Posts by Janie Cheaney
Zane and the Hurricane
Zane and the Hurricane: a Story of Katrina, by Rodman Philbrick. Scholastic, 2014, 181 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 11-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) Zane does not want to spend a couple of weeks in New Orleans—Smellyville, he dubs it—but his mom has just discovered an almost-relative of his late father there and…
Read MoreAlmost Super by Marion Jensen
Almost Super, by Marion Jensen. Harper, 2014, 251 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 8-12 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) Every four years, on February 29, the Baileys of Split Rock gather for the adolescent members (12 and older) to receive their specials powers. It always happens at 4:23 p.m.: a flash of light, and…
Read MoreCuriosity
Curiosity, by Gary Blackwood. Dutton, 2014, 310 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 11-12, Young Adult, ages 12-14 Maturity Level: 5 (Ages 12-14) Philadelphia, 1836: Rufus Goodspeed has led a sheltered life as the only child of his sheltered father, a Methodist minister. Partially crippled from birth (which birth also took his mother), Rufus feels…
Read MoreGrandmaster
Grandmaster, by David Klass. Farrar Strauss and Giroux, 2014, 226 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, Ages 15-18 Maturity Level: 6 (15-18) What if you discovered that your nerdy dad is a superhero? That’s what happens to Daniel Pratzer—sort of, though Dad doesn’t suddenly zoom across the sky in tights and a cape. Daniel doesn’t make…
Read MoreSeven Stories Up
Seven Stories Up, by Laurel Snyder. Random House, 2014, 229 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) Annie and her mom arrive in Baltimore on a sad mission: to say farewell to Annie’s grandmother, who is on her deathbed in the former luxury hotel built by her great-grandfather. Grandmother is…
Read MoreWhat is War Good For?
How do you use the label “anti-war?” As in, “Saving Private Ryan is the best anti-war movie ever made, or “All Quiet on the Western Front ranks at the top of anti-war literature.” In 1969, Edwin Starr’s Motown song “War” became a huge hit. Its theme was simplicity itself: WAR! What is it good for?…
Read More*The Warden and the Wolf King
An epic finale to an epic fantasy series. *The Warden and the Wolf King,by Andrew Peterson. Rabbit Room Press, 2014, 519 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-14 Recommended For: Ages 10 and up, especially fantasy lovers Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli are the children of Nia and Esben Wingfeather, though they never knew their father. Esben was…
Read More*The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya by Jane Kelley
*The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, by Jane Kelley. Feiwel & Friends, 2013, 201 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) and up Bottom line: This sensitive middle-grade novel beautifully explores struggle and loss from two points of view: a girl stricken with leukemia and an African grey parrot.…
Read More*National Wildlife Federation World of Birds by Kim Kirki
*National Wildlife Federation World of Birds: a Beginners Guide, by Kim Kirki. Black Dog & Levanthal, 2014, 80 pages including glossary and index. Reading Level: Picture Book, Ages 4-8; Middle Grades, Ages 8-10 Maturity Level: All One-line Summary: From the handsomely-embossed cover to the hand-lettered chapter titles, this book is a delight. There are no…
Read MoreFor the Birds II
Feathers: Not Just for Flying, by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen. Charlesbridge, 2014, 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture Book, Ages 4-8 Maturity Level: All “Birds and feathers go together, like trees and leaves, like stars and sky. All birds have feathers, but no other animals do.” And did you know . . .…
Read MoreThe Great Greene Heist
The Great Greene Heist, by Varian Johnson. Scholastic, 2014, 226 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13. Everybody loves a con man, as long as they’re not the ones getting conned. Jackson Greene already has this reputation at Maplewood Middle School. If any elaborate pranks have been played, he was “allegedly” behind it. He comes by his talents…
Read MoreThrough Middle-Eastern Eyes: I Am Malala and Hidden Girl
Two real-life memoirs of girls living in a turbulent time and place: Hidden Girl: the True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave, by Shyima Hall, with Lisa Wysocky. Simon & Shuster, 2014, 232 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up When we are young, it is often the emotion of an experience that stays with us the longest.…
Read MoreOn the Blue Comet
On the Blue Comet, by Rosemary Wells. Candlewick, 2010, 329 pages. I looked out the diner car window. We were just careening past a station called East Libby. A farmer stood on the platform, hands in overall pockets, eyes dreaming down the track from a sun-wrinkled face. Next to him on the platform was a…
Read MoreSRC, Week 6: Spy for the Night Riders
Welcome to Week 6! Time doth fly . . . We started out with The Blue Comet as our book for this week, but due to some issues with content, we’ve decided to focus on this title (see explanation here). We didn’t want to leave anyone hanging, though, so we’ll address The Blue Comet tomorrow…
Read MoreHappy Fourth!
