Wonder

Title of Book:  Wonder

Author:  R. J. Palacio

Publisher and Publication date:  Alfred A. Knopf, 2012

ISBN number:  978-0-375-86902-0

Audience: Ages 8 and up

Summary:  August Pullman is born with a severe facial deformity and is sheltered from the world and home schooled by his parents and sister until fifth grade when he begins middle school at a private school where he knows no one.  Making friends is hard enough in middle school, but when you look like Auggie, it’s nearly impossible.  He endures stares, ridicule, betrayal, loneliness and heartbreak before an overnight school field trip erupts in a group fight to protect him.  When the trip is over, most people at school realize he is just another kid like them and in fact a pretty terrific one.  This is a heartwarming story about courage and about judging people for who they are rather than what they look like.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This great story is broken into eight sections and told in first person from the view of six of the characters including Auggie, his sister, her former best friend, her boyfriend and two friends from his new school.  Each section has short easy to read chapters that express genuine feelings and allow the reader to experience the characters point of view and gain further insight into the story andits dynamics.  Each section of the story opens with a quote from a song, a movie or literature that relates to the section or character and ties into the story.  There is also mention of his English teacher’s precepts (defined as rules about really important things-like a motto) throughout the story and those are included at the end of the book in an appendix as well as those precepts written by the main characters.

Presentation of gender/race/culture/economic status/age/disabilities/etc:  The characters in this story are middle class and upper middle class white people living in New York City.  The main character is a 10 year old boy who has a severe facial deformity and a hearing disability.

Theological conversation partners:  1 Samuel 16:7-Humans looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart, Parable of the Good Samaritan, Matthew 7:1 (Do not judge others), 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (Love is…), Genesis 1-Created in God’s image-it is good, Shema/Mark 12:30-31 (Love your neighbor as yourself).  Karl Barth-The Judge who was judged in our place and was just.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What story or character in the Bible does Auggie’s story remind you of and why?
2. How would you line up the characters in this story with the parable of the Good Samaritan? Why?
3. Who in this book do you think is the Good Samaritan?
4. What do you think it means to be created in God’s image?  What does that mean for people with deformities and/or disabilities?
5. What does it mean to judge other people?  How do we judge people?  How does God judge people?
6. What does it mean for us to love our neighbor?
7. Think of the ‘Auggie’ that you go to school with-How is he/she treated by other?  By you?
8. What can you do to love the “Auggie’ at your school?
9. How is courage displayed in this story?
10. What is Auggie’s source of courage?  What is yours?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Lisa McLennan.

Tear Soup

Title of Book:  Tear Soup

Author:  Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen

Illustrator:  Taylor Bills

Publisher:   Grief Watch (June 1, 2005)

ISBN:  978-0961519766

Audience: 10 and up

Summary of Book:  Tear Soup is about a woman, Grandy, who has suffered a loss in her life.  To help process her grief the woman cooks up a batch of “tear soup” of which the ingredients are the emotions she has experienced. Along the way she dispenses a recipe of sound advice for people who are in mourning or know someone who has suffered a loss.  This story validates the reader grief experience.  The book ends with a nice summary of Grandy’s journey, “I’ve learned that grief, like a pot of soup, changes the longer it simmers and the more things you put into it. I’ve learned that sometimes people say unkind things, but they really don’t mean to hurt you…and most importantly, I’ve learned that there is something down deep within all of us ready to help us survive the things we think we can’t survive.”

Central Literary Elements:  Tear Soup is a modern day fable that is beautifully and poetically written.  This story book is about a woman who has suffered a loss and cooks up a special batch of “tear soup,” blending the ingredients of her life into the grief process.  Tear Soup has incredible insight into the grieving process and puts it into a simple metaphors that makes it understandable.  It also helps those going through it see that they are normal, and helps those trying to be there for the grieving person understand what their loved one is going through.  This story illustrates that it acceptable for every reader to absolutely do grief “their way.”  This book has rich illustrations and will generate topics of discussion for the reader.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/abilities:  This book may be difficult for preschool children to understand the significance of all the metaphors.

