Book Reviews
Swash and Buckle: the Chronicles of Egg
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Insurgent: A Summer Review
By emily |
Hayley Schoeppler is a 20 year old college student, the oldest in a family of seven kids, and an astute Christian book reviewer at her ...
Read More Catching Up with YA Fantasy
By Janie Cheaney |
Readers of this blog may not believe me when I say I’m not a big fantasy fan. Then why so many fantasy reviews? Because that’s ...
Read More Kids’ Books On My Wishlist
By emily |
It'll be a few more weeks before we join in the Back to School rompus, but if you're like me, you've been out browsing for ...
Read More Remarkable Happenings
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Hoping Against Hope: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Christian Books for Burgeoning Readers
By emily |
This summer I've been on a mission to find books with specifically Christian content for my kids. We get plenty of great literature from the ...
Read More The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
By Janie Cheaney |
Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George. Bloomsbury, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12. Recommended for: Ages 8-14 Whenever Castle Glower ...
Read More Dystopia, Junior
By Janie Cheaney |
Dystopian fiction for middle-grades isn't new: Lois Lowry's The Giver is a classic of the genre. The success of The Hunger Games means similar titles ...
Read More Hard Science
By Janie Cheaney |
God particle, Higgs boson—it's been news since Independence Day (no relation to said holiday) and most of us scratch our heads. It’s too hot to ...
Read More We Hold These Truths
By Janie Cheaney |
“If men were angels,” wrote James Madison in The Federalist #51, “government would not be necessary.” While understanding what Madison meant, he wasn’t quite accurate. ...
Read More American Originals
By Janie Cheaney |
Those delegates to the Second Continental Convention probably had no idea what they were creating when they signed a certain document back in July of ...
Read More The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Mystery Under the Stars
By Janie Cheaney |
. . . In which we crack the spines of two middle-grade novels that have been getting a lot of favorable press: both are mysteries, ...
Read More Crazy Numbers
By Janie Cheaney |
Some kids like numbers and are good with them; others aren’t. Though no longer a kid, I fall in the latter category,but these two books ...
Read More Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More The Great Outdoors
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Summer Vacation Audiobooks
By emily |
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 ...
Read More The Bible in Brickbats
By Janie Cheaney |
The Brick Bible: A New Spin on the Old Testament, as told and illustrated by Brendan Powell Smith. Skyhorse Publishing, 2011, 270 pages. In his ...
Read More In Memory – Picture Books For Memorial Day
By Janie Cheaney |
Memorial Day, like Veterans Day, is one of those overlooked observances that to government, library, and bank employees means a chance to catch up or ...
Read More Thriving at College: An Interview with Alex Chediak
By emily |
A handbook of practical wisdom for the would-be college student. Essential summer read for every incoming freshman.--Dr. Gene Veith, provost of Patrick Henry College About ...
Read More Saturday Review: Among the Fairies
By Janie Cheaney |
Tagging along after yesterday's post, here are two relatively new (and one older) titles in that perennial genre, the fairy tale: Small Persons with Wings, ...
Read More “Do you believe in fairies?”
By Janie Cheaney |
The Fairy Ring, or Elsie and Frances Fool the World, by Mary Losure. Candlewick, 2012, 168 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14 When Frances Griffith arrived in ...
Read More American Girls: Meet Rebecca
By emily |
Meet Rebecca (American Girls Collection: Rebecca 1914). by Jacqueline Green. American Girl, 2009. 96 pgs. Ages 8-up. Candlelight for Rebecca (American Girl) by Jacqueline Green. ...
Read More The Secret Lives of Animals
By Janie Cheaney |
The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. HarperCollins, 2012, 304 pages. Age/interest level: 8-up. Last week, a little bluebird appeared in our wood stove. ...
Read More Thinking Different(ly)
By Janie Cheaney |
I'm way behind on my Saturday reviews, so it's time to catch up—with a Tuesday review tagging off of last Friday's Steve Jobs post. Jobs ...
Read More Steve Jobs: American success story?
By Janie Cheaney |
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, ...
Read More Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire! by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath
By Janie Cheaney |
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire! by Mrs. Bunny, translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Schwartz & Wade, 2012, 248 ...
Read More Huddled Masses and Deadly Desperados
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Bad Trips
By Janie Cheaney |
Summer is the traditional time for road trips, and road-trip novels traditionally roll out in the spring. A title from this year and one from ...
Read More To The Avengers…and Beyond!
By emily |
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 ...
Read More Cowboys and Other Guy Stuff: Poems by David Harrison
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More The Splendor of the Ordinary
By Janie Cheaney |
I have a confession to make: I’m not a fan of poetry. For someone who loves literature, I see this not as a mere preference ...
Read More Not-So-Secret Gardens for Kids
By emily |
This week kicks off a fun week here at Redeemedreader: Poetry Week. April is National Poetry Month, after all, and there are some great poetry ...
Read More How Our Gardens Grow
By Janie Cheaney |
Planting a garden is an exercise in faith—the assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Young children are fascinated with ...