This year marks the bicentennial of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which was written after the author witnessed the battle of Ft. McHenry from the hold of a British warship. That happened in September 1814, and we’ll be looking for some good books on the subject to review early this fall. In the meantime,…
Read MoreSRC Blue Comet: Problems and Alternate Suggestion
**Please note: We’ve added an alternate reading option for this week. Spy for the Night Riders: Martin Luther (Trailblazer Books #3)by Dave and Neta Jackson. If you have already bought the book, we’d recommend either reading it aloud so a parent can edit the bad language or using a Sharpie to “delete” it. Return with me, please,…
Read MoreSummer Tales
Two middle-grade summertime stories, both by Newberry-winning authors: Half a Chance, by Cynthia Lord. Scholastic, 2014, 218 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14 Lucy is used to moving—it’s her third time in 12 years. This time, her photographer dad and computer-programmer mom have moved to a New Hampshire lake mostly populated with summer people, so the friends…
Read MoreIce and Jungle–New Middle-Grade Adventure
Ice Dogs, by Terry Lynn Johnson. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014, 279 pages. Age/interest level: 12-16. It’s the call of the wild—Victoria Secord loves her 16 dogs and her life in Alaska, where everything was perfect until the accident that took her father. Dad taught her everything she knows about mushing and wilderness survival, but Mom…
Read MoreIt’s Summertime! Let’s Learn Something!
While we’re gearing up for our summer reading challenge (still time to sign up!) the kids may be looking around for something to read. Fiction comes to mind—what a great time to catch up with Percy Jackson or Greg Heffley! Or not. Though lighthearted fantasy or humor seems right for summer, don’t neglect nonfiction. Kids…
Read MoreDigging in the Dirt
Due to the loooong winter experienced by those of us in the Midwest and eastern United States, we’ve been slow to get our garden in. Also a bit tardy to look around and notice the new gardening books that always start popping up in March. But better late than never: here’s one nice addition to…
Read MoreGifts for Grads, 3rd Edition
If you have a high school or college graduate, you’re thinking about how fast time flies and how bittersweet the occasion of this very special young adult stretching his or her wings and flying out into the world. We think of all the things we should have told them and all the time that might…
Read MoreThinking Christianly–about Everything
Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series, by various authors. Crossway, 2012-2016, 110-140 pages each. Age/interest level: 16-up. This fall, bright, committed Christian students will pack their Bibles and drive blissfully away to secular college campuses. They know their Bible, but if they don’t know how to relate the Bible and Christian thought to the subjects…
Read MoreBook Bits – May 5, 2014
It’s graduation month, so we’re going to get all serious this week. Watch for gift recommendations and college prep resources, and if college isn’t in the future for you or your high school grad, education goes on. Or how about learning a trade? Mike Rowe says there’s a career–and money–to be made in helping to…
Read MoreFaithgirlz in Action: Two New Series
Zondervan’s “Faithgirlz!” books are series novels aimed at middle-grade girls. These two “girlz” series fall prey to some common weaknesses of Christian fiction, but show some bright spots too: Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek (Good News Shoes, #1), by Jill Osborne. Zonderkidz, 2014, 238 pages. Age/interest level: 8-12. Riley Mae Hart loves shoes:…
Read MoreOver the Moon and across the Pond
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon, by Frank Cottrell Boyce. Candlewick, 2014, 240 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13 The magical car seems to be flying for the last time in this latest installment of her time-traveling adventures (following Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race against Time, which takes her and the Tooting family back…
Read MoreShakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge. Candlewick, 2003, 116 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: 5 (Ages 12-15) One-line Summary: Kevin, age 15, learns to deal with difficult life issues by expressing his thoughts in poetry. An entertaining introduction to poetry forms. Shakespeare himself doesn’t have much to do with it; it’s all…
Read MoreBaseball Is . . . by Louise Borden