Theological Conversation Partners:  John 14:18, Psalm 46:1, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Where is God when you feel alone?
2. How long is the grief cycle? How do you cope?
3. What does metaphor of tear soup represent in your life?
4. What other types of loss do people deal with during the course of their lives?
5. Is there a difference between grieving the other losses and grieving a love one that has died?
6. What smells evoke memories of a loss? How do you manage this from day to day?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Tim Tate.

The Action Bible

Title: The Action Bible

Editor: Doug Mauss

Illustrator: Sergio Cariello

Publisher: Harper Tempest

Audience: Ages 9 and up

ISBN: 978-0781444996

The Action Bible is a graphic novel that makes scripture come to life in an untraditional and exciting way. It uses several stories to convey the adventurous elements of the Bible that conventional translations may not communicate. Its strength is in the quality of the illustrations which are world-class. The stories are organized in the same order as the traditional canon but rather than saying “2 Samuel  chapter 5”, each story is given its own title with the corresponding scripture in parentheses. It is a minor detail but one worth appreciating. The Action Bible is a great device to get otherwise uninterested readers’ attention but is not a threat to replace one’s study Bible or family Bible, which is okay! Using this text taught me about the multifaceted approach of the gospel; we all are not going to be sustained in the same manner, though we are quenched by the same fountain.

I have used The Action Bible with students as young as third graders and have had great conversations with my middle school students as well. I would not recommend using it with students younger than 7. The imagery in some of the stories–Jezebel’s interactions with Elijah come to mind–are a bit graphic for the little ones and may even spook them. I hesitated to show my fourth graders the pictures during a scene where dogs were lapping up blood but they thought it was “Awesome!” They look forward to reading whenever we use it in class and it has served as a source of inspiration for the visual artists among my students.

My greatest praise for this text is twofold: The inspiration that it gives my students who are fans of graphic novels, and the reminder it gives all of us that the characters in the biblical narrative are people. I would love to see my students get so caught up in the necessity of storytelling that they recast a biblical story in a contemporary context. Who are the Elijahs and Ahabs of today? How would YOU draw David and Goliath? I can imagine that the prospect of bringing scripture down to our level is an intimidating and anxiety inducing feat from some perspectives. I appreciate The Action Bible because it further proves the relevance and necessity of these stories.

This book makes me wonder:

1. How important is interpretation in the delivering of a story?
2. How can I use the biblical narrative to explain contemporary circumstances?
3. What are the next exciting ways to deliver the biblical narrative?

This review was prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary – Charlotte student Christopher Burton.

Son

Title:   Son

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  October 2012

ISBN:  978-0547887203

Audience:  Ages 10 and up

Summary: Son begins in the same controlled community and at the same time as The Giver. Twelve-year old Claire has been assigned to the role of birthmother. This means that at about age fourteen she will be artificially inseminated and officially designated a Vessel.  Her baby will be called a Product and she will never see it, know its sex or its name.  Claire has discussed this with the other birthmothers in her dormitory so she has some idea of what to expect.  But the delivery does not go as planned; a C-section is required; Claire cannot have another child.  She is soon sent to work in the fish hatchery but not before she learns that she had a male child and his number is 36.  Working at the fish hatchery gives her the opportunity to visit her son, to play with him, to love him without ever being identified as his mother.  She learns that he is scheduled for release and then, that he has been kidnapped by Jonas and taken from the community. Claire makes her escape simultaneously by a river barge.  With a gap of time and memory, Claire is washed up on the shore of a village, bounded by the treacherous sea and an insurmountable cliff..  Here she remains for seven years, regaining her strength and her memory, and determining still to find her son. Lame Einar, one person who reached the top of the cliff, helps her prepare for the grueling climb out and warns her that at the top awaits Trademaster, who cut off Einar’s feet because he refused to make a trade.  An arduous, dangerous climb brings Claire to the top of the cliff where Trademaster awaits her.  To find her son, she must trade him her youth, and she does so with no hesitation. Then as an old woman she watches her son, Gabriel, grow. No one knows who she is until she is near death and tells her story to Jonas, the community leader who brought Gabriel there over 14 years ago.  Jonas knows the nature of Trademaster and sends Gabriel to confront him for Claire is near death.  Gabriel goes without weapons, with  only his gift, the ability to enter another person’s mind and emotion and understand how the other feels.

