The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Junior Historical Fiction. Newbery Medal Award Winner 1959. 

This is the next book that I chose to read aloud to my kids that I have loved for a long time. It started out a little slow for my kids, but they quickly became invested in Kit and what would become of her in the world of New England in the late 17th century. 

I think this is a wonderful book for children to read and discuss. There are so many lessons to be learned about how to treat people. It helps us look at our own expectations of people and, hopefully, we can learn from these fictional character's mistakes and triumphs. There are a few true historical figures in the story which can lead to further learning about the early settlers in this new world of America. 

As I've read more historical fiction and non-fiction about the beginnings of our culture and religion in the United States, I have felt a profound gratitude for these people's lives and choices. They sacrificed more than I can understand and like today, they had many choices to make that were filled with nuances that cannot be seen from one quick glance. 

Recommend: Yes!

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Teen fantasy. I have been revisiting some of my favorite books and reading them aloud to my children. I chose about 5 and let them pick which one I should start with. All three chose Beauty.

Robin McKinley is an incredible author whose descriptions and characters are life like and full of color. I've read Beauty too many times to count. I never tire of rereading it. It's the best retelling of Beauty and the Beast fairy tale that I have ever read (and I've read a lot of them)!  It's one of the books I always recommend to all types of readers, young and old, male and female. All three of my kids really enjoyed it. It's not too mushy for a 12 year old boy, but has enough romance for a 14 year girl to sink into. It has decisions that are hard to make and people who turn out to be more than you thought.

Recommend: Yes Yes Yes.

Murder in Waiting by Lynn Cahoon

Mystery. This is an addition to Cahoon's Tourist Trap Mystery series. I advance order each installment to read on my Kindle. It's always a wonderful surprise when I open up my email and see that it's been delivered!  I've bought into these characters hook line and sinker!  Admittedly they aren't always the best written plots, but the culprit is never easy to guess and I thoroughly enjoy getting lost in the fictional town of South Cove, California.

Jill is the owner of the local bookstore/coffee shop and her boyfriend, Greg, is the small town's police chief. With a cast of endearing characters in the town, including Jill's eccentric aunt and a police dispatcher who is clairvoyant, there is plenty of side plots going on amidst the murder investigation to keep the story moving well.

Recommend: Yes.

Magic Shop Books by Bruce Coville

Jennifer Murdley's Toad. Junior Fantasy. I have loved all of the Magic Shop books by Coville. On a quick trip to Utah and back I downloaded a few of them to pass the time for my two kids stuck in the car for hours. We listened to this one first. These books are a quick read or listen and the audio version has a full cast of people voicing the different parts, which I always love. Coville's Magic Shop books start with a child who has a problem and they "accidentally" run into a shop that they've never seen before. Inside is an old man who offers to sell them any item they desire. This item, a toad in Jennifer Murdley's case, turns out to be magic and helps them solve their problem, although things seem to get worse before they get better and they always learn something about themselves along the way.

Jennifer has felt self conscious about her plain looks and has a great desire to be beautiful. The talking toad she buys from the Magic Shop shows her what's really important and in the end she has to make a difficult decision that will change her life and those she loves.

Recommend: Yes




Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. Junior Fantasy. Jeremy is a typical 6th grade boy, he has friends, loves to draw, thinks one of his teachers hates him, and has that group of kids that love to tease him. Through a dragon's egg that he buys at the Magic Shop he comes to see the people around him in a different light and makes friends with a wonderful dragon as well.

Recommend: Yes




I recommend the rest of the Magic Shop Books series. They do not need to be read in any particular order:

Juliet Dove, Queen of Love
The Skull of Truth
The Monster Ring

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

Teen Science Fiction. Recently I tagged along with my daughter and son-in-law to Barnes and Noble. As we were walking into the store the friendly sales clerk informed us that the store was closing in 3 minutes!  It had been ages since I have had the freedom to browse a bookstore, so I was a bit disappointed. I walked around the teen fiction area and saw this book, grabbed it just as the announcer informed us that the store was closed.

I have enjoyed reading many of Shannon Hale's books, Book of a Thousand Days, being my favorite of hers. As I started this book and realized it was more science fiction than fantasy I was a little disappointed and actually put it down a third of the way through. Science fiction can become too technical for me and the science part of it can disrupt the flow of the plot at times (in my humble opinion). But I liked the main character's determination and her resolve not to let her hormones take over her decisions when it came to boys and so I decided I would finish the book. I'm very glad I did, the last half is action packed and I really liked where she took the story down to the ending.

Maisie Danger Brown was born without a right hand. She has been homeschooled her entire life and has dreams of becoming an astronaut. She wins a contest that gives her admittance to an astronaut boot camp. This starts her on an adventure involving a boy, a megalomaniac, and an alien plot to take over the world.

Recommend: Yes.

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

Junior Fantasy. Ophelia is a young girl who has just lost her mother and has a father who is coping with the loss of his wife by focusing on his job as an expert on ancient swords. They travel to a museum for the winter so the father can work on an exhibit of rare swords. With this background Ophelia learns of a magical boy who is trapped and only she holds the key to his release and the safety of the world.

This is a loose adaptation of the fairy tale, The Snow Queen. It moved quickly and pulled me into Ophelia's world and her tendency to disbelieve the magic she saw around her. She discovers she is braver than she thought and some things just need to be believed to be seen. The story felt at times like dreams I've had that suddenly have strange creatures and unexplained plot twists and then ends too suddenly and leaves me feeling like I need to go back to sleep for five more minutes to finish the story, but not in an unpleasant frustrating way.

Recommend: Yes.

Daisies and Devotion by Josi S. Kilpack

Regency Romance. Another one by Josi Kilpack. This is in a series called Mayfield Family Series. I listened to the audio version and enjoyed the characters and the descriptions. Typical regency romance novel, but not any less enjoyable because of the predictability. Marianne has a fortune, but no marriage prospects that she desires. She wants a man that wants her for who she is, not just the money that comes with her.

Recommend? Yes