Baseball Is . . . by Louise Borden, illustrated by Raul Colon. Simon and Shuster, 2014. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8 Maturity Level: 2 (ages 4-8) and up One-line Summary: a picture book tribute to baseball for all ages, from an author and illustrator who love the game. This lavish picture book…
Read More*The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
*The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Harcourt Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. 237 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grade, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) and up Bottom line: The Crossover, a verse novel for middle grades, is an exuberant, touching, and funny tribute to basketball and family. Basketball Rule #1: In this game of life/ your family…
Read MoreFamily Devotional Time
Even though I have some reservations about personal devotional books, expressed here, family devotions are another story. While some formats are “less optimal” than others, time set aside as a family to talk about God’s word and its application to everyday life is time well spent. The quantity doesn’t matter as much as the consistency;…
Read MoreBible Review: The Family Reading Bible
The Family Reading Bible: a Joyful Discovery: Explore God’s Word Together, NIV. Zondervan, 2010, 2336 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: all ages Bottom Line: The Family Reading Bible includes the full text with scriptures arranged in three separate reading tracks for growing families. Just like it says, this version is meant…
Read MoreBible Review: The Story Teen Edition
The Story: Teen Edition. Zondervan, 2011, 498 pages (paperback). Reading Level: Middle Grades ages 10-13 Recommended for: ages 12-15 Bottom Line: This teen edition of “The Story” presents an abridged version of the scriptures arranged to form a continuous narrative accessible for teens. Not to be confused with The Story: the Bible as One Continuing…
Read MoreBible Review: The Big Picture Interactive Bible
Big Picture Interactive Bible: Connecting Christ through God’s Story (HCSB)*. Broadman &Holman Kids, 2014, 1350 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 6-10 Bottom Line: The “Big Picture” in this HCSB Bible relates to Jesus as the central figure of both Old and New Testaments. Like the NIV Jesus Bible, the purpose…
Read MoreBible Review: The Jesus Bible (NIV)
The NIV Jesus Bible, Zondervan, 2014, 1760 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Bottom Line: This children’s version of the NIV translation puts a proper focus on Jesus as the central figure of the entire Bible. It’s about time! Bible publishers are waking up to the fact that the whole word,…
Read MoreBible Review: NKJV Ignite
NKJV Ignite: the Bible for Teens. Thomas Nelson, 2013, 1600 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-15 Bottom Line: Ignite offers engaging features for the active teen who is just beginning to engage seriously with scripture. In trying to determine the difference between this teen Bible and Extreme Teen (another NKJV…
Read MoreBible Review: ESV Journal Bible
ESV Journal Bible, Crossway, 2012 (latest edition), 1380 pages. Reading Level:Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 12 and up Bottom Line: Though limited in long-term value, the ESV Journal Bible offers a reliable translation with plenty of room for the reader to interact with the text. The Journal Bible is available in a variety…
Read MoreBible Review: NKJV Extreme Teen Study Bible
NKJV Extreme Teen Study Bible, Thomas Nelson, 2012, 1792 pages, for ages 13-18 Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-15 Bottom Line: The Extreme Teen Study Bible offers standard in-text features in a reliable translation. This version of a teen study Bible in the New King James translation was originally published in…
Read MoreThe Shakespeare Stealer–and an Interview with Author Gary Blackwood
The Shakespeare Stealer (1998), Shakespeare’s Scribe (2000), and Shakespeare’s Spy (2003), by Gary Blackwood. Penguin Group; Puffin Books. Age/interest level: 12-16. True story: in 1998 I was shopping around a manuscript about a 14-year-old boy in 16th-century London who through a series of happy misfortunes becomes an actor in William Shakespeare’s theater company. Before starting…
Read MoreIt’s Party Time! How to wish Will a happy 450th
What better way to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday than to throw a party! With ten or more guests and liberal use of the suggestions below, it could be a night to remember. But wait! think’st thou. Parties take a lot of planning and expense and just plain work! Yes, but if you get your homeschool group, room mothers,…
Read MoreAdventuring with Wilder Good, Gannon & Wyatt, and a Giveaway!
