I usually try to keep it positive on here - being a thermostat and not a thermometer, recommending good stuff instead of ripping into bad stuff. (Or at least recommending more than I rip. I'll admit I have fun ripping.) But, I often find myself in the position of standing in a bookshop, trying to... Continue Reading →
Good and evil war in this coming-of-age middle-grade tale rife with allusion to Welsh legend. Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy,... Continue Reading →
Every child who's grown up on fairytales or Disney has heard the refrain, 'and they lived happily ever after.' It's a theme of every fairytale -- not counting the Grimms', naturally. Why? Why were stories finished with this line or something like it? Because it was convenient? Perhaps. But why are stories that don't end... Continue Reading →
Yes, it's a Newberry award winner. But it's a good one. This thrilling Newbery Medal-winning novel about the Revolutionary War is a classic of children's historical fiction. Fourteen-year-old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In... Continue Reading →
Today I have a classic for you. A good classic. Now, when I recommend this to people, usually the first objection I hear was that the show traumatized them. But this is nothing like the show. Perfect for fans of The Wind in the Willows, Redwall, the Mistmantle Chronicles, or The Green Ember, Watership Down... Continue Reading →
Well, last summer, I decided to get a head start on my British literature homework and hey, why pass up an excuse to read more, am I right? So, without further ado, I plunged into everything I could find written by British authors or about Britain. From Lawhead’s Song of Albion to Dark Rising... Continue Reading →
I'm going to be honest with you -- this post originally began as a rant on the material I'd been forced to read for school. But then I got a book for Christmas, called The Christian Imagination, a collection of essays on literature. The one by Leland Ryken -- mind you, not the Christian Science... Continue Reading →