Read More Podcast 14: American Girls, Dangers and Delights
By emily |
What are the dangers and delights of the American Girls series of books? I gave you guys an intro to this subject in an American ...
Read More Detectives: Hard Boiled and Four-Legged
By Janie Cheaney |
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, ...
Read More Graduation Gifts for Teens
By emily |
We're fast approaching graduation day at many schools, so I thought it might be worth tossing out a few books to brighten your celebrations. 1. ...
Read More May B by Caroline Starr Rose
By Janie Cheaney |
May B., by Caroline Starr Rose, Schwartz & Wade, 2012, 225 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...
Read More American Girls
By emily |
The American Girls books are in some ways the premier girls' reading series for girls who are emerging readers. Among conservative families, at least, they ...
Read More Wonder
By Janie Cheaney |
Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. Knopf, 2012, 320 pages. Ages 8-up August (Augie) Pullman obviously doesn’t remember the day he was born, but in the ...
Read More Picture Books on Death (You’ll Never See)
By emily |
I thought with a subject that is so dour today, I thought I could do a little inside-out reporting and tell you all about the ...
Read More Dealing with Death: Bridge to Terabithia
By Janie Cheaney |
The first time I ever heard my father cry was when my uncle, the brother closest to him in age and disposition, was dying of ...
Read More The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
By Janie Cheaney |
As Jesus takes us to the cross this week, I’d like to spend some time looking at recent and classic children’s literature that addresses the ...
Read More R.C. Sproul’s New Picture Book: A Review by Desiring Virtue
By emily |
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 ...
Read More Blue Like Jazz
By Janie Cheaney |
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts On Christian Spirituality, was published in 2003 by Thomas Nelson. Since then it has become a staple of Christian college ...
Read More Kingstone Part 2: Interview and Babylon
By emily |
By Redeemed Reader intern Jack Mertens Today I continue my series on Kingstone Comics, begun on Monday with reviews of two of Marvin Olasky's graphic ...
Read More RR Podcast 12: Simonetta Carr on Pinocchio and Christ in Italy
By emily |
Introduction A few weeks ago, I posted a written interview with Simonetta Carr on her novel for young readers, The Weight of a Flame: The ...
Read More Kingstone Part 1: 2048 and Echoes of Eden
By emily |
Today's reviewer, Jack Mertens, is a 17 year old high school student living in Louisiana where he is, among other things, an avid reader and ...
Read More Real or Not Real? The Hunger Games Movie is Good For Teens….
By emily |
***SPOILER ALERT: SOME PARTS OF THE END OF THE STORY REVEALED BELOW To read Janie's review of the book, see Hungry. Today, the much anticipated ...
Read More A Children’s Guide to Pilgrim’s Progress
By emily |
Last October, Janie and I celebrated Reformation Day with a read-along of Pilgrim's Progress for families. Janie covered the original book for older kids, while ...
Read More The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
By Janie Cheaney |
The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson. Holt, 2008, 265 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, 15-18 Recommended for: ages 15-18 and up Bottom ...
Read More Unwind by Neal Shusterman
By Janie Cheaney |
Unwind by Neal Shusterman. Simon & Shuster, 2007, 352 pages Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 15-18 Bottom Line: Unwind presents a ...
Read More Saturday Review: Books for Beginning Readers
By Janie Cheaney |
I read a lot of books for this blog. All the ladies at the circulation desk at the Greene County Library (bless their hearts!) know ...
Read More Talking Over the Hunger Games, Part One
By Janie Cheaney |
Since Susanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy (reviewed here) has sparked so much discussion in school cafeterias and dorm rooms (not to mention break rooms and ...
Read More Hungry
By Janie Cheaney |
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games, Scholastic, 2008, 374 pages. Catching Fire, Scholastic, 2009, 391 pages. Mockingjay, 2010, 387 pages. Age/interest level: 14-up. READER ADVISORY: This ...
Read More The Lorax: A Book and Movie Meditation
By emily |
“It is to be broken. It is to be torn open. It is not to be reached and come to rest in ever. I turn ...
Read More Cities and Gardens
By Janie Cheaney |
As mentioned last Friday, some professional worriers have noted that children's picture books are displaying a decided preference for cityscapes as opposed to natural landscapes. ...
Read More The Poetry of Nature
By emily |
Contest: Do you have a favorite kids' poem? Would you or your kids like to write your own? Post your new or favorite poems in ...
Read More Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
By Janie Cheaney |
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Harper Collins, 1972 (paperback reissue 2003). 208 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Recommended for: Young adult, ...
Read More Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Soldier Bear
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Christ in Literature: The Anansi Stories
By emily |
We started our February series on African folktales with an interview with a Christian from the Congo and a stack of books. We followed that ...
Read More Countdown by Deborah Wiles
By Janie Cheaney |
Countdown (the Sixties Trilogy) by Deborah wiles. Scholastic, 2010, 377 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (ages 10-12) and up Bottom ...
Read More The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
By Janie Cheaney |
The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy. Putnam/Penguin, 2011, 353 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 5 (ages 12-14) Bottom Line: The Apothecary is ...