The Adventures of Wilder Good: Elk Hunt, by S. J. Dahlstron. Paul Dry Books, 2013, 101 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13. The title says it all: young Wilder goes hunting for his first elk with trusted neighbor and old timer Gale Loving. An early-morning rise, a drive into the Colorado mountains, a hike deep into the…
Read MoreAmerica, the Future: Divided We Fall and Sylo
This month we’re looking at some YA and middle-grade titles that could be described as “high-interest”: stories that grab you and don’t let go. But these two YA novels also contain some thought-provoking material–especially the first. (And speaking of “high-interest,” the movie version of Divergent opens today! See our reviews of all three titles in…
Read MoreRetro Reads: The Sword in the Stone
This week we begin a series of occasional posts called Retro Reads: those modern-day classics you may have missed in your teen years or before you were even on the radar screen. We’ll do this mostly by author: Beverly Cleary, E. L. Konigsburg, Elizabeth Speare, Natalie Babbitt—and any favorites you’d like to suggest? We launch…
Read MoreSequelville: in Which We Follow up on Some Old Favorites
Sometimes fans of a popular book DEMAND a sequel (see Origami Yoda, below), and sometimes the entire series is planned out from the beginning. Whether a series conclusion lives up to its promise is another story, but all of these sequels have their charms. Click on the highlighted title of the previous book to read…
Read MoreMiddle Grade Winners: Cheesie Mack and Jack Strong
We’ve written about “middle-grade losers” before–those feckless, clueless fifth-and-sixth grader boys (exhibit A being The Wimpy Kid) so popular with boy readers of that age and younger. Here we try to balance the ledger with a couple of fifth- and sixth-graders who have a lot going for them, but just a few little problems appropriate…
Read MorePortrait of the Fantacist as a Young Man: Carpet People
The Carpet People, written and illustrated by Terry Pratchett. Clarion, 2013, 261 pages. Age/interest level: 11-up Sir Terry Pratchett, grand old man of fantasy/science fiction, began his career at the age of seventeen, with this very book (the original version is included in the appendix of this edition). He revised Carpet People while in his…
Read MoreDragons and Time Fetches: More Middle-Grade Fantasy
Handbook for Dragon Slayers, by Merrie Haskell. HarperCollins, 2013, 226 pages. Age/interest level: 10-up. When our story begins, Tilda, age 13, has no interest in dragon-slaying; she just wants to write the definitive book on the subject. Or the definitive book about something. Due to a lame foot and a retiring personality, she’d just like…
Read MorePresidents Day–What the Hayes?
There didn’t used to be a Presidents Day; instead, Americans observed Lincoln (Feb. 12) and Washington (Feb. 22) separately. But since those two had thoughtfully arranged to be born in the same month, and achieve the rank of Best President, and we didn’t want to slight the other 42 (I guess)—why not just slide them…
Read MoreBe My Valentine: The State of Teen Romance
If you go back as far as I do, you remember the YA novels before there was any such category as “YA.” These were mostly insipid girl-meets-boy or girl-changes-boyfriend stories that I, little snob that I was, turned up my not-unsubstantial nose at. The other option in the early-teen fiction landscape was series books, chiefly…
Read More*Tommysaurus Rex by Doug TenNapel
Tommysaurus Rex by Doug TenNapel. Scholastic (Graphix), ask 2013. 238 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) and up Bottom line: This graphic novel’s humor and lively drawing style are made-to-order for middle-grade boys, but it also deals thoughtfully with important themes. Ely’s best friend is a dog, which seems…
Read MoreAward-Winning Science Picture Books
The Animal Book: a Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest—and Most Surprising—Animals on Earth, by Steve Jenkins. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013, 208 pages. Age/interest level: 6-up. Steve Jenkins has made a name for himself writing about specified corners of the animal kingdom (see our review of The Beetle Book) and illustrating them with…
Read MoreA Quick Trip around the World