Literary elements at work in the story: While the novel begins in a dystopian community, it enters a wider world and becomes a struggle between good and evil, a timeless battle that transcends the genre.  Claire’s physical preparation for the trip and the climb up the cliff match the ordeals of any dystopian heroine.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  In the original community, giving birth is a low status role.  There is a consciousness of which jobs are prestigious. The village where Claire is washed ashore makes some distinction in gender roles.  It is a poor village, somewhat primitive, with no social classes..  Though the quartet is futuristic, beyond the first section of the novel, this could well be Europe in the dark ages. . In the village where Claire finds her son, outsiders are welcomed, handicaps are accepted.

Theological Conversation Partners: At least four themes run through this novel: the first is the power of  love and empathy; the second is the power and nature of evil; the third is individual gifts and their use in the community; and the fourth, the power of story and memory. There is a tendency to idealize Mother Love; Jesus has words to say about familial love that conflicts with the demands of his Kingdom. This story, however, is about parental love that will not let go. Evil is considered a force rather than a person.  Gabe’s realization that Evil will starve without the misery of its victims is reminiscent of Screwtape waiting to devour Wormwood. The weapons used to fight evil are a firm resolve not to kill, the ability to identify with and experience Evil.   Gifts are given for the benefit of the community and they disappear when no longer needed.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Would this story work as well if a father were searching for his son?  Why or why not?
2. How does Claire’s community guarantee that mother’s will not bond with their infants?  Why is this desirable?
3. Claire is consumed by the desire to find her son; no sacrifice is too great.  Can the love of a parent for a child be selfish or unhealthy?
4. How many aspects of unselfish love are exhibited in the story?
5. Gabe has the gift of “veering.”  How does this enable him to know that he had a mother?
6. Why did Claire wait so long to tell her story to Jonas? What happens when she does?
7. What is Gabe’s first weapon in going to meet Trademaster?
8. How does Gabe’s gift of veering enable him to defeat Trademaster? What is the cost of this identification with Evil?
9. Trademaster is considered to be a force rather than a person.  Does this square with the biblical view of evil?
10.  In the Apostle’s Creed we say, “He descended into Hell.”  Think about Gabe’s experience of identifying with Trademaster.  What light does it shed on this phrase?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

Messenger

Title:   Messenger

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995670

Audience: 12 and up

Summary: Matty, a lively boy entering adolescence, lives with Seer, his blind guardian, in Village, once a welcoming and healing place for all. But this is beginning to change.  People are growing selfish; they want to close the village to any newcomers who, they say, have too many needs.  Seer and Leader suspect the baleful influence of the Trade Mart and Trademaster.  People are trading their inmost selves to get such things as a Gaming Machine or a better appearance.  When Village votes to close its gates, Seer knows that he must send for his daughter, Kira, who lives in another village and who is lame.  She had stayed there to use her gift with needle and thread to embroider a new life for the violent, cruel village in which she lived.  Matty, who hopes his real name will be Messenger, is sent to tell all nearby villages that Village gates are closing.  He goes first to Kira to bring her to her father.  Matty has discovered that he has the gift of healing and he offers to heal Kira before they start for Village, even though he knows how much vitality and strength this will take from him.  Kira refuses and they start back through Forest, only to find it has become hostile to them.  Branches stick them; vines entangle them; the stench makes breathing almost impossible.  Matty is called to use his gift in a costly, remarkable act of healing that restores Forest and Village and restores Kira to her father.

