Ted Studebaker: A Man Who Loved Peace

Name of Book:  Ted Studebaker: A Man Who Loved Peace Author:  Joy Hofacker Moore Illustrator: Jim Guenther Publisher:  Herald Press, 1987 ISBN:  9780836134278 Audience:  From the words of the author, “I perceive this book as one that touches all persons, form the two-year-old who becomes excited about the tractor to the adult who marvels at [...]

Teens and Faith: Three Final Reviews

These three short reviews by regular contributor Virginia Thomas mark the end of our 6 week series on books that reflect experiences of teens and faith.  We’d love to hear your suggestions about other books we didn’t review! Title:  Ordinary Miracles Author: Stephanie S. Tolan Publisher: Harper Trophy Book ISBN: 9780380733224 Audience: Ages 10 and [...]

Ender’s Game

Name of Book:  Ender’s Game Author: Orson Scott Card Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates ISBN: 9780812550702 Audience:  Ages 12+ Summary:  Aliens, known as the buggers, have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species.  Although it has been years since the last attack, the world wants to make sure humans win the next encounter, so [...]

Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom

Name of Book: Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom Author: Katherine Paterson Publisher: Groundwood Books ISBN: 9780888998859 Audience: Ages 9 – 12 Summary: Fifteen-year-old Wang Lee is abducted from his home by bandits and rescued by Mei Lin who is a member of the Taiping, a 19th century Chinese secret society dedicated to the establishment of [...]

The Summer Before Boys

Name of the book:  The Summer Before Boys Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin Publisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN: 978-1416986737 Audience: Grades 6-8 Summary: Julia is staying with her friend Eliza while her father works and her mother is stationed in Iraq. Her summer is going as she thought it would, hanging out at the resort where [...]

Welcome Janet Lloyd! (And her review of Potatoes, Potatoes)

Some of you may remember that when we began the Lectionary Links feature on this blog, I spoke about discovering a series about 15 years called Joy and Wonder in All God’s Works.  Today, I’m even more excited to tell you that we’ve discovered the author of that series and she is going to be [...]

Sisters of Scituate Light

Name of Book: Sisters of Scituate Light Author: Stephen Krensky Illustrator: Stacey Schuett Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books Audience: 5 – 10 Summary: Sisters of Scituate Light is the true and heroic tale of two sisters, Rebecca, age twenty-one and Abigail, age seventeen, who singlehandedly (or should I say double handedly?) thwarted an attempted attack on [...]

Stepping on the Cracks

Name of Book:  Stepping on the Cracks Author:  Mary Downing Hahn Illustrator:  None Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Audience:  ages 11-15.  Other sources list the target audience as ages 9-12.  While some elements in the book (being bullied, family loyalty, having secrets, relationships with a best friend) will be accessible to younger readers, the book’s themes [...]