Maps, by Eleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski. Candlewick, 2013, 107 pages. Age/interest level: 4-up You like maps? We’ve got maps! After a view of the whole world, followed by a political map of Europe, the fun begins: big, double-page spreads of each country, lavishly illustrated with folk-arty, idiosyncratic icons of flora, fauna, geographical features, local…
Read MoreWalk Like an Egyptian–and a Roman
It’s nonfiction week at Redeemed Reader—or not entirely, but we’ve got a lot of nonfiction titles to review, including a quick trip around the world and a delve into scientific inquiry for the picture-book set. Today we take a trip back in time—way back—to the ancient Egyptians and the slightly-less-ancient Romans. Treasury of Egyptian Mythology:…
Read MoreOn the Court and in the Woods: Books for Teen Boys
Will in Scarlet, by Matthew Cody. Knopf, 20134, 272 pages. Age/interest level: 12-up. We’re introduced to William Shackley as a callow, nervous 14-year-old on his first real wolf hunt. He has expectations to live up to: heir apparent to the family estate while his father is away crusading with Richard the Lionheart, he’s spent most…
Read MoreSecond-Grade Perils: The Year of Billy Miller
The Year of Billy Miller, by Keven Henkes. Greenwillow, 2013, 229 pages. Age/interest level: 6-8. Kevin Henkes’ name on a book jacket automatically gets attention. No wonder: not only is he equally successful at writing and illustrating, he’s one of the very few children’s writer/illustrators to win both Newbery and Caldecott medals. And probably the…
Read MoreLive From Philly! Betsy Tweets the ALA Youth Media Awards
Since Friday, unhealthy Betsy’s been rubbing elbows at the American Library Association winter conference in Philadelphia. This morning she got up super early to snag a good seat at the Youth Media Awards, viagra the ALA’s BIG EVENT of the year. This, of course, is where they announce winners of their coveted prizes, mainly the…
Read MoreNewbery Buzz: The Truth of Me, plus one more
This is our last “buzz” post, but tomorrow Betsy and I are going to go out on a limb and make some predictions about the winner–maybe even name some titles that should be the winner. The Truth of Me, by Patricia MacLachlan. HarperCollins, 2013, 114 pages. Age/interest level: 8-14. Janie: Robert, the latest in a…
Read MoreNewbery Buzz: Counting by 7’s
(Janie and Betsy are continuing their chat about some of the outstanding children’s literature being touted for the coveted Newbery award–yes, there are people who speculate and handicap and figure the odds, just like for the Oscars and Golden Globes. See our thoughts about The Real Boy, Flora & Ulysses, and The Center of Everything. …
Read MoreTough Times: Two Middle-Grade Historical Novels for Boys
River Rats, by Leslie J. Wyatt. Royal Fireworks Press, 2013, 212 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14. Kenny Barton would be the first to admit he doesn’t have it too bad. A Missouri farm boy’s life in 1940 doesn’t lack for hard work and long days, but when the work is done adventure calls: fields and woods…
Read MoreNewbery Buzz: The Center of Everything
Betsy and I are back to dialogue about childrens’ books that the American Library Association may delight to honor. This year’s ALA Youth Media Awards will be announced on Jan. 27 (and in connection with that, we have our own exciting announcement to make–stay tuned!) For today, a middle-grade realistic novel with a dash of…
Read MoreThe Case for Christ for Kids: 90-Day Devotional
The Case for Christ for Kids 90-Day Devotional, by Lee Strobel and Jesse Florea. Zonderkidz, 2013, 199 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grade, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Bottom Line: This devotional guide based on Lee Strobel’s books may be a good way to introduce middle-graders to regular Bible-study time. Lee Strobel’s books have sold…
Read MoreThe Doctrines of Grace by Shane Lems
The Doctrines of Grace, Student Edition, by Shane Lems. P&R Publishing, 2013, 143 pages, included appendices. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-up. Bottom Line: This introductory guide to Reformed doctrine for teens can be an effective tool for family or Sunday school discussions. This slim volume is written for a teen…
Read MoreWho Do Men Say That I Am?
