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May your day be blessed with the warmth of God’s heart whatever the weather is outside.
A couple of weeks ago I suggested some books you might consider as gifts for middle schoolers. I promised some suggestions for YA. Here they are:
The Boys in the Boat— the true, inspiring story of the young men, who to everyone’s surprise, won Olympic gold in rowing at the 1936 Olympics.
A Christmas Gift for Rose–an uplifting story about God’s provision and care. A young Amish woman discovers the story of her parentage.
First Date–a contemporary novel with small nods to the story of Esther from the Old Testament. Teenage American girls in a beauty pageant compete for a first date with the President’s son.
Found in Translation–a humorous and heart-warming novel of a young woman’s adventures and misadventures on her first short-term mission trip.
God’s Smuggler–a true and thrilling story of Brother Andrew, who smuggled Bibles into countries closed to Christianity.
In His Steps–the Christian classic that asks the question “What would Jesus do?” and then shows how various people who ask the question.
Oxygen–science fiction, a space crew traveling to Mars suspect that one of them is a saboteur
The Shining Orb of Volney–a deep, fantasy/science fiction novel with a strong story world that is rich in detail and realism. The female characters are strong and resourceful.
Thunder Dog— the story of Roselle, the guide dog who helped the blind Michael Hingson and those who were with him escape the plane-struck Tower 1 on 9/11.
The above are just a few of the books we have liked and written about. You can find titles of other books by selecting Book Lists on the menu above. Titles link to the reviews. Or you can use the drop down feature to your left. Select YA and then scroll down through the reviews.
Nancy Ellen Hird is a mom, a writer and a credentialed teacher. (She taught seventh grade and preschool.) Her latest work for children is We All Get a Clue, a mystery novel for girls 10-13. For several years she was a freelance reviewer of children’s and teen’s literature for the Focus on the Family website.
Elizabeth Raum is the author of Crossroads in Galilee, published by JourneyForth (2016). She has created a “choose your journey” chapter book for elementary-aged children based on the life and times of Jesus in the first century. Raum did research on the time and place to create more realistic story lines, including details about markets, local crops, and fishing.
The reader may choose to follow the story of a boy from a vineyard, a fisherman’s sister, or a tax collector’s brother. After each chapter, the reader again makes a choice about what the character will do, and then turns to the chapter that describes the consequences of that choice.
The choices include such decisions as whether to follow Jesus or John the Baptist, to fight or turn the other cheek, to lie or tell the truth. The author quotes scripture to support the narrative.
The overarching story centers on the day of Jesus’ baptism by John, and moves on from there, following Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. The readers glimpse everyday life in Bible times, and see what a difference one choice can make in a series of events.
The writing is appropriate for elementary aged children. The story lines are gentle, but interesting. The font is large, and there are black-and-white drawings to illustrate the text.
The author begins with an explanation on how to use the book and ends with a short lesson on how important decision-making is. She also includes a glossary of terms, a list of references for the Bible stories in the book, and notes on her research.
Crossroads in Galilee is about 140 pages long, and may be found on Amazon, Christianbook.com, and possibly in your local Christian book store. It is available in paperback and as an e-book.
Note from Nancy–There are three other books in this series: Christmas Crossroads, Crossroads Among the Gentiles and Crossroads in Jerusalem.
Donna Fujimoto’s children love to read. She is a graduate of Alliance Theological Seminary. Her collection of short stories, 9 Slightly Strange Stories with an Uplifting Edge is available as an e-book at Amazon.
Thanksgiving is November 24 in the Year of Our Lord 2016 and we have some book suggestions.
What is Thanksgiving? – a board book that takes the listener to the heart of the holiday
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving – a picture book about God’s hand in the first Thanksgiving. The whole family will enjoy this one.
Thanksgiving Graces – a picture book about extending ourselves to family, friends and strangers
Molly’s Pilgrim – a first chapter book with illustrations for children in lower elementary grades that may help children consider modern day pilgrims
And Patsy found this one by Louisa May Alcott. — Nancy
An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, by Louisa May Alcott, with an adapted text by Harper Collins Publishers will get you in the mood for Thanksgiving. It is a short book with beautiful illustrations by James Bernardin. The children who would appreciate this book most would be in the age range of five to twelve. Personally, I think adults will enjoy it very much, as well.
The story starts on Thanksgiving Day at the home of Farmer Bassett, his wife and their six children. They live in the New Hampshire hills, and are poor in money, but rich in love. The crops are in and Mrs. Bassett is making pies in preparation for Thanksgiving Dinner. Tillie and Prue, the oldest daughters are mixing spices and chopping ingredients. The twins Roxy and Rhody are slicing apples, while Seth and Solomon are shelling corn for popping.
Before long the family receives a visitor. Old Mr. Chadwick comes to tell Mrs. Bassett that her mother is very ill. Mother and Father have to leave on a long drive to go and be with Grandma, and they leave their two oldest girls in charge. Father says he will be back after he has dropped Mother off.
After bidding their parents goodbye, the slightly nervous older girls tell their sibling to go out sledding while they continue to prepare the feast. The main elements will be roast turkey, stuffing, pudding and apple slump. Unknown to the girls, they make a few mistakes and add some wrong ingredients. They forget the salt and sugar in the pudding, and accidentally add catnip and wormwood to the stuffing.
By early evening, an entire crowd arrives at their home. Their parents return with aunts, uncles, cousins and even Grandma herself! They found out Mr. Chadwick had made a mistake and Grandma was just fine, after all. The relatives will have dinner with the family and spend the evening visiting.
The dinner is delicious, except for the minor mistakes, and everyone has a wonderful time. Mrs. Bassett praises the girls for their hard work, even though she nearly chokes when she tastes the stuffing! Everyone loves the apple slump. (At the end of the book, you will find the recipe for that.)
This was a fun and uplifting read. It is making me look forward to Thanksgiving already.
Patsy Ledbetter says she has many titles, but her favorite is being mom to her five children. Her two daughters, two sons and one son-in-law are her joy. A teacher with forty years experience Patsy has taught children of all ages and also special needs children and adults. She writes occasionally for a local newspaper and performs in church theater productions on a regular basis. Her husband is the church choir and orchestra director. They have been married for 32 years. She says, “It is my desire to bring honor and glory to my Lord Jesus in every area where He has allowed me to minister.”
Nancy Ellen Hird is a mom, a writer and a credentialed teacher. (She taught seventh grade and preschool.) Her latest work for children is We All Get a Clue, a mystery novel for girls 10-13. For several years she was a freelance reviewer of children’s and teen’s literature for the Focus on the Family website.
nancyellenhird.wordpress.com 