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Black and white illustrations mirror the simple text of Susan Marie Swanson’s House in the Night. Illustrator Beth Krommes employs scratchboard and watercolor to achieve her drawings. Kromme contrasts yellow with black and white to tell Swanson’s story of dark and light. I love the symbolism in this book. Its pages flow with hope and…

Hateful: #2 – TSL, Truth as a Second Language “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a…

Carolyn Meyers based her novel, White Lilacs, on the true story of the Quakertown community of Denton, Texas in the early 1920’s. In the White Lilacs town of Dillon, the white community encircles the black neighborhood. Twelve-year-old Rosa Lee tells the story of how white leaders decide to move the black community and convert their…

In Emily Arnold McCully’s Mirette on the High Wire, actors and entertainers from across the world stay at her mother’s Paris boarding house. A mysterious guest arrives one evening. Monsieur Bellini sets up a tight rope and practices every day. Entranced, Mirette secretly tries the high wire for herself. Monsieur Bellini agrees to train Mirette…

Hateful: #3 – Murder, in the Classroom, with the Mouth “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and…

In Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, James longs to escape from the top of the hill where he lives with his horrible aunts, Sponge and Spiker. If you are familiar with Lemony Snicket’s Count Olaf, you’ll understand when I tell you that these ladies win hands down in a Creepy Guardian Contest. One…

William J. Bennett’s Children’s Book of Faith contains not only familiar Bible stories like “Daniel in the Lion’s Den”, but also legends, poems, and testimonies of God’s goodness. Authors like Tolstoy, Browning, and Hans Christian Anderson take their places here as do stories like the legend of Saint Christopher, the story of Hanukkah, Louis Braille,…

Hateful: #4 – Good Guys Gone Bad “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who…

Lois Lowry’s Silent Boy touches the subject of special needs children in the early 1900’s, an era that was ill-equipped to help such kids. We learn, through the eyes of six-year-old Kate, about Jacob, a boy who Kate’s father describes as “different.” A friendship grows between Kate and Jacob, though Jacob rarely speaks. When a sequence of…

The Children’s Book of America, edited by William J. Bennett, showcases the values that contributed to our country’s birth and success. Bennett collects tall tales, legends, biographical sketches, and songs. Generals, priests, women, and slaves, all are part of the story that is America. Which is your favorite?