Reflections

Tollbooth and Its Imitators

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 ...
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Thoughts on A Christmas Carol: Reading and Watching

Charles Dickens, unlike other great authors like Herman Melville, had the good fortune of enjoying widespread fame and popularity during his lifetime.  A Christmas Carol ...
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A More Excellent Way

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, ...
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Kids’ Books & The Historicity of Adam

This week, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will entertain a panel discussion on the historicity of Adam.  I came across this tidbit of news recently ...
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Dangerous Journey, Part 4

This post is part of our Pilgrim's Progress read along during our Reformation Month celebration.  You can find an introduction and sign up for an ...
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Dangerous Journey, Part 1

Welcome to our Pilgrim's Progress Read Along, part Redeemedreader.com's Reformation Month celebration!  We'll be pursuing two tracks over the month of October, 2011--this one for ...
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Living With Autism

Nobody knows yet exactly what causes it, or why it occurs more in certain income levels, or even quite what defines it, but autism becomes ...
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Are You A ‘Book Whisperer’?

Our librarian is always reminding moms that it's not enough to read TO your children.  To raise readers, you also need to read in front ...
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The Use and Abuse of Youth Literature

Much of our coverage of “Banned Books Week” has centered on the territory known as YA, or Young Adult, which has for the last ten ...
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What Gets a Book “Banned”?

In my post on Tuesday, I included a brief survey of the ALA’s “Top Ten Banned Books for 2010.”  Let’s take a closer look at ...
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The Lord Saves

The Lord Saves: A Reflection on "YA Saves" Francis Schaeffer's Insight Francis Schaeffer once wrote that in his generation, serious art required someone standing on ...
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Lord of Light

They had guessed before that this was an island: clambering among the pink rocks, with the sea on either side, and the crystal heights of ...
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Ted Tripp’s Worship Principle

The basic premise of Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Ted Tripp is this: “Behavior is heart-driven, therefore, correction, discipline, and training—all parenting—must be addressed to ...
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Books-to-Movies: Training “Reel Thinkers”

Back-to-school time means hitting the books and living more structured days.  All the more reason to look forward to a good, family movie at the ...
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Help For Struggling Readers: Dyslexia and Beyond

For several years before I became a parent, I worked part-time in The Literacy Council of Sumner County (LCSC).  Like most non-profit organizations, it was ...
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That Hideous Strength 3: Climax

Previous posts: Introduction, Part One: Setup, Part Two: Development. Climax?  Isn’t it a little early for that?  Most of us have the idea that the ...
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Christ in Literature: Symbolism (pt. 4)

In my last post of this series, I looked at two ways that the Lord wrote Christ in the Old Testament: historically and symbolically.  As ...
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That Hideous Strength 2: Development

Previous Posts: Introduction Part One: Setup Almost all the main characters have been introduced and the potential conflicts are in place.  Now development: that phase ...
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That Hideous Strength 1: the Setup

Beginning our first-ever Readalong: here's the Introduction. The action takes place at three fictional locations: Edgetow, a university town similar to Cambridge, but smaller; St. ...
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Breakpoint’s Youth Reads with Sherry Early

Last week, Janie had the privilege of sharing radio waves with Chris Fabry on his national radio show.  You can find out more about the ...
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Reader Spotlight

As we wrap up our half-birthday celebration, I thought it might be nice to give some attention to our readers.  You've already met a few ...
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Should Christian Kids See Harry Potter?

Or for you parents, will your kids be going to see the final Harry Potter movie released to theaters this week?  If so, for what ...
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Christ in Literature: History (pt. 3)

In my previous post, I tried to show that Sally Lloyd Jones uses two broad ways of finding Christ in the Old Testament: 1) historical ...
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Is Historical Fiction Dead?

Short answer: no, but it's showing signs of dementia. Historical fiction has one of the longest roots of any literary form. You might say that ...
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Reflection in a Dragon’s Eye

The main problem with Christian fantasy may be, what do you do with Christ? Honestly: can it be "Christian" without him?  But it's not easy to ...
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Jonathan Rogers on Reading and Writing, Boys and Dads

We're delighted to welcome Jonathan Rogers to our site today, as one of our "writing fathers."  Jonathan is Georgia-born, with an undergraduate degree from Furman ...
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Who’s Your Daddy?

