Abbie Against The Storm is a great children’s picture book that tells the story of a young girl who lives and trains with her father at a lighthouse in Maine. It is a true story of a time in history when sailors and people who traveled on the water depended on the lighthouses along the shores to keep them aware of the dangerous rocks and reefs that could damage their boats as they traveled the water ways.
Abbie’s mother becomes ill and her father must leave the lighthouse to get help. A storm is on the way and it is up to Abbie to keep the lights lit in the towers. The storm takes on a horrific power and the family must climb to a higher level than the lower living space due to the storm washing upon the rock where the lighthouse was built.
It is exhausting and a tremendous responsibility to keep the lights burning and bright. Abbie battles the storm and her own exhaustion performing the duties that her father normally was in charge of. This book was wonderfully written and illustrated. The pictures are rich in color and convey the urgency of the storm in the story. The author is Marcia Vaughan and the illustrator is Bill Farnsworth.
Anna’s Return is a work of fiction written by Marta Perry. It is classified as a Christian Romance book. However, I really found it just to be just a great work of fiction. The characters were not only believable but they were multi-layered and their interactions were so filled with genuine responses that the reader could quite easily lose themselves in the storyline.
Anna is a young woman of the Amish background who had left her family and her friends in her search for freedom. This is her time of rumspringa or period of rebellion that many young Amish individuals experience before they commit to being baptised into their church. Read the rest of this entry…
The Ark is a novel written by Boyd Morrison and is an interesting read concerning an intriguing concept about the Biblical story of the Ark. The book takes creative license with the concept of not only where the Ark has been hidden but also with the very basic story of the ark and why it was built.
There is action and a perfect blending of characters who have skills and knowledge which blend to bring the story to an exciting climax. Many aspects of the story could have been taken off of the evening news with biological agents, modern day travel, historical excavation, military secrets and knowledge that is kept from society for it’s own good.
The Ark explores many areas of science and technological advancement that is fascinating to consider. Does it change my personal religious beliefs about the biblical version of the story? No. However, I will say that I found the book to be very interesting and to be well worth my time reading. The book was copyrighted in 2009 by Gordian Fiction, LLC. Published by Touchstone a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
As Simple As It Seems is a wonderful book written for tweens. It is about a young girl who struggles with the knowledge of her very origins in life. She has been dealing with the knowledge that she is the daughter of a man who is legally her uncle…a man who is not a good person. The young girl named Verbena Colter is adopted.
As she processes the knowledge, she begins to be confused about who she really is and whether she is a good person or a good person who is infected with bad genes who will turn into a bad person because of the blood that runs through her veins. This is the old story about the importance of what creates who we are to become as an individual; is environment or genetics more important. She risks alienating her parents affects because of her behavior and her self esteem.
Verbena doesn’t know who she is but she thinks she knows who she will turn out to be. She forges a new friendship with a summer resident and that helps her to figure out what is really important in life; but will she figure it out in time?
Sarah Weeks is the author of As Simple As It Seems and she does a great job of writing believable characters. Before you know it you are swept up in the story that is Verbena’s life. This book was published in 2010 and was published by Harper Collins. You can view their site here: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com
While most people learn about Clara Barton and her nursing work on the battlefield during the civil war; we don’t really learn about the extent of Clara’s influence on America. I found the book to be very interesting as it discussed Clara’s early childhood and the foundation she gained through her family and their work ethic.
Ms. Barton was a highly effective individual when it came to influencing people in positions of power…the very rich as well as those higher up in the government. Equally influential with the poor and those who were injured or displaced because of war or natural disasters, Ms. Barton knew how to prepare and dispense supplies that helped people to survive and overcome whatever hardships that they were facing. It was the very establishment of America’s first endeavor of organized humanitarian aid.
In a time when women were regulated to very defined roles in society either in the home or in very limited careers such as teachers; Clara Barton opened doors to women fulfilling their purpose in societies in ways that were previously closed to them.
Clara was either revered and respected or resented and resisted by most everyone she came into contact with. Those who supported her efforts stood by her side and tried to aid the areas of impact that she felt called to contribute to. Those who resented or resisted her goals often times were successful temporarily at standing in her way. Clara suffered physically because of her dedication to her calling. She had to restore her health for lengthy periods of time so that she could again, gain the strength to put her heart and soul into establishing guidelines for providing ethical and medical standards regarding those who fought in wars.