Literary elements at work in the story: The genre is dystopian fiction. The tension and danger of most such novels takes a slightly different form here. The gifts used in the story’s conclusion veer into fantasy or magic rather than dystopian fiction.  Evil is represented by a consumerism that encourages selfishness and that affects the natural world.  The trip through the forest that Matty and Kira make is vivid, frightening, horrifying.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? The reasons people of the Village give for closing their gates express racial and cultural prejudice and prejudice against those handicapped. Neither gender nor economics affect the story.

Theological Conversation Partners: Messenger opens up a number of topics for theological exploration: evil, suffering, ecology, responsibility, stewardship of gifts, identity, community. In the two previous  communities, an evil pattern of life was already established. Here Lowry telescopes the results of materialism, consumerism, selfishness into a rapid change in the entire character of Village. Is this an adequate concept of evil? Explore Genesis 2 and compare. Lowry and the Bible personalize evil.  Compare Trademaster with Satan or the devil.  Kira claims her lameness as part of her identity-“Who I am.” Does our faith encourage us to accept handicaps as identity, as something to keep?  When does my healing take from the community-a question that lurks in discussions of medical care today.   Biblical characters are given new names-Abraham, Jacob, Peter. Compare this with the names given in Village. Matty is reminded to use his gift carefully, not to squander it.  This is in contrast to the story Jesus told about the Master who demanded that his servants invest their gold coins. (Luke 19: 11-27, Matt. 25:14-30)  Both ideas could be included in the stewardship of gifts.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Villagers give reasons for wanting to close their gates to newcomers.  What are these and are they used when we discuss immigration today.
2. When Matty arrived at Village he lied, stole, and avoided responsibility.  What made him change?
3. Why did Kira refuse healing.  What did she mean by, “This is who I am?” Was she right?
4. Leader tells Matty about using his gift: “Wait for the true need, Matty,. Don’t spend the gift.”  How does he recognize the need?
5. Names were given to indicate the true nature of the person.  What would your name be?
6. Can you think of times when you can trade your true self for something you want-popularity? Good looks? Success in sports or grades? Other?
7. Selfishness affects the natural world, making Forest hostile.  What is the connection between selfishness and global warming, for example?
8. Do you think the author gives an accurate picture of the Village before Trademaster comes?
9. How can a community protect itself from influences the cause us to be selfish, cruel, dishonest?
10.  In Christian theology is selfishness the root of all other sins? What other sins mar us and our world?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas

Gathering Blue

Title:   Gathering Blue

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995687

Audience: 10 and up

Summary: Kira, lame since birth, has just left her mother’s body in the Field of Leaving and she faces a dangerous and uncertain future.  Her father was destroyed by beasts in a hunt and she lives in a village that discards weak and useless persons like herself, that fights and quarrels for food and goods.  Her neighbors are ready to stone her for her plot of ground but she is miraculously saved by the Council of Guardians.  Her skill with weaving and embroidery equip her to repair and care for the Singer’s Robe, a robe that tells the history of the people from the beginning, through ruin, rebuilding growth, and ruin…Kira (her two-syllable name indicates that she is at least 12) is brought to live in the Council Edifice, a survival of the last Ruin, an elaborate building with indoor plumbing.  She is supplied with abundant food, comfort, and all the supplies she will need to restore the robe worn by the Singer at the village Gathering each year. At this event the village hears their history sung. Jamison, one of the guardians, checks on Kira’s work each day and tells her that she will finish the story that is incomplete on the Robe.   Kira’s life is brightened by a single-syllable boy, Matt, from the Fen and his dog, Branch.  He often accompanies her to see Annabella who is teaching Kira to dye threads.  She has no way to make blue and suggests that beyond their village blue can be found.  Matt sets off to find this blue while Kira, prepares for the Gathering and Song.  This event reveals to Kira some of the dangerous secrets of the Guardians and the community.  Matt returns with the plant for blue and with Kira’s father, Christopher, who had been attacked and left for dead in the hunt.  He lives now in the village of healing or broken people and wants to take her back with him. Kira makes a difficult choice between leaving with her father or staying to complete the story on the Singer’s Robe.

