Boys

Summer Reading Challenge, Wk 3: Nate Saint: Operation Auca

By emily | Jun 25, 2013

Have you seen our new tab for the Summer Reading Challenge? In it, you'll find all the links to our Summer Reading Challenge--both the main ...

Two Ways to See the World

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 24, 2013

Geography, like Grammar (and God), is a neglected subject in today’s public school system. Too bad—I well recall my sixth grade teacher Mrs. Nelson, a ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Week 3: Mr. Popper’s Penguins

By emily | Jun 18, 2013

Introduction We've added a Summer Reading Challenge tab at the top of our website, to help you keep up with the posts as the summer ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Week 2: The Middle of Somewhere by (our very own) J. B. Cheaney

By Betsy Farquhar | Jun 10, 2013

If you're new to our Summer Reading Challenge, welcome! If you started our Around the World adventure last week with us, congratulations and let's continue ...

Summer Reading Challenge, Wk 1: Interview with John Branyan

By emily | Jun 6, 2013

It's Thursday, and that means it's time for our Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) extras! In case you missed it, here is the Introduction, our list of ...

Whalesong: A Review by Nathan Huffstutler

By emily | May 30, 2013

Earlier this year, when I first heard the name Robert Siegel doing research for these book reviews last April at World Magazine, I learned Siegel ...

Throwing Strikes with R. A. Dickey

By Janie Cheaney | May 28, 2013

Throwing Strikes: My Quest for Truth and the Perfect Knuckleball, by R. A. Dickey. Dial, 2013, 296 pages. Age/interest level: 12-16. Last year Dickey’s autobiography, ...

Interview with Judah Ben: Kai’Ro, Christian Rap and the Progress of Urban Pilgrims

By emily | May 2, 2013

Introduction There are very few modern books that I see as really significant. But I see the Kai' Ro series--an urban interpretation of Pilgrim's Progress--by ...

A Novel in Verse and Verse in a Novel

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 26, 2013

We're rounding out our Poetry Month coverage with three books for middle-graders: Gone Fishing: a Novel in Verse, by Tamera Will Wissinger, illustrated by Matthew ...

Inspiring (very) young artists

By Megan Saben | Apr 24, 2013

God is a God of words and pictures. He has revealed Himself to us through words in Scripture and visually in creation, and made us in ...

Good Old Fashioned Adventure

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 18, 2013

The False Prince (2012) and The Runaway King (2013), by Jennifer A. Nielson. Scholastic, about 350 pages each. Age/interest level: 10-up. When we first encounter ...

Poetry Anthologies

By Megan Saben | Apr 10, 2013

A good poetry anthology is like going to a friend's house with a basket, and being told, "Oh, you must read this one, and this one, and ...

The Real Sherlock Holmes

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 9, 2013

Arthur Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes story in a British periodical in 1887, to moderate interest. Three novels and fifty-odd short stories later, ...

Final Four (Plus One)

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 5, 2013

This post should have gone up during March Madness, but even if the NCAA tournament is over this weekend, the NBA has few months to ...

Proverbs, Tricksters and Fools

By Megan Saben | Apr 1, 2013

The book of Proverbs is full of instructions for the simple to obtain wisdom and avoid disaster. Stories about tricksters demonstrate common-grace examples of using ...

Easter Picks from the New Crew

By emily | Mar 21, 2013

We thought we'd kick off our new partnership with Megan and Betsy with a few Easter book recommendations. (If you missed their introduction, read about ...

New Nonfiction: Titanic, Moonbird, and Bodyguards

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 12, 2013

These three books have nothing in common except their general category and the fact that the first two won honors in the ALA Youth Media ...

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus 3) by Rick Riordan

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 8, 2013

The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3), by Rick Riordan. Hyperion, 2012, 608 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 8, 2013

Zeus, King of the Gods, (#1 in The Olympians graphic-novel series) by George O’Connor. First Second, 2012, 80 pages. Reading Level: Picture books (graphic novel), ...