Read More Interview with Author Jane Kurtz on African Stories
By emily |
More African stories! Today, we hear from Jane Kurtz, who was raised by missionary parents in Ethiopia. Since then, she's come to live in the ...
Read More Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
By Janie Cheaney |
Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys. Penguin/Philomel, 2011, 338 pages. Reading Level: Young Adults, ages 12-15 Maturity Level: 6 (ages 15-18) and up June ...
Read More Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
By Janie Cheaney |
Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin. Henry Holt & Company: 2011, 154 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 5 ...
Read More Happy Presidents’ Day! No, really…
By emily |
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, ...
Read More Heart and Soul
By Janie Cheaney |
Heart and Soul: the story of America and African Americans, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. HarperCollins, 2011, 108 pages (including bibliography, index, and chronology). ...
Read More Africa: A Literary Adventure and Podcast!
By emily |
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 ...
Read More No Place Like Norvelt
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More A Roundup of Dickens Resources: Books
By Janie Cheaney |
My first exposure to Charles Dickens was the original Classics Illustrated edition of A Tale of Two Cities. The last panel of Sidney Carton climbing ...
Read More The Best of Toms
By Janie Cheaney |
We're kicking off Dickens week with a fun excursion into the heart of Victorian London. Be sure and enter our Dickens trivia contest for a ...
Read More Don’t Try This At Home?
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Oscar Night for Librarians
By Janie Cheaney |
Actually, it’s not at night, but first thing in the morning. And there are no backless evening gowns or acceptance speeches (those come later). But ...
Read More 50 Years of The Snowy Day
By emily |
When The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats first came out in 1962, it broke the mold in a number of ways. Besides the charming ...
Read More Just the Facts, Mom
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More Pleasures and Distractions
By Janie Cheaney |
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs. Oxford University Press, 2011, 150 pages. Age/interest: adult. Heads-up: Watch for our interview ...
Read More *Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck
By Janie Cheaney |
*Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Dial, 2011, 239 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-10 and ...
Read More RR Podcast 10: Roger Lowther on Japanese Literature
By emily |
This interview is part of our Japan: Literary Adventure. See Part One for an introduction as well as links to the books we talk about ...
Read More Tollbooth and Its Imitators
By Janie Cheaney |
Last August saw the 50th anniversary of The Phantom Tollbooth—has it been that long already? We’re a little late but wanted to observe the occasion ...
Read More A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole
By Janie Cheaney |
A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home by Henry Cole. HarperCollins, 2010, 336 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ...
Read More Dystopian Download
By emily |
Yesterday on our site, we offered a review of both book and movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But of course, it's not the ...
Read More My Dragon Tattoo: A Book and Movie Review
By emily |
Last Wednesday, I sat down with a friend at the Regal Cinema nearby to watch "the feel bad movie of Christmas." For the uninitiated, that's ...
Read More A Poem for Christmas Morning
By emily |
ADVENT II The year the tree fell: Little bits of brittle angels all over the floor, bent up boxes, and torn paper. I cut myself ...
Read More What’s Lefse?
By Janie Cheaney |
The Invention of Lefse: a Christmas Story, by Larry Woiwode. Crossway, 2011, 63 pages. Age/interest level: 8 and up. “Lefse? What’s lefse?” is the epigraph ...
Read More Winter Audiobooks (and More) for Kids
By emily |
Ah, winter...Christmas parties, New Years resolutions, dashing through the snow to Grandma's house with a minivan full of sugar-crazed kids. What better time for a ...
Read More War Horse
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
Read More The Word of God for Kids
By emily |
ESV Seek and Find Bible. Crossway Bibles, 2010. 1, 888 pps. Ages 5-up. The Action Bible. David C. Cook, New edition 2010. Illustrated by Sergio ...
Read More POW! The Comic-Book Surge
By Janie Cheaney |
The December 21 opening of The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn, should focus attention not only on the boy from Belgium ...
Read More Hearing “The Voice”
By Janie Cheaney |
The Voice Bible proposes to do something new: present God’s word narratively rather than propositionally. That may be an overstatement, as the Bible is propositional ...
Read More Recommendations for Teens
By Janie Cheaney |
As reported by the L.A. Times only a week ago, “Young adult continues to be the literary world’s fastest-growing genre.” There are a lot of ...
Read More Books for Emerging Book-Lovers
By Janie Cheaney |
Picture books are traditional, and YA is new and glamorous, but the area of literature I consider to be “classic children’s” is that big glorious ...
Read More Picture Book Roundup
By Janie Cheaney |
Late last year an article in the New York Times caused the book world to shiver and shake and ask itself, "Is the picture book ...
Read More A More Excellent Way
By Janie Cheaney |
On Friday we looked at some very popular picture books that you just might find under your tree. Some of them are better than others, ...
Read More Thanks Anyway . . .
By Janie Cheaney |
Any bookstore manager can tell you that one of the most reliable customer types is the older woman with no children in the household (either ...
Read More He’s Coming!
By Janie Cheaney |
In the fundamentalist church where I grew up, we never did advent. I never even understood what the word meant until well into my twenties, ...
Read More Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
By Janie Cheaney |
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 ...
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