized that all people are very similar.

WARNING: Part 2, chapter 3: Bombing, shooting animals in the zoo. Part 3, chapter 3: Bastards used as swear word, lying. Part 4, chapter 3: Holy cow, goddamned.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15

Links to buy this book:

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

Down Cut Shin Creek

May 29, 2026 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

29 May

Title: Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky
Author: Kathi Appelt
Major Themes: Libraries, Librarians, Kentucky, Poverty, Great Depression, Literacy
Synopsis: How did the people living in the backwoods of Kentucky during the Great Depression get books to read?

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to buy some heavily discounted books from Purple House Press, which specializes in reprinting older gems. One of the ones I chose to purchase was Down Cut Shin Creek, which is an original release rather than a reprint, but it goes along with the theme of making good books available to everyone. I read this book to my youngest children yesterday. What a treat!

Publisher’s description:

During the Depression, thousands lived on the brink of starvation. In 1935 President Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration, which was designed to get people back on their feet. One of its most innovative programs was the Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky.

Thoroughly researched and illustrated with period photographs, this is the story of one of the WPA’s greatest successes. People from all over contributed books, magazines, and newspapers, but it was the librarians themselves—determined young women earning just $28 a month—who brought the hope of a wider world to the people in the hollows of Kentucky’s Cumberland Mountains.

My thoughts:

When I started reading Down Cut Shin Creek to my daughters, I didn’t know how interested they would be in it. I read aloud to them a lot, but they are mostly interested in fiction books, and this one is obviously not fiction. Also, it is illustrated with old black and white photographs, so I wasn’t sure how they would like it. I was amazed at the way they soaked in the accounts of the librarians. In fact, when I had to quit for a few minutes and go take care of something in another room, I came back and found that my 10-year-old had finished reading the book to herself while I was out! The younger girl, who can’t read much yet, was impatiently waiting for me to get back and read the rest to her. They were enthralled with this book!

The photographs that have been selected to illustrate this account of the Pack Horse Librarians and the way the program worked are amazing. They show the deep poverty of the backwoods of Kentucky—but also the joy and the love shared by the people and the librarians.

No warnings!

Age levels:

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

Links to buy this book:

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

A Comet in the Sky

May 27, 2026 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

27 May

Title: A Comet in the Sky
Author: Phyllis Johnston
Series: The May series, book 3
Major Themes: Pioneer Life, School, New Zealand
Synopsis: As May helps her family on the farm in the King Country, New Zealand, she learns many skills and experiences the opening of the first dairy factory in the area.

We are enjoying reading the May series, which follows May Tarrant through several years of growing up in New Zealand in the early 1900s. A Comet in the Sky begins a couple of years after book two, and follows May through about a year of her life as she helps her family on the farm in the King Country.

Publisher’s description:

It is 1909 and May is eleven. Putting a fire out at school, rat hunting, and being caned by her teacher for helping friends in class, are part of May’s standard four year. In 1910, May sees Halley’s comet, and also helps nurse her sick mother. May tries to get good marks at school, but because of a present she receives, all the standards get into trouble with their strict teacher. May’s life is affected by progress made on the bush farms of Piopio. Change comes quickly and suddenly. May realises she is nearly grown up and must think about going out to work.

My thoughts:

There was a lot less in A Comet in the Sky that I objected to than in book two, Black Boots and Buttonhooks. It felt like that in this book, May was growing up and becoming more mature—except for two instances, noted in the warnings, where she acted quite badly. Overall, though, this book is quite a good picture of life in the bush that was being turned into farms. One theme that runs through the entire book is the building of the first dairy plant in the King Country area in the North Island. May’s father was involved in the project from the beginning, so there is a lot of detail about how that happened. It was also interesting to see how May’s mother tried to hold to the standards she grew up with in England, and how May’s life had to be different because of their life on the farm, far from the city.

WARNING: Chapter 2: May was mean to a girl. Chapter 4: Gosh, dog disappeared. Chapter 6: Girl whipped by angry teacher. Chapter 8: Man badly burned. Chapter 11: By golly, two girls fight.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15, Family Friendly
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12, 12 – 15

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com

The Sparkle of New Cheltenham

May 25, 2026 by Emma Filbrun · Leave a Comment

25 May

Title: The Sparkle of New Cheltenham
Author: Chautona Havig
Series: Christmas in New Cheltenham, book 7
Major Themes: Christmas, Romance
Synopsis: Kindra had a lot to navigate with her new company and the fluff job that got her out of the way—or is that really what her supervisor intended?

It’s always an exciting day when I receive a new book by Chautona Havig! I know from experience that I will enjoy it. I try to savor each book, enjoying the journey, but always find myself reading fast to find out what happens next. It was no different with The Sparkle of New Cheltenham.

Publisher’s description:

Her dream job just became her worst nightmare.

Kindra Hatheway walked off her graduation platform and into the perfect position with the perfect advertising company. That’s where her perfect life ended. Now one of her supervisors has put her in for a fluff job (a Christmas decorating contest? Really?) to get her out of the way. Add to that all the travel, the pressure from one of her colleagues to pick New Cheltenham as the winner, and the fact that she keeps flirting with her supervisor, and this Christmas is looking…complicated.

My thoughts:

There are actually two stories in one in The Sparkle of New Cheltenham. There is the story of Kindra and her job, of course—but Lauren and Walker also take up a lot of the book. It was fun to catch up with Brenna again and find out what was happening in her life since she got married, and to see Lauren a lot older than in the previous books about the two sisters. Throughout the whole book, the point of view switches back and forth between Kindra and her supervisor, Todd, and Lauren, who, with Walker’s help, had to keep Brenna’s antique store going for her. I had no problem keeping the points of view straight.

The Sparkle of New Cheltenham was written in such a way as to tie together the three other books in a collection. As such, it includes scenes rewritten from those other three books, told from Kindra’s point of view. I read two of those three, so I knew what was behind the scenes in this book, but it is not necessary to know those stories to understand this one.

I loved this book, and I’m looking forward to revisiting New Cheltenham next year! It has become one of my favorite imaginary places, and I always love reading about the people there.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: There are several kisses.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults

Links to buy this book:

Amazon: Paperback
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com