“Years ago when my three oldest were just little guys, I realized that I wanted to mark the passing of summer in some really fun ways. Since we had chosen to homeschool, the line between life and learning has been very faint. But, I wanted them to make special summer memories that made that season [...]
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Review: An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser
When the Scarpelli family’s rickety tenement building is slated for destruction, widowed Mama prays while Lucy ventures forth to find a home the family can afford on sweatshop wages. She finds not only an apartment, but also positions—for Mama, Lucy, and teenaged Sophia—in Madame Moreau’s Fashion Emporium. A wealthy client, Rowena Langdon, befriends Lucy, [...]
Review: An Unlikely Blessing by Judy Baer
Having put the city, a successful academic career, and a failed engagement behind him, Alex Armstrong moved out to the wilds of North Dakota as a fledgling pastor. In Hilltop he found friends, many urgent needs, and delicious food donated by the ladies (some single) of his two congregations. In caring for his flocks, Alex [...]
Review: Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer
Would you educate your children according to your religion even if it meant jail? What if it meant that the children would be taken away from you? That was the quandary facing Caleb Bender and other Amish fathers. Inspired by actual events, this novel follows Caleb Bender?s family as they move from Ohio to Mexico [...]
Review: The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund
Elizabeth, a quick-witted and idealistic young maiden, was filled with pity for a tiny baby, left to die along with his mother. She found him a wet-nurse, decided to become a housekeeper to care for the rest of the motherless children, and fell in love with their father, while promising marriage to another man. But [...]
Review: Emily’s Chance by Sharon Gillenwater
When a disastrous fire destroyed most of the countryside around Callahan Crossing as well as the small town museum Emily was restoring, it seemed as though she would soon go back to the city. Chance Callahan, cowboy, contractor, and now also fire-cleanup volunteer, was determined to make the young museum curator stay. “She’s the one,” [...]
Remembrance Week Review: While We’re Far Apart by Lynn Austin
Still reeling from the accidental death of his wife, Eddie Shaffer enlisted in the US army in September 1943. He expected his mother to take care of his children but she refused, insisting that he stay home with his motherless children. When Grandma’s neighbor, mousy Penny Goodrich, overheard the conversation she eagerly offered to move [...]
NaNoWriMo: Novel Writing for Kids (and Adults)
How does the idea of getting your children to write a novel in a month sound to you? Incredible? Well, it might be, but last year 35,000 kids were involved in NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Last year Miss 17 and Miss 12 participated. For the entire month of November they [...]
Review: Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad
At her mother’s insistence, Marguerite Westing lets herself be courted by wealthy Roger Gordon, a man she privately calls Mr. Boring. Although Margaret normally has a lot of spunk, she lacks the courage to tell Roger that she is not interested in him. Instead she lives a lie. The lies intensify when her [...]
