Once again, and probably for the last time, I read Carry On, Mr. Bowditch aloud to my children. It’s one of my top 50 children’s books for many reasons, not the least of which is the brilliantly-written story. Little Nat Bowditch is part of a seafaring family that has hit upon hard times, but he […]
Reviews: Children’s Fiction
Review: Canal Boy by Marion Greene
Waiting in Colonel By’s office, sixteen year old Sean O’Dare was mesmerized by the wondrously-carved matched pistols in a box on the desk. Colonel By took a long time to arrive, held up on Rideau Canal business most likely, for he was in charge of the huge project of building a canal from Bytown (now […]
Review: A Big Year for Lily by Kinsinger and Fisher
Delightful Lily Lapp is back in a third book, A Big Year for Lily. Lily, an Amish girl, is growing older, and so are her classmates. Effie Kaufman still causes her endless grief, Aaron Yoder sometimes actually seems nice, and cousin Hannah has chosen the worst boy in the school to admire. Teacher Rhoda is […]
Review: The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
Every once in a while, a wonderful children’s book presents an educational philosophy and becomes a treat for both children and their parents. Louisa May Alcott wrote several books like this (Jack and Jill, Jo’s Boys, Little Men), Dorothy Canfield Fisher gave us Understood Betsy, and now Kirkpatrick Hill presents her ideas in the delightful […]