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ISBN: 978-0-8028-5473-5 Ages 6-10 My thoughts:   This interesting picture book takes the young reader into the stark reality of the British Industrial Revolution when a family of shoe cobblers moves from the village into the city of Manchester where machines, crowded streets, and more crowded tenement housing makes life for them and those around them barely sustainable. The illustrations are "abstract-ish" and bold using browns, grays, blacks, and russet to take the reader into this new era. The story is sweet and teaches a lesson in sacrifice for those we love. Charlie is so happy and proud to wear the shoes his grandfather made for him. And in his new life the very fact that he wears such wonderful shoes causes folks to tag him with the name,"Leather Shoe Charlie." Even in the bleakness that was Industrial Manchester when labor laws were unheard of and hours for adults and children alike were long, hard, and sometimes dangerous, a ray of light shines in the sweetn...

My thoughts: Beautiful ! A visually engrossing read about how God knows all about you and that He made you. He made you for a purpose and gifted you with each of your personal attributes. The illustrations leap with joy from the page as the characters are colorfully splayed across the pages finding how God has a purpose and plan for them and uniquelly fitted them for that plan. Awash in soft pastels from every color of the rainbow the pages are beautifully illustrated with charming, exuberant, happy critters and characters. After being told in rhyme that God made you uniquely, the reader further reads that he is to.... Discover. Explore! Have faith but love more. And learn and relearn all that God made you for. Use your talents and passions, those gifts that God fashioned Think up ideas and then put them to action. The story also brings in the "Love one another" theme and touches on the color in all races and kind. I see this as a beautifully colorful book that envelopes the...

ISBN 9781781283271 $12.99 | Paperback | Candle Books My thoughts: Superb text. Great pictures. Wonderful collection that introduces the young child to the concepts of God, Jesus, the Bible, Prayer, and the two main events of the Bible - Christ's Birth and the Story of the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of the Savior. Each little book is complete in itself and literally asks the child "Would you like to know...." and then beautifully tells the child about the main subject of that particular book. I like that you can build with each book on the concept of God, His Word, and His plan of Salvation. The child is frequently encouraged to pray and deep respect for God is inherent in the books. A great addition to the book collections of young children. I highly recommend. About the book: In this new addition to the fantastic Would You Like to Know? series, six little books are featured in one boxed gift set. Each book offers a starting point for young children to explore some o...

Home to Paradise , the final book in author Barbara Cameron's The Coming Home series, is not to be missed!  Rose Anna Zook always thought she and John, one of Stoltzfus brothers, would marry, make a home together, and have children. But John, enjoying his Rumschpringe in the Englisch world, has other ideas. Rose Anna is determined to bring her man back into the Amish fold. John is equally determined to live his life free and unencumbered. Who will win this battle of wills? Will love prevail? Join Barbara on Thursday, March 9, for a live author chat party on her Facebook page with fun prizes to be won! Click the graphic below for more details and to RSVP. Hope to see you there—bring a friend or two who loves Amish fiction!

ISBN13:  9780718090647 NKJV Precious Prayers Bible I raised my children with a standard King James Bible and yet today the thinking is that the KJV is too hard for anyone to understand, especially children. The New King James Version is a somewhat updated (today's English) version of the KJV. In the Precious Moments® Precious Prayers NKJV Bible, the publisher has the entire text of the Bible, study aids, and included colorful pages of classic poetic prayers for the young child. The artistic theme is that of the Precious Moments® category and brand. It is lovely. It is age appropriate. The prayers are worth reading and memorizing and will guide a child's thoughts toward God and belief in Him. The Bible text itself is one that the young child (with parental guidance for respect and careful handling) can use throughout his or her childhood. The text size is 9.5 which is pretty good for reading. The pages of the Biblical text are, however, very thin and the text on the reverse side...

My thoughts: This fable takes the idea that little ones (our very own children) are afraid to go to sleep or afraid of the dark. The colorful Thai Argus pheasant is the little one that can't sleep in this story and he is afraid of things in the darkness. One of them being that something will eat him - tigers or panthers - if he goes to sleep and isn't alarmed in time to get away from them. Little Lek Longtail has an exceptionally long and beautifully colored tail and this proves to be a source of not only pride but provides him with a coping skill as well. Bette Killion allows Little Lek to have a longer and more colorful tail than the real Thai Argus pheasant, but the real bird does have a rather spectacular tail and he does perch in trees as Little Lek does. Ms. Killion has aptly provided a bedtime story that will surely help children of the world learn to cope with their fear of the dark while learning about an unusual bird that lives amongst the dense foliage of the Thai ra...