Literary elements at work in the story: Kira’s story is a futuristic, dystopian novel but it could easily be read as a story of a European village in the dark ages.  Only the Council Edifice is a reminder of a more advanced civilization in the past. In contrast to the community of sameness in The Giver, the disorder and discord of this village are palpable. The concrete information about plants and dies gives credibility to the story.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? Different roles for men and women are clearly defined.  Girls are not allowed to learn to read. Disparity between those raised in the Fen (swampy slum) and people of the village creates a class distinction.  Special abilities are recognized and used by the village.

Theological Conversation Partners: Again memory plays a crucial role in this story as in the life of the Christian community. There are echoes of Genesis as the Song begins.   A contrast between how memory is kept alive in the village and in the church is a fruitful study.  The value on life in the community and in the Christian life is another area to compare and explore, with special emphasis on the place of children.  (Mark 10:13-15)  The village where Christopher lives highlights different approaches to the treatment of immigrants and those with special needs.   Kira’s lameness and her attitude toward it furnish an area for discussion.  ( 2^nd Cor 12:8-10  )  Finally, how Kira chooses to use her gift, opens up the question of stewardship and choices.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What is your impression of the village in which Kira lives? Is there any evidence of fairness or justice?
2. What place did the Ruin Song have in the village life?  Why was it important? What part does memory play in our community or national identity?  Our personal identity?
3. In what ways do Christians remember?  Why?
4. How are children valued in the community?
5. Why is Kira’s life spared? Is she being treated kindly or being used?
6. What is Kira’s attitude about her pain and crippled leg?
7. Kira realizes that the Singer is chained, a prisoner, and that Thomas, Jo, and she herself are also prisoners.  “The Guardians with their strength and cunning were forcing the children to describe the future that they wanted, not the one that could be.” What is Lowry saying about control of artistic expression and the future of children?
8. Kira’s father describes the village of healing.  What aspects of life there are good?
9. Kira chooses to stay behind when her father leaves and use her gift to complete the robe? Why does she make this choice?  What impact will it have on the village?
10. Two sticks placed together on the Council Chamber wall are objects of worship though their meaning is no longer remembered.  Do these represent the cross?  Do we sometimes have crosses as jewelry or ornamentation when the meaning is forgotten?

The Giver

Title:  The Giver

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:   Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995663

Audience:  Ages 10 and up

The Giver, the 1994 Newbury Award winner, has sold over eight million copies worldwide, been translated into at least 20 languages, and is required reading in most upper elementary or middle school classes.  It is often seen as the genesis of young adult dystopian novels that are so popular today.   It is also one of the most widely banned or challenged books on school library shelves. When Lowry ended The Giver she said it was finished; she had no plans for a sequel. Time, innumerable requests from readers, and possibly the death of her son, an Army pilot, prompted her to reconsider. Gathering Blue was published in 2000; Messenger in 2004. Son, 2012, brings The Giver quartet to its close. The four books can be read as independent stories; The Giver and Son are more closely related than the middle two volumes. All four occur in roughly the same time period in three different settings with several of the main characters appearing in each of the volumes. While Lowry’s, direct, clear prose is accessible to good upper elementary readers, the themes of this quartet are most appropriate for middle school and beyond.