Christmas brings into focus the mystery of the incarnation, when God, in the person of Jesus Christ, took on human flesh in order to meet the most pressing human need. I’ve been reading through Job again this December, and I’m impressed with how often the cry for an intercessor comes up. Job, who did not…
Read MoreRounding Up Some Good YA Reads: *Nine Days, Nobody’s Secret, The Lucy Variations
As Hayley noted earlier this week, the much-heralded final volume of Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy was a disappointment. Much-heralded final volumes often disappoint, but what’s worse, they draw attention away from less-heralded novels that deserve notice. These three titles range wide in content and theme, but all are worthy additions to the literary, mystery, and…
Read MoreFar as the Curse is Found: Two Novels Dealing with Death
This seems like an odd time of year to talk about death, but the joy of the Christmas season wouldn’t be joyful at all if that baby did not represent God’s solution to our biggest problem. Isaac Watts recognized that, in one of my most favorite Christmas hymns: No more let sin and sorrow reign,…
Read MorePilgrim’s Progress adapted by Anna Trimiew
Pilgrim’s Progress: John Bunyan’s Classic Story Adapted for Children, by Anna Trimiew, illustrated by Drew Rose. Great Commissions Press, 2013, 109 pages, including glossary and index. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: This adaptation of Pilgrim’s Progress from Great Commissions Press can serve as a readable introduction to Bunyan’s…
Read More*Pilgrim’s Progress: a Retelling by Gary Schmidt
Pilgrim’s Progress: a Retelling, by Gary Schmidt, illustrated by Barry Moser. Eerdmans, 1994, 96 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, Ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12 and up Bottom Line: Gary Schmidt brings to this retelling a novelist’s sense of plot and character development, ably abetted by Barry Moser’s watercolor illustrations. A “retelling” usually involves taking…
Read MoreNewbery Buzz: The Real Boy
If you have any interest in youth literature at all, you know that the Newbery Award, announced in January by the American Library Association, is the oldest and most prestigious prize given to a children’s book. The buzz among teachers and librarians for next year’s award begins almost as soon as this year’s is announced,…
Read More*Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed
Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 64 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Maturity Level: All Bottom line: This unusual memoir for middle grades celebrates winter in Maine through the progression of 12 stages of ice formation from the thin skim on a pond to…
Read MoreCall of the Klondike: a True Gold Rush Adventure by David Meissner
This middle grade history uses original letters and contemporary news accounts to recreate the drama of the Alaska Gold Rush.
Read More*Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Harpers, 2013, 34 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: All Bottom line: The Bagram Ibatoulline illustrations make this version of Anderson’s The Snow Queen a family read-aloud treasure. Frozen, one of the most popular Disney features of all time, is supposed to…
Read MoreClassics in Comics
We round out Picture-book month at Redeemed Reader with a look at some recent comic-book adaptations of enduring literary works–even though graphic novels, technically speaking, are not picture books, because the text in a graphic novel is as important as the pictures. In any case they’ve come a long way from their underground, cult-status days,…
Read MoreNovember 22, 1963
Fifty years ago a president was violently assassinated. John F. Kennedy’s place in history is mostly emblematic: baby-boomers remember his ease and charm and clever repartee with the White House press corps; they remember the breath of fresh air that blew through the White House as Jackie embarked on her restoration project. Most of all,…
Read More*Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt
Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isobelle Arsenault (translated from the original French). Groundwood, 2014, 101 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 11-12) and up One-line Summary: Jane, the Fox, and Me is a graphic novel that shows, through clever use of shading and space, how…
Read MoreFlood by Alvaro F. Villa
Flood, by Alvaro F. Villa. Capstone, 2013, 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture books, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 8-10 It’s hard to imagine rain doing flood-level damage, especially in Midwestern settings where farmers generally struggle more often with drought. This book will give kids who have never experienced a flood a good idea of the…
Read MoreMr. Wuffles! by David Weisner
Mr. Wuffles! by David Weisner. Clarion, 2013, 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture books, Ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 4-8 and up Bottom Line: Mr. Wuffles, a spoiled housecat, gets his comeuppance from tiny space aliens in this amusing wordless picture book. David Weisner carved out a secure corner in the wordless-book scene with the flying…