Classics for Kids: The Greek and Romans

By emily | Mar 7, 2013

Introduction With the popularity of Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series , kids' books containing themes and allusions to Greek and Roman mythology and culture ...

Three for Black History Month

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 1, 2013

I know—Black History month just ended. I’m not a fan of segregated “histories”: in case you haven’t noticed, this is the first day of Women’s ...

Metaphysics, Graphics-Style

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 19, 2013

For some folks, graphic novels are actually a discipline to be learned—their eyes don’t know where to go first and they tend to jump from ...

Legends Told and Re-told

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 5, 2013

Robin Hood, by David Calcutt, illustrated by Graham Baker-Smith. Barefoot Books, 2012, 112 pages. Age/interest level: 9-up. Everyone knows—or do they?--how the hooded stranger showed ...

Unstoppable by Tim Green

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 31, 2013

A middle-grade boy's football ambitions crash against a cancer diagnosis in this frank tale by NFL star Tim Green. Unstoppable, by Tim Green. HarperCollins, 2012, ...

Valentine Books for Little Ones

By emily | Jan 28, 2013

VALENTINE'S DAY PRESENTS With Valentine's Day creeping up on us, I thought I'd throw out a few of my favorite Valentine books for the little ...

On All Fronts: New Nonfiction of World War II

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 15, 2013

My sister, who serves at a docent at a prisoner-of-war museum in Texas, says that her most eager listeners are pre-teen and teenage boys. When ...

Going to the Dogs

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 11, 2013

Of all four-legged mammals, I estimate that dogs get the most exposure in fiction, with horses and mice tying for second and cats a distant ...

The Wimpy Kid and His Imitators

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 8, 2013

Jeff Kinney currently sits at the top of a $550 million empire, and it all started with a web comic. When Kinney’s ambition to write ...

A Very LOGOS and Parnassus Christmas, Part Two

By emily | Dec 17, 2012

If you missed it, Part One of this series detailed my trip to a fantastic Nashville bookstore, Logos Bookstore. Today, I follow up that Christian ...

A Very LOGOS & Parnassus Christmas, Part One

By emily | Dec 6, 2012

One Hip Town. Two Bookstores. And Lots of Great Books for Kids! Here in Nashville, we have at least two exceptional bookstores: Logos Bookstore and ...

Spunky Siblings

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 16, 2012

Brother-Sister duos are a staple in children’s publishing ever since the Bobbsey Twins—a way of stretching the appeal, I suppose. These new series try to ...

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 6, 2012

The Drowned Vault (Ashtown Burials #2) by N. D. Wilson. Random House, 2012, 447 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12 and ...

Solomon Kane, Puritan Avenger

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 2, 2012

We're closing out Halloween week with something a little different. About two years ago, I began hearing of a new movie called Solomon Kane, based ...

The History of Faith: Wiliam Boekestein’s and Simonetta Carr’s New Books for Kids

By emily | Oct 25, 2012

This week in our library month theme, Janie took us back to the 8th century in a review of Hand of Vengeance by Douglas Bond. ...

Hand of Vengeance

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 23, 2012

Tomorrow we have a real treat for you: two Christian dads, one a pastor and one a teacher, who both happen to write books for ...

Quiet Time for Kids

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 19, 2012

“Thy word have I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin . . .” (Ps. 119:11) More than anything, Christian parents want ...

Shopping for Bible Storybooks

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 17, 2012

In keeping with our home library emphasis this month, most of our readers would probably agree that the first items on our list would be ...

Just Because: a Roundup of New Picture Books

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 11, 2012

The picture book is alive and well, to judge by the way the publishing industry keeps pumping them out. Here are some of the more ...

Kids and 9/11

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 7, 2012

To our children it’s already history, but to us it seems like “only yesterday.” Too soon, really, to come to an informed conclusion about what ...

By emily | Aug 30, 2012

A Few Recommendations Last year Janie and I put together a post on football books for kids and young adults, Tim Tebow to Justin Tuck: ...

