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Twenty and Ten

November 17, 2014 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

17 Nov

Title: Twenty and Ten
Author: Claire Huchet Bishop
Major Themes: 20th century, France, Historical Fiction, Second World War
Synopsis: Twenty children must hide ten Jewish children from the Nazis—but without Sister Gabriel to help them, will the Nazis find out where they are?

This is the kind of book that reminds me of the quote Dr. Seuss said years ago (and I quote from memory): “The best children’s books are the ones all ages love reading.” Based on a true story, Twenty and Ten is a children’s book great for 7 – 10 year-olds. But even as an adult, this book is fascinating. All will learn from it.

Janet, now a thirteen-year-old, then an eleven-year-old, tells the story. We can see through her eyes how, after being sent to safety in the country away from the occupying army, twenty school-aged children tried to live normal lives. One day, after playing The Flight into Egypt, the children got in a fight over whether the Holy Family had money and ration cards or not. Sister Gabriel came to stop them in time, and she had startling news: A stranger was there, wanting to speak with the children.

He told them that some Jewish boys and girls needed a safe place to go to like Jesus’ family going to Egypt, and asked if they would be willing to shelter them. “Yes,” the children cried, and soon the tired, hungry Jewish children were brought in. After a while, they settled in. One day, Sister Gabriel went to town and didn’t come back. Instead, two Nazi soldiers came, and the children had to fend for themselves and not betray their new friends.

I love Twenty and Ten because it gives a authentic idea of what it would be like to have been a child during the Second World War. There are no gruesome parts to the story, instead it tells a touching tale of bravery and hope in the face of death. Your children will love this book. It makes a wonderful read-aloud that keeps them asking for “More, Mom, please! Just one more chapter!” It is written with 7 – 12 year olds in mind especially, but all ages will really enjoy it.

WARNING: For very sensitive children, some parts of the story may be scary, but hardly anyone will have any problems with it. This book is very “clean”.

Age levels:

Listening Level—Ages 5 – 8, 8 – 12
Reading Independently— Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12

Links to buy this book:

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

How to Stay Christian in High School

November 17, 2014 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

17 Nov

How to Stay Christian in High School by Steve Gerali

Title: How to Stay Christian in High School
Author: Steve Gerali
Major Themes: Nonfiction, Christian Teenagers, Christian Life
Synopsis: A real look at what it means to be, think, and behave like a Christian when a teen in high school, with real-world examples that will strengthen, stretch, and encourage you.

Encouraging, inspiring, thought-provoking, and memorable. Those are the words that come to mind when I remember How to Stay Christian in High School. Even though I read it over a year ago, the encouragement and inspiration have stuck with me. I’m privileged to be a homeschool student, and I know I haven’t faced the peer pressure, questions and other things that go along with being a public school student. Even so, while it is aimed primarily for the public school student, this book was encouraging to me.

From the get-go, Steve Gerali states the purpose of the book: To take a look at what it really means to be, think, and behave like a Christian in high school. He shows teens first of all why it’s important to think of whose we are—we’re Christ’s now that we’ve accepted His free gift, and are no longer our own. Woven throughout the chapters are little stories illustrating the points. And, at the end of each chapter (and sometimes part-way through!) there are questions to help us think it through – really get it settled in our minds.

Following the first chapter, we get five special stories from the Bible about teenagers, each brought into a new light with thoughts of application through the narrative. The stories are retold with a modern-day twist, something I absolutely loved because instead of being something that happened “back then” I could see how it would have been if they had happened now. Possibly even something that could have happened to myself, or a next-door neighbor, or a friend. Bringing out those stories really made an impact on my thoughts about those in the Bible. The stories became real.

How to Stay Christian in High School strengthened, stretched, supported, and reinforced my beliefs and thoughts. It blew on the flame in my heart, making me want to be more like the Lord in every way. I recommend it to all Christian teenagers, although I think even adults would find it uplifting as well. This venture of faith we have is not for the fainthearted, but the Lord does provide and lift us up. I hope you’ll enjoy the book as much as I did.

WARNING: This book deals with things very common on the young adult front: lust, sex, parties, etc. I had no problem with the way the material was presented and appreciated the fact that the author continuously pointed back to the scriptures for guidance, but some parents may wish to review chapter four if they are uncomfortable with their teen reading such things.

Age levels:

Reading Independently—Ages 12 – 15, 15 and Above

Links to buy this book:

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

Turn Homeward, Hannalee

November 17, 2014 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

17 Nov

Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty

Title: Turn Homeward, Hannalee
Author: Patricia Beatty
Major Themes: 1800s, Historical Fiction, American Civil War, Confederate Army
Synopsis: A young captive in Indiana who came from the Confederate south longs to return home, but is it possible to travel such a distance safely—and keep her promise?

Want a book set during the America civil war from the Confederate point of view for your eager reader? Turn Homeward, Hannalee is a perfect fit. Join the main character, Hannalee, on a scary and life-altering journey.