Read MoreBluebird by Bob Staake
Bluebird, by Bob Staake. Schwartz & Wade, 2013, 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages 4-8 and up Bottom Line: This wordless picture book could be used to introduce the subject of self-sacrifice, death, and resurrection to young children, though it may be too upsetting for some. A very friendly bluebird…
Read MoreJourney by Aaron Becker. Candlewick, 2013. 26 pages
Journey, by Aaron Becker. Candlewick, 2013, 26 pages. Reading Level: Picture books, 4-8 Recommended for: ages 4-8 and up Bottom Line: Journey uses luminous illustrations–and no words–to express the joy of creativity in a way reminiscent of Harold and the Purple Crayon. As the story opens, a young girl tries to engage her family, but…
Read More*Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley
*Hank Finds an Egg, by Rebecca Dudley. Peter Pauper, 2013, 36 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 0-4 Recommended for: ages 0-4 and up Bottom Line: This lovely wordless book uses highly-detailed dioramas to tell a simple story of caring for strangers. This book is a nice addition to Easter, but makes a lovely…
Read More*Unspoken by Henry Cole
*Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad, by Henry Cole. Scholastic, 2012, 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Book, Ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-10 and up Bottom Line: Unspoken provides a wordless sequence of illustrations about a shelter for refugee slaves, inviting readers to fill in the story with their own imaginations. Henry Cole grew…
Read MoreLooking Forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas
Every holiday season brings forth a crop of shiny new picture books, and we’re on the beat. Today, two for Thanksgiving and two for Christmas–the more secular side of Christmas, but we plan to tell you about more Christ-centered ones as the season approaches. Giving Thanks: Poems, Prayers, and Praise Songs of Thanksgiving, by Katherine…
Read MoreVeterans Day: The Warrior’s Heart
The Warrior’s heart: Becoming a Man of Compassion and Courage, by Eric Greitens. Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 263 pages. Age/interest level: 15-up. You stand in freezing water up to your chest. Every muscle in your body throbs with pain. You are exhausted beyond anything you could ever imagine, and all around you the night air carries…
Read MoreThe Power of a Picture
It’s picture book month! And boy, do we have a lot of picture books to talk about. I keep hearing that the pb market is declining, and that may be, but new titles keep flowing through book stores, swirling around the bedrock classics like Good Night Moon and Where the Wild Things Are. We have…
Read MoreMiddle-Grade Losers, or, What Hath Greg Heffley Wrought?
The Wimpy Kid phenomenon keeps on going, and so far has outlasted the dystopia phenomenon, the vampire phenomenon, and the zombie phenomenon. Volume 8 in the series, Hard Luck, is set to release on Nov. 5 with a 5.5 million print run. I reviewed The Third Wheel, Wimpy Kid #7, with observations on the genre…
Read MoreGhost Stories
Do you believe in ghosts? I discount many of the ghost stories I hear, but can’t quit discount the whole phenomenon. That is, there is a spiritual world outside our comprehension (see Ephesians 6:12), and while I think it unlikely that spirits of the dead are capable of haunting, other spirits (i.e., demons) might be. …
Read MoreHear That Lonesome Whistle: Locomotive and Train
Every year children’s publishing offers at least one major picture book related to trains, but this year we’ve been blessed with three. One of them, Sherri Rinker’s Steam Train, Dream Train, we’ve already reviewed. The other two, Brian Floca’s Locomotive and Elisha Cooper’s Train, were released within weeks of each other, and both to glowing…
Read MoreThe Dogs of History
Duke, by Kirby Larson. Scholastic, 2013, 229 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-12 Boy loves dog; boy loses dog. That’s what happens to Hobart (Hobey) Hanson, and it seems like a raw deal. There’s been a big war going on for the last three years, and he and other “young citizens”…
Read MoreLara’s Gift by Annemarie O’Brien
Lara’s Gift, by Annemarie O’Brien. Knopf, 2013, 193pages, including appendix Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12, Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 10-15 Bottom Line: Lara’s Gift enters the world of a peasant girl in czarist Russia, with country estates, borzois, wolf hunts, and spiritual overtones. Compared to most Russian peasants in the early…
Read MoreEarly America: Friendship and War
Friends of Liberty, by Beatrice Gormley. Eermans, 2013, 184 pages. Age/interest level: 8-14. Sally Gifford, as the daughter of an honest craftsman in 18th-century Boston, doesn’t have such a bad life, but it suffers by comparison with that of her new friend Kitty Lawson. Except for one key fact the girls share: both have lost…
Read MoreChurch History for Everybody