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 24, 2012

Captain Awesome (series), by Stan Kirby, Illustrated by George O’Connor. Little Simon, 2012, approx. 110 pages. Age/interest level: 5-7 According to many K-3 teachers I’ve ...

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 21, 2012

In keeping with our back-to-school focus: if you haven't met little Rocket, you really should. As for Charlie Joe, well . . . How Rocket ...

Swash and Buckle: the Chronicles of Egg

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 3, 2012

Deadweather and Sunrise, by Geoff Rodkey. Putnam, 2012, 296 pages. Age/interest level: 10-up. Thirteen-year-old Egbert Masterson, or Egg as he will soon be called, is ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 24, 2012

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley. Dial, 2012, 325 pp. Age/interest level: 9-13 Jane is remarkable in her town for being unremarkable. In fact, she and ...

Hoping Against Hope: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 20, 2012

Doug Swietek finds a new life in his new town, despite his boorish father. Perfect for fans of The Wednesday Wars. Okay for Now, by ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 17, 2012

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy (drawings by Todd Harris). HarperCollins, 2012, 436 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended ...

The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 26, 2012

The Glorious Fourth, as they used to call it, celebrates the birth of a nation whose independence was only declared with the signing of a ...

Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 12, 2012

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Coming up on Friday, an interview with Andrew Klavan himself! And we have a copy of Crazy Dangerous to give away!! Read on ...

The Great Outdoors

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 4, 2012

Your kids may be packing for camp this month--or maybe not. (Watch for my post on Bible/Christian camps later this week.) While the weather's warm ...

Summer Vacation Audiobooks

By emily | May 31, 2012

Last year about this time, I did a vacation audiobook post. I'm actually on vacation myself right now, so I can't do as thorough a ...

Steve Jobs: American success story?

By Janie Cheaney | May 11, 2012

Steve Jobs: Thinking Differently, by Patricia Lakin. Aladdin (Simon & Shuster), 2012, Age/interest level: 10-14. Who Was Steve Jobs? by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso, ...

Huddled Masses and Deadly Desperados

By Janie Cheaney | May 4, 2012

City of Orphans, by Avi. Atheneum, 2011, 350 pages. Ages 10-14. New York, 1893: “Look at someone on the street and you may never see ...

To The Avengers…and Beyond!

By emily | Apr 30, 2012

COMICS: Guy Kryptonite? Why do guys like comics so much? Especially the super-hero variety? It's an enigma I spent quite a lot of energy trying ...

Cowboys and Other Guy Stuff: Poems by David Harrison

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 27, 2012

The title is a misnomer; poetry is for girls, too—and humans in general. In spite of my lazy attitude toward it, poetry is the highly ...

Detectives: Hard Boiled and Four-Legged

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 18, 2012

Ever since Edgar Allen Poe, one of the most reliable publishing genres has been the mystery or detective novel. I'm not a huge fan myself, ...

R.C. Sproul’s New Picture Book: A Review by Desiring Virtue

By emily | Apr 2, 2012

Today's post is by Jessalyn Hutto, a book reviewer and blogger at her lovely website, Desiring Virtue. Be sure to click on over to her ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 2, 2012

Gary Paulsen's classic survival novel Hatchet offers a realistic--as opposed to romantic-- view of nature and what it takes to survive in the wild. Hatchet ...

Soldier Bear

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 28, 2012

Soldier Bear, by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman. Translated by Laura Watkinson. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2011, 145 pages. Age/interest level: 9-12 World War ...

Happy Presidents’ Day! No, really…

By emily | Feb 20, 2012

Better Than Little Obama Debbie Cakes Let's go ahead and admit it. Nobody really cares about Presidents' Day. I mean, maybe a few history buffs, ...

Africa: A Literary Adventure and Podcast!

By emily | Feb 16, 2012

This month my local public library is offering a marionette show of African folktales starring Anansi the spider. It's a unique way to celebrate Black ...

