Blog

It’s August and school starts soon. Zuno chose Timothy Goes to School by Rosemary Wells. Timothy struggles to measure up to a know-it-all classmate in his first week of school. Frustrated, he is surprised to find a fellow struggler who then becomes a friend.

Blizzards, hurricanes, drought, forest fires, floods. Each season brings its own set of natural disasters. Our family lives in Tornado Alley. We are well acquainted with wind and what it can do when it gets out of control. Four of the disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and John grew up by the Sea of Galilee and,…

Action/adventure fans will love Roland Smith’s Cryptid Hunters. Cryptozoology is the study of non-existent creatures, like the Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot. Be ready for some great plot twists as Grace and Marty team up with their Uncle Wolfe to outsmart the evil Dr. Blackwood.

Zuno has chosen Steven Kellogg’s Mysterious Tadpole. Louis receives a tadpole for his birthday. His uncle in Scotland collected it from a nearby lake, Loch Ness. However, this tadpole eats cheeseburgers and looks nothing like a frog. Can you solve the mystery before the next birthday gift arrives?

The Rule of the Ruler Measuring tapes, rulers, cups, and scales, we use them to analyze, study, compare, and contrast things. We calculate and conclude. Great for school, not so great when we apply those same principles to people. Check out Matthew 7: 1, 2 (NIV): “ ‘ Do not judge, or you too will…

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo won the Newbury Medal with good reason. DiCamillo paints brilliant imagery throughout this fairy tale while celebrating love, forgiveness, and grace. The movie does not do justice to the book. I read this novel, one with very few pictures, to my very wiggly kindergartner, and he was hooked.

Zuno knows if you live in Texas, you probably have allergies and that makes him think of Jan Heilbroner’s Robert the Rose Horse. Robert is one horse who will never run in the Run for the Roses because roses make him sneeze. In one job after another, Robert’s sneezes cause him to be fired. Will…

Riding the Spiritual Scooter My kids like to scooter. They zoom through the neighborhood, jumping curbs and coasting down driveways. One foot pushes like mad, while the other stands rock steady and enjoys the ride. When they scooter, their feet have two different perspectives. One pounds the pavement and propels them forward. The other foot…

Lois Lowry’s Gossamer explores the realm of dreams and nightmares, the dream-givers and the Sinisteeds, and good and evil. Lowry weaves a story of an unlikely pair of humans and the little dream-giver Gossamer who will aid in healing their hearts.

Zuno saw a bunny in the park when we ran today and he has chosen The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. Hug your little bunnies tight and reassure them that, like Mother Bunny, you would go to the ends of the earth just for them.