This 12-volume set documents the church from its earliest days to 2001, with lavish illustration, original source material, and literate commentary. The Christians: Their First Two Thousand Years, edited and published by Ted Byfield. Twelve Volumes, 2002-2012. I’ve been in church all my life. I’ve been around Christians all my life. I’ve read the Bible…
Read MoreLittle Histories
One thing we’ve lost, in our modern fragmented world, is a sense of the story of history. Between the rock of political correctness on one side and the hard place of scientific data analysis on the other, the narrative flow gets ground up and spit out in unconnected pieces. Narrative history has its faults, the…
Read MoreFun But Not Fantastic: Mr. Lemoncello and the Family Whipple
The American tradition of the “tall tale,” which you may think died with Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, is alive and well in a genre of children’s literature that might be called “whimsical realism,” wherein quirky characters and outlandish situations are narrated with a perfectly straight face and the humor comes mostly from that juxtaposition.…
Read MoreGod in Dystopia: Captives and Aquifer
Two weeks ago Hayley, Joseph, and Abby discussed two inaugural titles from Blink, Zondervan’s new YA title. Today they’re back with two more. Both these novels could be classified as “Dystopian” fiction but they vary widely in setting and style. Let’s get the conversation going: Hayley, could you give us a three-sentence summary of Captives,…
Read MoreThe Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer
The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P., #1), by Eoin Colfer. Hyperion, 2013, 352 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Appropriate for: ages 15-up Bottom Line: This new time-travel series from the author of Artemis Fowl offers plenty of pulse-pounding action but distasteful situations and characters. London is a harsh place in 1899, especially for an…
Read MoreThe Enemy Stone: An Interview with Robert Treskillard
Last Friday we had a fascinating discussion with our interns about some of the first titles of a brand new YA imprint from Zondervan. One of those titles, you may recall, was Merlin’s Blade, the first volume in a very promising trilogy called the Merlin Spiral, by a debut author. We expect to see more…
Read MoreThe Secret Lives of Scientists
On a Beam of Light: a Story of Albert Einstein, by Jennifer Berre, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky. Chronicle, 2013, 50 pages. Age/interest level: 6-9 Despite the title, this is not a story of Einstein; it’s the story, from birth and toddlerhood and unremarkable school career to revolutionizing the study of physics. Though a late talker,…
Read MoreTaking a Look at “Blink”–with Our Own YA Readers
This fall, Zondervan Publishers is introducing a new imprint called “Blink.” According to Zondervan marketing v-p Chrisynethia Floyd, “They are for anyone, regardless of faith . . . These will be hopeful books. We won’t go as dark [as some other YA novels], but we will touch on very real issues” while representing “morals and…
Read MoreNew Worlds, Spirit Animals, and Frog Warriors: New Middle-Grade Fantasy
Betsy and Janie, the middle-grade readers, are joining forces today to tell you about three brand-new fantasy series for middle-graders. Betsy reviews the first two, Janie the last: Jinx by Sage Blackwood. HarperCollins, 2013. 368 pages. Age/interest level: 4th-8th grades. Jinx is a delightful new fantasy series for middle grade readers with an older magician,…
Read MoreThe Rithmatist, Bubble World, and A Corner of White: Science Fiction or Fantasy?
As Emily informed us yesterday, September is science and science-fiction month, featuring our read-along of Orson Scott Card’s classic novel, Ender’s Game. To celebrate, we’re focusing on youth science fiction this month, starting off with three new YA novels that raise an interesting literary question: what’s the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Most readers…
Read MoreBoy Overcoming
Paperboy, by Vince Vawter. Delacorte, 2013m 224 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14 “I’m typing about the stabbing for a good reason. I can’t talk.” Life is challenging when you stutter so badly you can only communicate in spurts. Our hero–whom we know at first only as Little Man, the fond name the family housekeeper gave him–realizes…
Read MoreGetting Rich Quick: Two Novels about Sudden Fortunes
A Whole Lot of Lucky, by Danette Haworth. Walker Books, 2013, 288 pages. Age/interest level: 9-13 Hailee Richardson has plenty to complain about—her screechy old boys’ bike, her baby sister who gobbles up attention, getting snubbed by the cool kids at school—but when her parents win $3 million from a lottery ticket, all that changes. …
Read MoreMortal Instruments: City of Bones
There’s a big movie release this week, based on a best-selling series of young-adult fantasy novels. Young-adult fantasy novels have proved enormously profitable for the movie industry (certain flops excepted), and I suspect City of Bones will do very well for itself. Should teens read the book, see the movie, or skip both? I’m sure…
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