Summary: In some distant, undated future, Jonas lives securely with his family in a community where everyone has food, clothes, shelter, education, and an assigned work for life.  It is also a controlled community without color, animals, seasons, music, love, or choice, a community of sameness. At age twelve Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver of Memories, the most honored role in the community.  He prepares for this task by meeting with the Giver, an elder, who holds in himself all the memories of the past and the wisdom that comes with them, for this is a community that has chosen to live without the pain or joy of memory.  The Giver recognizes in Jonas the gift of “seeing beyond,” first indicated by his ability to see color. He transmits to Jonas by touch memories-of joy, family holidays, seasons, sailing, sledding, pain, warfare, loneliness, hunger, and cruelty. In his time with the Giver Jonas learns the high cost of the peace and security of his village.  Those who are old, newchildren who have special needs, those who are disruptive are “released,” a euphemism for lethal injection. Jonas and Giver begin to plan how Jonas might escape to Elsewhere and how the community could be freed for a richer life. These plans are disrupted because Jonas must rescue the toddler, Gabriel, from release. Jonas abandons the careful plans for escape in order to leave immediately with Gabe. Bicycling by day, hiding by night, Jonas and Gabe finally encounter snow and the promise of Elsewhere.

Literary elements at work in the story: Lois Lowry, with powerful imagination and literary skill, has created a dystopian society that lulls and deceives with its peace and security while subtly destroying the capacity to know, to feel, to establish relationships. Her clear, matter-of-fact prose brings the community to life in almost a monotone. This community has technical resources-the ability to control climate, to eliminate color- that are implied and are an important aspect of dystopian fiction, but Lowry gives few details about these. No summary can do justice to this tense, well-plotted novel.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? In this community there are few differences.  Birthmother is considered an inferior role but in most instances male and female are equal. All are provided with the same food, clothes and houses.  Intellectual ability distinguishes some community members; non-conformists are simply removed. Members are unaware of other cultures or a world outside their own.

Theological Conversation Partners: The Giver is a goldmine of theological themes for Christians to explore: memory, vocation, gifts, love, relationships, the ability to choose, the value of life, the ideal community.  The Bible calls us to remember. ( Ex, 13:3; Lk. 22:14-19).  What happens when we suppress memory? Each Christian has a vocation and a gift?  Paul speaks of his call, of the gifts that are given to the church community by the Spirit.(1 Cor.12:4-7) Jesus calls us to a life of persecution and hardship and is called “The Suffering Servant;” the community plans so that there will be no hardship or difficulties. (Matt. 5:10,11)  Genesis tells us that we are created in the image of God and taking life is forbidden in the Decalogue. This community eliminates life that is disruptive or a drain on its resources..  The Kingdom of God is a central biblical concept, a time when God’s justice and love will be the basis of community, when God’s will is done.  Historically groups have tried to plan perfect communities and they have always failed or lost more than they gained.  In what way does the Kingdom of God differ from these utopias?  Does God’s will established mean there are no choices?

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What good things do you see about the community in which Jonas lives?
2. What things are undesirable?
3. Why is memory essential to a community and why has this community limited memories to just one person?
4. How many decisions rest in the hands of the Committee of Elders?  Why does Jonas think, at first, that this is a good thing? Are mistakes a necessary part of life?
5. While family units are important in the community, is there any mention of marriage or love? Did these units work well? How were spouses chosen?  Is there any good in this system?
6. Is it possible to have meaningful relationship without risk or pain?
7. Is there such a thing as a disruptive life?  A life that costs too much to maintain?
8. Jonas had a special gift that enabled him to see beyond his community of sameness.  Paul suggests that every Christian has a gift for the enrichment of the church. Do you recognize gifts in others in the church?  In yourself?
9. The Christian’s term for the ideal community is the Kingdom of God.  How would it differ from Jonas’s community?
10. On what basis was a life work assigned in the community?  How will you choose your vocation? What part does the church have in guiding your vocational choice?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

The Miracle Stealer

Name of Book:  The Miracle Stealer

Author:  Neil Connelly

Illustrator:

Publisher:  Arthur A. Levine Books, An Imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

ISBN:  9780545131957

Audience:  Grade 7 and up

Summary:  Six-year-old Daniel is the “miracle boy” of Paradise, Pennsylvania. People come from near and far because of his reputed healing powers.  When a new wave of Daniel hysteria threatens to overtake the town, Daniel’s nineteen-year-old sister Anderson decides to take action to prove once and for all that her little brother is just a regular kid with no miraculous powers.

