The Velveteen Rabbit Turns 100: A Bunny Booklist
The Velveteen Rabbit turns 100There was once a velveteen rabbit . . . Once upon a time, there were three little rabbits and their names were. . . In your head did you just hear “Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter? (If your head is like mine, it was probably with a nice British accent!) Rabbits…
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Ukraine: Lessons in Liberty and Compassion, Part 1
This post was originally published in 2014, shortly after Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution. Emily’s reflections and application are still timely today. From Emily: As my kids are solidly in the middle of Medieval History in our home schooling, they haven’t had many opportunities to hear the the words, “Cold War.” But with the events unfolding over…
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Christian Easter Gifts for Kids and Teens
Do you give Easter gifts in your family? Most families I know give gifts—a lot of them—at Christmas, but give minimally (if at all) at Easter. And, frankly, that’s fine. Our culture loves to use any occasion to encourage us to buy more stuff, which most of us don’t need. And we know that Easter…
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Back Porch Book Chat: Megan Saben (Book Reviewer, Author, Homeschool Mom)
Back Porch Book Chat: A casual conversation about books. Our guest today is Megan Saben.
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Sports Books for Kids That Pack a Punch
Are you watching the Superbowl this month? Do you cheer for other sports at home? What about baseball? soccer? basketball? track? Do your sports fans also love sports books? Sports books for kids are a distinct sub-genre, a definite “hook” for many reluctant readers. A good sports book offers more than just a sports story,…
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The 2022 ALA Youth Media Awards
Egg on our faces? Last year we accurately predicted that When You Trap a Tiger was a contender for Newbery recognition, and it won top honors. We also reviewed or buzzed most of the eventual winners, including All Thirteen, A Wish in the Dark, and Fighting Words. We buzzed New Kid in 2020, The Book…
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2022 Newbery Buzz #4: Fallout
Our annual Newbery Buzz Series is a series we run each January in which we discuss books with “Newbery Buzz.” That is, books we’ve heard lots of “buzz” about on various children’s literature websites through the past year. No one knows which books have real “Newbery Buzz,” which books the actual Newbery committee is seriously…
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2022 Newbery Buzz #3: Gone to the Woods
Today Betsy and Janie will take a closer look at Gone to the Woods, a memoir by prolific author Gary Paulsen. Paulsen has been a highly recognizable name since winning Newbery honors in 1986 for Dogsong. He is best known for Hatchet (1988, reviewed here), another Newbery honor book that’s gone through numerous reprintings. Not…
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Nonfiction about Nature
Reptiles Everywhere, Bruno the Beekeeper, A World of Plants, and Fungarium offer plenty of fascinating information about the natural world.
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2022 Newbery Buzz #2: The One Thing You’d Save
We’ve begun our annual Newbery Buzz Series: a series we run each January in which we discuss books with “Newbery Buzz.” No one knows which books have real “Newbery Buzz,” which books the actual Newbery committee is seriously considering, but we think it’s valuable to take a closer look at the books our broader American…
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