When we first join the story, Hannalee—along with several members of her family and several friends are working at a mill producing grey cloth and ropes for the Confederate soldiers. Things soon come to a halt when the Yankee army moves in, capturing the mill hands and setting the mill on fire. Listening as Hannalee recounts the red-hot, choking, smoky air surrounding the mill hands as they sat in the dust waiting makes you feel like you’re there. Finally, as they are taken away from their quiet town in Georgia, you can feel the heartache as they are torn from their families and sent north—all the way to Indiana.

Until I read Turn Homeward, Hannalee at age eleven, I had no idea whatsoever of how it would have been for the people who supported the Confederates. The normal, everyday people who did normal, everyday things—until their worlds where turned topsy-turvy when the Union troops arrived. Joining Hannalee—in her mission to keep her brother and herself together and get them both safely home again—broadened my horizons just a bit more. Learning the Confederate side, so different from what it was like from the Union perspective, gave me a very unique angle on the whole civil war. While this may be not the best book to read on the topic, I still highly recommend it for its easy reading.

WARNING: This book contains some lying. It also has in places in the dialogue words that some may find offensive. There is also, at one place, a description of a battle field (chapter 8, “The Last Day of November”, pg. 136 – 138) that some parents may wish to review.

Age levels:

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

Links to buy this book:

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

The Land I Lost

November 15, 2014 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

15 Nov

Title: The Land I Lost
Author: Huynh Quang Nhuong
Major Themes: 1900s, Vietnam, Historical Nonfiction, Autobiography
Synopsis: An older man looks back at his childhood in Vietnam, sharing beautiful stories illustrating the rich culture he grew up in, telling about the land that is lost to him forever.

Reading The Land I Lost transports you over fifty years back in time, to a place that will never be the same again. I enjoyed the glimpse into the lush, beautiful jungles of Vietnam—I should have known what they were like, but had no clue how diverse they are. The book, a true story, gave me a startlingly real picture of life for a young boy before the Vietnamese war broke out.

Huynh Quang Nhuong (the author, and also the main character of the book) lived peacefully with his family and neighbors in their little hamlet tucked into the highlands of Vietnam. Following the fascinating ride generated by fifteen superbly written stories, you are able to get a sense of how exhilarating it was to live there as a child, and yet how much danger there was as well. You’ll read stories about all kinds of animals—from huge pythons to crocodiles, and also about a family friend—their trusty water buffalo, Tank.

Besides just stories about Huynh’s family, you also hear other stories along the way. Each is entertaining, each adding their own unique bit of the Vietnamese culture to the story. My brothers and I don’t mind hearing this book over and over—the stories are always fascinating and full of life. Vietnam is a country we learn little about besides hearing of the wars, and this book is a wonderful way to introduce your children to the people who live there.

WARNING: This book does contain a certain passage parents should review before allowing their children to read it alone. It is in chapter 11, “The Monkey and the Old Lady”, from the end of page 96 through page 97. The passage tells of the horrific death of a baby at the hands of a monkey. The rest of the book is fine.

Age levels:

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

Links to buy this book:

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

A Murder for Her Majesty

October 10, 2014 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

10 Oct

A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner

Title: A Murder for Her Majesty
Author: Beth Hilgartner
Major Themes: 1500s, England, Historical Fiction, Children’s Mystery
Synopsis: Alice Tuckfield, a fugitive running from her father’s murderers, is adopted by a group of choirboys and must figure out who the killers are before they find her as well.

I’ve never visited England before—and certainly not sixteenth-century England—but Beth Hilgartner brought the setting to life in her book A Murder for Her Majesty. This book had my brothers and me cackling with glee at some places, and silent with tension at others.

Alice Tuckfield is an eleven-year-old girl fleeing from the hands of the men who killed her father. After making her way to York to find help, she arrives cold and starving—and runs into Geoffrey, a choirboy at the local cathedral. When things don’t turn out as expected, she is taken in and disguised as a choirboy—first as a prank, and later a matter of life and death.

This story has been listened to repeatedly since Mom first read it to us. While it is a murder mystery, the book also gives a clear idea of what a typical sixteenth-century English town would feel like, “crowds of people and the tangle of booths and stalls”. The book has just enough humor to keep you laughing (“ ‘Hungry?’ she asked him. ‘I could eat a bishop — miter and all!’ he whispered.”), and just enough suspense to keep you guessing (“He knows, she thought. Oh, God help me, he knows!”).

Overall, I highly recommend this book. The main theme is a murder mystery (but not in any bad way), but it also lightly touches the Catholic/Protestant conflicts of the time, and reveals how the church played so much of a bigger role in the lives of its parishioners than it does today.

WARNING: This book does contain lying in places, so you may want to talk with your children about that. I do not consider it bad enough to be offensive, even though it is wrong.

Age Levels:

Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12, 10 – 12
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12

Links to buy this book:

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