*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 MoreBook Bits (April 21, 2014)
Happy Easter Monday! I spent a semester in the Czech Republic during college and vividly remember a quirky Czech tradition: on Easter Monday, boys “whipped” girls with little braided whips and the girls gave the boys decorated eggs in return. I was in a small town; I don’t know how much this tradition is still…
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Divergent: Coffee and Conversation
A few weeks ago, Veronica Roth’s book Divergent hit the big screen. In God’s providence, that morning I also happened to be in the same town as Hayley, our intrepid intern-turned-exec-assistant, who is now a student at Boyce College. So, we slid up to the table in a local coffee house, got a couple of cups…
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Family 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 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…
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The 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…
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It’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,…
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Introducing Shakespeare’s Plays to Children
Should you wait until your children are in high school before expecting them to tackle Shakespeare? Why not start them young, while they love learning words and listening to stories, while memorizing is easy for them? They might as well, because we’re surrounded by Shakespeare in literature and culture, and our children might as well enjoy it…
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Ukraine: Lessons in Liberty and Compassion, Part 3
In this third part of our series, Hayley shares a list of nonfiction titles that encompass both Ukraine and Russia. (Here are links to part one and part two.) Eyewitness Books: Russia by Kathleen Berton Murrell Did you know that the first Russian state, during the Middle Ages, was the Kievan Rus’? Name look familiar?…
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Librarians’ List: Easy/Leveled Readers, part 2
Lovable/Quirky Main Character Frances books by Lillian Hoban Arthur books by Lillian Hoban Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik Penny books by Kevin Henkes Dodsworth books by Tim Egan Nonfiction/Informational Books/Series (please note that we have not read every science book in every list; these are starting points–use discretion; these are often mixed in with…
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