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 14, 2012

Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos, FSG, 2011, 341 pages. Age/interest level: 10-13. (2012 Newbery Medal winner) Norvelt, PA, 1962: a depression-era-town that’s slowly ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 27, 2012

So, last Friday the whole boys-and-reading subject came up, and why boys seem to prefer non-fiction. I think this generally true, though there are plenty ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 20, 2012

Everybody likes stories. But a significant number of bodies prefer their stories to be true, or at least factual. I’ve long heard it rumored among ...

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 20, 2011

War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo. Scholastic, 2011 (originally published 1982), 192 pages. Age/interest level: 8 and up. Michael Morpurgo was already established in the UK ...

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 16, 2011

The December 21 opening of The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn, should focus attention not only on the boy from Belgium ...

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 25, 2011

Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica. Penguin, 2009, 244 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: Mike Lupika's young hero ...

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 25, 2011

Home Field Advantage by Justin Tuck, illustrated by Leonardo Rodriguiez. Simon & Shuster, 2011, 22 pages. Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: ages ...

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 15, 2011

The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish, by Cheryl Harness. National Geographic, 2006, 143 pages. Age/interest level: 8 and up. Thanksgiving means a raid on the ...

By emily | Nov 10, 2011

*The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, written by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Brian Selznick. Scholastic Press, 2001. 48 pps. Recommended for ages 7-up. When I ...

The Strange Condition Called Middle School

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 9, 2011

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger. Abrams, 2010, 141 pages. Age/interest level: 9-12. Sixth grade is the witching time for authors of ...

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 2, 2011

The Brixton Brothers, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex, published by Simon & Schuster. The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (2009), 179 ...

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 19, 2011

Homelanders, by Andrew Klavan. Published by Thomas Nelson in four parts: The Last Thing I Remember (2009), The Long Way Home (2010), The Truth of ...

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 5, 2011

*The Dragon’s Tooth (Ashtown Burials, Book One), by N. D. Wilson. Random House, 2011, 482 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages ...

On Eagle’s Wings

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 29, 2011

Book 2 of the epic adventures of the three children who are heirs to a kingdom, sought by the Fangs of Dang, and as normal ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 8, 2011

Around the World in 100 Days, by Gary Blackwood. Dutton, 2010, 358 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Bottom Line: ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 18, 2011

The Brave Young Knight, by Karen Kingsbury, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard. Zonderkidz, 2011. Age/interest level, 4-7 In the spirit of Will, God's Mighty Warrior, here's ...

*The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 9, 2011

*The Charlatan's Boy, by Jonathan Rogers. WaterBrook Press, 2010, 305 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 28, 2011

Example of Clanker technology from the 1914-ish world of "Leviathan." According to Wikipedia, the term was probably coined by science-fiction writer K. W. Jeter as ...

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 7, 2011

Supposedly, one of the most-asked questions in children's publishing divisions is, "Will boys read it?" Will boys read anything? Or only books that have "butt" ...

Peak by Roland Smith

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 7, 2011

Peak by Roland Smith. Harcourt: 2007, 246 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up One-line summary: Fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello's ...

90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 31, 2011

An 11-year-old boy flees revolutionary Cuba with his brothers and learns American enterprise in this vivid, fast-paced middle-grade historical novel. 90 Miles to Havana, by ...

Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 31, 2011

Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong. HarperCollins, 2010. 210 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 12-14 Recommended for: Ages 15-18 Bottom line: The experience of ...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 15, 2011

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan: The Lightning Thief (Hyperion/Miramax,2005), The Sea of Monsters (2006), The Titan's Curse (2007), The Battle of the ...

*The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 24, 2011

The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins. HMH, 2010. 301 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom Line: Middle-grade ...

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 22, 2011

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. Random House (Wendy Lamb Books), 2007. 88 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 4 (Ages 10-12) Bottom ...

They Don’t Write ’em Like This Anymore

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 6, 2011

In tone, appearance, and character, On the Blue Comet is straight out of the 1950s. On the Blue Comet by Rosemary Wells. Candlewick, 2010, 329 ...

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