Literary elements at work in the story: Anderson’s candid first-person narration makes this novel read like a good memoir.  As she struggles to make sense of her family and of her town and of the events which have led to her own crisis of faith, the people who populate her life emerge as rich and complicated characters.  One crucial summer in Andi’s recent past provides the catalyst for this attempt at understanding her life.  The plot of the story becomes somewhat knotty as she examines the interwoven events which lead to the story’s climax.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? In her bitterness over the role she thinks the church has played in her family’s troubles, Andi ridicules the Universal Church of Paradise in particular and religion in general.  Belief in God is something that is behind her, and followers are made to look like gullible yokels.   However, as Andi continues her story, she admits that there are mysteries which she cannot explain, including those surrounding her brother.

Theological conversation partners: This is a story of a lost paradise.  The fish in Paradise, PA have died in the lake, the amusement park is abandoned, and the tourists no longer come for the summer.  This tangible disintegration echoes Anderson’s loss of spiritual innocence. Her father has abandoned the family, and she sees members of the religious community as dupes at best and frauds at worst.  There was a time “back when things were right and I thought God was there with us, hovering above and listening attentively,” Anderson remembers, but that time is long gone.  This book would be a good one to use with teens or even adults in conjunction with the Genesis 3 story of the Fall in a discussion of what it means to have a mature faith.

Faith talk questions:

1. You might divide the Grant family’s life into “before” and “after.”  What do you think their life was like before Daniel’s accident?  How was it different afterwards?
2. Why do people think that Daniel has miraculous powers?
3. Why does Anderson, “Andi,” want people to leave Daniel alone?
4. Why do you think the Pilgrims decided to follow Daniel?
5. Leo tells Andi, “Faith is accepting possibilities, not absolutes.”  How can faith be about possibilities?
6. Andi ends this story with the answer “maybe.”  Do you think that “maybe” is a hopeful answer?  Why or why not?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Beth Lyon-Suhring.

Beyond the Ridge

Name of Book:  Beyond the Ridge

Author:  Paul Goble

Illustrator:  Paul Goble

Publisher:  Bradbury Press

ISBN:  0-02-736581-6

Audience:  Ages 6 -10

Summary:  An old woman, a Grandmother, who is a Plains Indian, lies dying with her husband, daughter, and grandchildren surrounding her. She hears a voice telling her that her mother is calling her, and she remembers that her mother died many years ago. She begins to make the difficult journey up a steep hill to a pine-covered ridge. She knows that she must make this journey alone. As the story continues, she reaches the ridge and she is able to see “beyond the ridge” to the Spirit World, or the Land of Many Tipis. It is a beautiful land–full of butterflies, birds, herds of buffalo and antelope. She sees her mother and father and grandparents and all the people she had known previously. When the old woman dies, her spirit departs and her body is left behind. Her family is sad, and they grieve for her. They perform burial rights for her in keeping with their ways.

Literary elements at work in the story:  The author’s beautiful drawings of the Plains Indian people, the native birds and animals, the sky and the landscape, all portray a deep respect for the Plains Indian people. The author’s use of contrasting colors and shapes, tells a story of its own. Words written in italics in the book are words that were actually spoken by Indian people. The author provides the sources of these words and phrases on page four of his book. The author also explains some of the customs of the Plains Indian people in his “note from the author” which enrich his story.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? In our current culture which is too frequently characterized as a youth culture, this book describes the process of dying as a natural part of life. The Plains Indian people described in this book were greatly saddened by death, but saw it through the eyes of their own culture. The author skillfully draws parallels between the Plains Indian culture and the American culture.