About the book:  Before she raised her lens to take her most iconic photo, Dorothea Lange took photos of the downtrodden from bankers in once-fine suits waiting in breadlines, to former slaves, to the homeless sleeping on sidewalks. A case of polio had left her with a limp and sympathetic to those less fortunate. Traveling across the United States, documenting with her camera and her fieldbook those most affected by the stock market crash, she found the face of the Great Depression. In this picture book biography, Carole Boston Weatherford with her lyrical prose captures the spirit of the influential photographer. My thoughts: I have long admired the photograph of the woman with her children revealing the impact of the Great Depression on the poor. This image invokes such emotion and sympathy. Never knowing who snapped the image recording it for thousands to see, it was a privilege to learn a bit about the individual responsible. Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange In this children's ...

My thoughts:   Calvert lifts villainous "Sloan" from the pages of Crisis Team #2 - Step by Step - and fleshes her out as the survivor of a terrible over-the-cliff car accident who is back at work in the ER of another hospital in a different city. Her life has changed for the better, but it is still flawed and she has multiple secrets which she strives to keep safely tucked away. The story explodes into action with a near kidnapping in front of the hospital and Sloan runs to the rescue of the teen. While in the ER because she is slightly injured, the rescued teen has a disturbing tattoo "property of...." in a hidden area. As the story progresses, the frightening reality of girls held as sex trafficking merchandise and similarly tattooed comes to light along with brutal criminal activity toward these young girls and those who come into the cross hairs of the criminals. Woven throughout is the thread of forgiving those who have harmed you and also in finding a way to f...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware In the late 1990s, when Writer Beware first started up, the digital revolution was just peeking over the horizon. Traditional publishing was still the only path to publication, and literary agents were the principal gatekeepers. As a result, there existed a huge and lucrative subculture of dodgy literary agents, who fed on writers' hunger for publication and turned the (false) promise of access into money. Upfront fees, editing referral schemes, vanity publishing scams: the list was endless. No more. With the enormous growth of small presses and the expanding number of self-publishing options, agents are no longer the be-all and end-all of a writing career, and fewer writers decide to seek them. Writers are also more savvy these days about proper business practice. This has been bad news for the predatory agent subculture, which has shrunk to a sickly shadow of its former self. Fee-charging agents, once the most common of all literary ...

My thoughts:   This shortened, children's version of  previous bestseller "Same Kind of Different As Me" brings to children the concept that helping others is a good thing to do. Denver Moore was a black child born into the poverty of tenant farming in the South and grew up with no education and virtually no toys. He escaped the farm in a train boxcar which he rode to Texas. Life in Texas was as hard or harder than the life he had left on the farm and he lived for years as a homeless person. He found his way to a Mission where he was discovered by a couple who took him under their wing and helped him. This evolved into a speaking tour and a book which generated a large sum of money which was used to build a new Mission for the homeless. A good story, but somehow it seems to miss the mark. Would I purchase it? Probably not. Would it be a good book for a library and why? Yes, and because it tells the story of helping others. About the book: This remarkable story shows what ...

Compliments of Tyndale Publishing

ISBN13:  9781782642145 My thoughts: The world of pharmaceutical cures for disease is populated with brilliant people driven to successfully create Nobel Prize winning cures yet amid their world of glass beakers is the conscience shattering lure of the prize. We find that these driven people are still individuals with the hopes, loves, and desires of ordinary men and women. In a story that takes the reader into the meticulous research lab and the daily detailed work of trial and error that is involved in research, the author shows the loving family side of characters. Little Chloe with her genetic code that requires daily treatments just to stay alive is a charmer that Katie can't help but fall in love with. Chloe's parents are successful in their own professional endeavors - Rachel a wood working artist and David a patent lawyer. But as David's past pushes open the door to involvement in a case in which his recently deceased ex-wife was lead counsel, a complication of emoti...

ISBN13:  9781426326639 This month, National Geographic Children’s Books debuts two thought-provoking titles that expertly explore two largely unknown —  but vitally important  — true stories that spotlight the complex issues of slavery, injustice, fear and the challenges of change. Both works address tough subjects in a compelling and astute manner that provide historical context to understanding and discussing today’s racial issues. I have chosen to review one of these titles: Shackles from the Deep: Tracing the Path of a Sunken Slave Ship . My thoughts: Growing up during pre-integration period of American history, I knew some but not a lot about our past history as it relates to the treatment of slaves and how they came to be here in America or in other areas of the world. I have since learned more about this dark period in mankind's history. But this is not the only people to have been enslaved throughout history. Enslavement has been rife throughout history. It is a r...