Of all the charges hurled against Christianity in the modern age, one of the most potent is "paternalistic."  Christianity, it's said, has kept women in ...
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Turn On the Light

At least twice a year, it seems, there's a controversy blowing up in the Young-Adult book trade.  The latest brouhaha began with an article in ...
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Earthly Fathers, Our Heavenly Father & A Contest

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him ...
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Christ in Literature: Old Testament Lessons (pt. 2)

I have recommended The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones in numerous posts on this blog. That doesn't mean I think it is perfect, ...
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Sex, Cats, and Stereotypes

Just when you thought we'd done a pretty good job of knocking down stereotypes, a new study (those three words have to be among the ...
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What Would You Do Differently?

While we are awaiting a post by Dr. Gene Veith later in the week, I thought it would be fun to ask some of our ...
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The Graduate

In anticipation of our interview with Dr. Veith next week (see Emily's anticipatory post), I intended to write some thoughts on life after homeschooling to ...
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Preparing for Launch: Gene Edward Veith, Jr.

We don't usually do teasers on this blog.  But we don't usually do interviews with scholars as distinguished as Gene Edward Veith,  Jr. either.  If ...
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Christ in Literature: Worlds Without God? (pt.1)

“They know bits and pieces of the Old Testament—how God created the heavens and the earth, what rules he wants us to follow, how he ...
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A Mother’s Day Meditation: ‘She Has Done A Beautiful Thing’

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, ...
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Is Your Daughter “God’s Little Princess”?

I know I'm in murky water here.  Early in my daughter's infancy, my husband and I began the argument: is our daughter a princess? Now ...
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Steampunk!

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 ...
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400 Candles

As our readers probably know, this spring marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, and celebrations are going on throughout the English-speaking world. ...
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Looking For Love: The Paranormal Teen Romance

Several years ago I started noticing references to a new YA novel that was enjoying sensational sales, especially among adolescent girls.  As months passed, excitement ...
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Dear Reader….

So, we've been up and running here at Redeemed reader for roughly a month and a half.  It's amazing to think about that, considering all ...
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Stalking the Elusive Boy Reader

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" ...
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What Ginger Plowman Taught Me About Kids’ Books

Roughly three years ago, I read Ginger Plowman's book, Don't Make Me Count to Three.  It's a fantastic resource with lots of practical advice for ...
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Young Adult or Adult “Youngs”?

Once upon a time there was no such thing as YA in the publishing world.  That may be because there was no such thing as ...
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“Jane! Jane!”

Few literary cries have echoed down the ages as persistently as that one: the ultimate impassioned plea from the ultimate gothic romance, which stands as ...
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‘True Grit’ and True Grace

“Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for ...
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When God Shakes a Nation: Real Relief for Japan

I have been praying for Japan over the last few days, as I know many of you have.   In particular, I have been praying for ...
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‘A Story, A Story’: Thinking Through African Mythology

The Anansi stories have been handed down through generations of Ashanti culture...Born in Ghana I left at aged 3, leaving much of the Ghanaian culture ...
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On the blue comet cover image

They Don’t Write ’em Like This Anymore

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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Dystopia, Part Three

Part One. Part Two. What's the problem with a glut of grim, futurist fiction on the YA bookshelves? Maybe nothing. Youth is resilient, and most ...
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Dystopia, Part Two

(Find Part One here) Besides being uniformly grim, there are other traits the current crop of dystopian novels share: A post-apocalyptic future--the story opens after ...
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If Olivia Comes to Visit….

We live in an age of series picture books. Which, like having 27 McDonalds in every city, makes shopping a little less complicated for tired, ...
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Dystopia: Dead Ahead

Part One How's this for a scenario: In the future, the USA has been divided into thirteen districts, and the most prosperous oppresses all the ...
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