Theological conversation partners:    The author writes:  “Death seems like the end, but it is not. The body goes back to the earth, but the spirit lives forever.” Our Christian teaching says that the spirit does not die. The Plains Indians’ idea that heaven is a place of beauty and peace is widely accepted in Christianity. The vision of death being one in which a person is reunited with those who have died previously is a shared belief between the two cultures.  While Christians call on the name “God,” the Plains Indian people say “the Creator, the Great Spirit.” The book also says those people who have led good lives, and those people who have led bad lives, go to separate places in the sky. The author fittingly provides a brief Indian prayer to Wakan Tanka, Great Spirit, at the end of his book.

 Faith Talk Questions:

1. Can you imagine yourself being a granddaughter or grandson of the Plains Indian woman?
2. What would you eat if you were a Plains Indian child?
3. How would you dress each day if you were a Plains Indian person?
4. What would your life be like as a member of a tribe of the Plains Indian people?
5. What are some of the differences between your culture, and the Plains Indian peoples’ culture?
6. What are some of the similarities between your culture and the Plains Indian people’s culture?
7. The book says that even the crows were mourning when the Plains Indian woman died. What do you think about this?
8. How do the Plains Indian people view animals such as the buffalo, and the antelope?
9. How do the Plains Indian people view death?
10. Has your grandmother or grandfather died? Are you able to put this experience into words? Can you write down your feelings? If your have not lost a relative to death, can you write about your feelings?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Chris Feno.

The Wish Giver

Title:  The Wish Giver

Author:  Bill Brittain

Publisher: Andrew Glass

ISBN: 0590420402

Audience: 8 and up

Summary: The sign in front of the shabby tent at the end of a row of booths at the Coven Tree church Social read “Thaddeus Blinn,  I can give you whatever you ask for only 50 cents.” Only four went into Blinn’s tent: Stew Meat (Stewart Meade), the owner of the general store; Polly Kemp, who spoke her mind freely and cruelly; Rowena Jervis who loved Henry Piper, a traveling salesman; and Adam Fiske whose family farm had no water.  Mr. Blinn, a fat little man with eyes that seemed to glow, gave each person a card with a red dot on it in exchange for 50 cents.  “Each card will grant only one wish, so think carefully before making it. When you’re ready, press your thumb against the red dot” And with that the Wish Giver was gone and the four, wondering if they had been hoodwinked, went their separate ways. Polly, Rowena, and Adam make wishes that have instant, unexpected, and finally, dire consequences.  Only Stew Meat with the 4^th, unused card can save them from the Wish Giver’s magic.

Literary elements at work in the story: This has the feel of a fable or folk tale. Stew Meat is the narrator, setting the stage by recalling the history of Coven Tree where covens of witches used to meet and the Devil himself walked about.  The situations are humorous, the writing straight forward.  It’s good for reading aloud.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? Not applicable.

Theological Conversation Partners: “Be careful what you wish for” is an adage that occurs frequently in literature and life. Three wishes are a basic part of many fairy tales. Wanting something we do not have-fortune, fame, beauty, or just a day at the beach or a new dress-is part of almost everyone’s life. It’s a game we often play when we talk about winning the lottery. The Wish Giver is a funny, yet thought provoking way to examine wishing and, more significantly, what is most important to us in life.  Scripture gives guidance about how our deepest desires affect out hopes and wishes. Psalm 37:4 and Matt.6:33 remind us that when our first priority is God, God will give us the desires of our hearts.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Have you ever wished for something?  What?  Do your wishes change as you grow older?
2. Would you have given Thaddeus Blinn 50 cents for a wish? Who do you think he was?
3. How was Polly Kemp’s wish granted?  Were the results what she expected? And what was the outcome of removing her wish?
4. How was Rowena’s wish granted?  What results had she expected? What was the outcome of removing her wish?
5. How was Adam’s wish granted?  What results had he expected? What was the outcome of removing his wish?
6. Is there danger in getting what we want too easily?
7.  Do we always know what we want?
8. Christians are called to live in hope.  How are hoping and wishing different?
9. Scripture suggests that if we put God’s will first, God will add all good things to us.  What do you think these good things are?  Do you wish for any of them?
10. Are wishing and prayer alike? If so, how?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.