ISBN:  9780763689483 Ages 3 - 7 Hardcover My thoughts: This is a cute book with lively illustrations that convey the joy and excitement that comes from bringing a dog into the home and life of a child. When the little girl is four, her family brings a dog into the home. The fictional story is actually a "this is what you do" type of story where the young girl and her family go through important things to know and do in regard to having a dog in your home. Along with the actual story (centered on the pages) there are tidbits of factual instruction in smaller print along the top, bottom and sides of the pages. At the back of the book there is a short indexed list of key words and a short list of additional reading that might be helpful. This is probably a good book for families with young children to read through if they are interested in adopting, buying, or being given a dog of their very own. It will help in understanding the temperment and care of a dog. I recommend for hom...

ISBN: 9781496417442 Hardcover - Ages 4-8 My Thoughts:   Children love the beloved story of Noah and the Ark from the Bible and well they should because it is the story of God's love for a just man and the saving of mankind and the animal world during the cleansing waters of the Great Flood. Take the style of the catchy rhyme "House That Jack Built" and reword it to tell this beloved Bible story, and you have a winning combination. Factor in some cute pictures that are stark, boldly colored, and engaging compelling children to return to this book time and time again. This is the water that rained with the rush of a deafening downpour and gurgling gush. And lifted the ark and each animal pair - hamster and hippo, hyena and hare.  And as a reminder, the last page of the book tells the reader just where the story of Noah and the Ark is in the Bible - Genesis 6-9. Also the promise of God that..... "When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant...

About the book:  In one week, the wrong man will be executed for murder. Let the chase for the real killer begin. Eighteen years ago, TV crime reporter Andi Hollister's sister was murdered. The convicted killer sits behind bars, his execution date looming. But when a letter surfaces stating that the condemned didn't do the crime, Detective Will Kincaide of the Memphis Cold Case Unit will stop at nothing to help Andi get to the bottom of it. After all, this case is personal: the man who confessed to the crime is Will's cousin. Andi and Will must find the real killer before the wrong person is executed. But what can happen in only a week? Uncovering police corruption, running for your life, and, perhaps, falling in love? With the perfect mixture of intrigue and nail-biting suspense, award-winning author Patricia Bradley invites you to crack the case--if you can--alongside the best Memphis has to offer. My thoughts: In a salute to the investigation of Cold Cases and of wrong p...

Maybe It's You takes place in Los Angeles and our heroine, Sloane Ferrell, has an emotional attachment to "Old Hollywood," so we've decided to use that as a theme for a very cool giveaway. Candace Calvert is inviting you to enter for a chance at a "red carpet movie night", complete with custom Hollywood style chocolates, popcorn, theater candy, Walk of Fame wall sticker, stuffed animal cat (like one that appears in the story), a $50 Amazon gift card (movie rentals, books . . .) AND a signed and personalized copy of Maybe It's You . Doesn't that sound like FUN? For complete details, please visit the Tyndale Blog. Meanwhile, to further stir your interest, here's a link to Chapter One of this exciting new story.  Chapter #1 - click here And watch here on Chat With Vera  for my review of Maybe It's You

About the book:  With the heart and humor of Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes and Rebecca Wells’s Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, author Marci Henna introduces you to the Cranbournes—a mostly lovable and undoubtedly nutty family who’ve had more than their fair share of hard times. A beautiful blend of tears and laughter, When We Last Spoke tells the tale of sisters Juliet and Evangeline, who are dropped off by their Broadway-bound mother at their paternal grandparents’ Texas ranch in 1967. After their cherished father is killed in Vietnam, the girls are orphaned. Still mourning their son’s death, grandparents Walt and Ruby accept their role as guardians, only to be surprised soon after by another permanent houseguest’s arrival—Walt’s kooky mother, Itasca. Fast-forward to the present, where the warmhearted home in which the girls grew up is now just a faint memory. The estranged sisters are in need of a good dose of Walt’s famous stargazing wisdom: “You’ve got to look rea...

My thoughts: If you're a history buff, you will love this book. If you're not really "into" history, this story will grab your attention and give you a new appreciation for the people who came before you and I and settled in this land of the free. In 1719 life in Paris, France was either good if you had the money, or terrible and inhumane if you had no money. Being accused of dastardly crimes took only the word of a jealous person to land you in prison and marked for life. There was no recourse, until, the King wanted to populate the Louisiana (named after King Louis) area. So prisoners were given the choice to stay in prison or go to Louisiana but the catch was they wanted to populate the land so that meant as a Catholic nation that the settlers must be married. So prisoners were matched, chained, married, and shipped. Life in Louisiana was as hardscrabble (or mud-scrabble) as it could get. There wasn't enough food, there was war with the British and war and terr...