by Carolyn | Bible, Picture Books
I love finding picture books that express something universal from a child-accessible perspective. Sonia and the Biggest Block Tower Ever by Kathryn Butler, illustrated by Samara Hardy, tells a relatable story filled with imagination. What’s more, it...
by Carolyn | Animal books, Picture Books
When Sarah Mackenzie told me about her upcoming picture book, Dear Duck, Please Come! I thought it sounded delightful. Now that I’ve read it, I can say it’s every bit as wonderful as I expected. Story Duck opens his mailbox and finds a letter from his...
by Carolyn | Chapter Books, Classics, Girls, Older Elementary, Read Alouds
I tend to review new books. It’s certainly not that I don’t like old books. I love them! But sometimes, I think everybody already knows about all the wonderful children’s books that have been around for a while. But when I was looking around for...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Animal books, Audiobooks, Character Training, Fantasy, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Older Elementary, Read Alouds, Recommendations
I just finished reading an advance copy of Ember Falls by S.D. Smith, and it is magnificent! Ember Falls, the sequel to The Green Ember, is full of twists and turns, intrigue, and action. Heather and Picket have grown into confident, mature characters, but all their...
by Carolyn | Adventure, Character Training, Fantasy, For fun, Imagination, Juvenile Fiction, Middle School, Middle-grade, Mystery, Older Elementary, Read Alouds, Recommendations, Scary Stories
I have three words for you: Mysterious Benedict Society. If I made a list of my top ten read-alouds, this would be on it. We listened to the audio book recently, and although we’d read the book to my older kids before, it was fun to see my six-year-old...
by Carolyn | Boys, Discussion Guide, For fun, Juvenile Fiction, Middle-grade, Older Elementary
So, I tend to be a bit of a word-nerd. I was an English major, took multiple linguistics classes (for fun), and can’t wait to hear the latest Grammar Girl podcast every week. Needless to say, I love the word-related concepts Andrew Clements so cleverly...