Compassion combined with a diligent effort to organizing and streamlining aid to those in need was what was needed. She also helped to find and organize information regarding the loss of lives due to war; which was a great comfort to those family members who lost loved ones in war and had no idea of their burial places.
Clara Barton is a woman who has earned her place in history and is one whom both men and women can admire and pattern their own behavior after. She was called the “Angel of the Battlefied” because of those who had gratitude in their hearts for her nursing skills.
This book was written by Susan E. Hamen and was published by ABDO Publishing Company in 2010. It was printed on recycled paper and was nicely put together with wonderful pictures that go a long way towards keeping the interest of the reader. If you are interested in the book or in more information about Clara Barton you can visit their website here: http://www.abdopublishing.com
Now here is a book that floats my boat; House Rules is a novel written by the author Jodi Picoult. She has written a book that is not only a real page turner but is informative for anyone who happens to have a loved one who lives with the condition of Autism. It is hard for people to understand all of the challenges that individuals and families experience when someone they care about has Autism. Behaviors are often triggered by sensory overload and communication is not always done in a way that is easy for others to understand. This is why the novel, House Rules, connects with me.
I have special needs children myself and therefore have had relationships with many children who are affected by Autism. I have also had the dubious honor of being in the circle of influence of those with special needs who are often at odds with those in authority from everyday encounters with bus drivers, to school officials (who you would expect to be trained effectively in dealing with challenges), to legal authorities in the criminal justice system. I’ve worked with young children, as well as teenagers, who have developmental disabilities, some with Autism and others such as those who have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; individuals who may physically appear in such a way as to have normal development…but in all actuality; their ability to communicate and operate in a world full of contradictory signals is greatly impacted.
This is fertile ground for misunderstandings large and small. In a situation that has the power to affect them legally…this can be extremely harmful. The very systems that run our society from the medical communities, to the educational system, to the legal system…they are all in need of specific training when it comes to understand and effectively working with people who have different ways of comprehending and communicating in the world we live in. Police officers need to learn how to question and analyze behaviors in the context of a challenged individual and their easily led responses.
It is considered contrary to teach a child (teen) not to “talk” to a police officer…we teach our children to respect the law and it’s officers. However, when their very freedom and civil rights are at risk because of their lack of comprehension of the consequences of being misunderstood…it is often recommended that they be told not to talk without a lawyer present. That is easier said than done because most often children (teens) who are challenged believe that everyone is their friend and has their best interest at heart. That is not always the case. Jodi Picoult’s book teaches some very practical things regarding this…especially if those individuals are 18 or older. This is vital information for any parent or guardian of a challenged individual. Society’s perception of an individuals behavior is important when it comes to so many crucial areas of life. A parent or guardian is not always with a challenged individual and that is frightening when there are consequences such as those depicted in this work of fiction.
House Rules does a great job of portraying the isolation of families who are affected by the everyday challenges that others don’t understand and are not willing to deal with. The financial struggles, the physical and emotional demands that tax caregivers in the position of the characters that Jodi Picoult so expertly created here are vibrant and truly impact the reader.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to find someone who understands what they go through; or perhaps, wishes to educate others who could function as a support to a caregiver in this kind of situation. Many times, well meaning people will say to a caregiver that they “just couldn’t do what you do” . This book truly shows what commitment and dedication and love can accomplish.
House Rules was published in 2010 by Atria Books which is a division of Simon and Schuster, Inc.
First thing you need to know about this book is that it is not a new publication. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a modern classic. I decided to do a book review on it because the book held some interest to me because I recently visited a public museum in a town where the author, Betty Smith, happened to have written the book. This fascinated me.
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is the story of a young girl named Francie who struggles to survive in a world of poverty and hard knocks. She has an inner strength that was born through maternal example and through an unwillingness to be held back. Education and creative ways of earning money were Francie’s ticket to success. Even still, the emotional turmoil of the underpriveledged individual is a rough road. Loneliness and hardship cannot be underestimated when it comes to forming a person’s inner character.
Family and the complex interpersonal relationships that are forged because of a person’s past mold a person’s future. I loved that the author, Betty Smith, did not hide her head in the sand with all of the social aspects of poverty and it’s far reaching influence not only on an individual person but on a community as well. This book was an amazing testament to a condition that never goes away…poverty and it’s influence.
The publisher of this book is Harper Perennial Modern Classics.