Reading, Writing & Pondering

  The Big Wide Welcome by Trillia Newbell is a gorgeous book with some great practical teachings woven into the story. "Do you have a favorite food, or toy, or teddy?. . .It's fine to play favorites with things but we should not play favorites with people. I love the message of this book and I think it is well worded. The Big Wide Welcome is aimed at children ages three to six. It is a 32 page book measuring 8.75 by 10.25 inches. The pages are thick and the illustrations are simply gorgeous. The book tells about Jesus and James based on the Bible. I think it is a great book for little ones to learn from both at home and it could be used at church meetings for young ones. I like how both the words and pictures go together to illustrate how Jesus truly loves us all, no matter what our social standing, color, age, size, etc. Then the children are encouraged to treat others the way Jesus would treat them.  I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company

      The Story of Abraham Lincoln by Patricia Pingry is part of the "Story of" series from Worthy Kids. As we look to celebrate President's Day in February, this would be a great book to read to toddlers to help them understand who President Abraham Lincoln was and a bit of American History. The Story of Abraham Lincoln is about 200 words, 24 pages and is a roughly six-inch square board book. The pages are card board and should be easy for little hands to turn the pages. There are some big words in this book, like emancipation proclamation, so most likely it is a book that would be read to a child, at least to start with. However, I like that it gets children thinking about American history and gives them a bit of history to later expand on. The pictures are brightly colored and so eye-catching. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

The Story of George Washington by Patricia A. Pingry is a part of the "Story Of" reader series from Worthy Kids. This is a great series to get children thinking about United States history. The Story of George Washington helps children see the basics of who George Washington was, learn the basics of the story of the cherry tree, see his influence on the beginning of our country and know that he was our first President. While some of the words may be a little big, as a whole this is a great book. Parents can fill in some of the gaps orally if questions are asked and explain in more details or help children find the answers they are looking for.  With Presidents Day coming up in February, this would make a great book to put in a toddler's library. The book contains about 200 words, is 24 pages long and has brightly-colored eye-catching pictures. The book measures about six inches square so would be easy for small hands to hold and turn the pages. The Story of George Washi

  Annabeth DeLacy's father was  appointed landlord of Galway Parish in Ireland in the 1920s. Anabeth was bored with the British Court so she is ready for a new adventure. She talks her father into letting her apprentice with the Jennings' family jewelry shop.  Stephen Jennings spends every day in the family jewelry shop selling the famed Claddagh ring. But Stephen has experienced some hard things in his life that have embittered his heart towards the ring, the shop and love, in general.  At the same time, there is rumors of war for Irish independence from the British. Both the DeLacys and the Jennings experience some of the events of this time differently. Can they bridge the gaps of their differences? The Lady of Galway Manor by Jennifer Deibel is a historical romance book set in Ireland. I really enjoyed the history in this book as I was not aware of what went on in these countries in the 1920s. I also found the history of the claddough ring to be quite interesting.  I reall

Dodge Kensington is just home from the Air Force to see his dad, who was injured in an accident. He thought about coming home and running Sky King Ranch but he doesn't know if he can overcome some of the relationship struggles in his family. Not to mention, his struggles with Echo Yazzie, who was his childhood friend and a former girlfriend.  Echo also has some family baggage of her own, as her mom left her dad when she was a child, and Echo has struggled to understand the reasoning behind her leaving for years.  Through Sunrise by Susan May Warren, we see Dodge and Echo struggle together to understand the past and to try to figure out if they have a future together. Along with their relationship, there are relationship struggles among other family members that we see developing. At the same time there is a mystery running through the book. Echo's friend and fellow researcher is lost in the wild. Can they find her in time or has something happened to her? Also, what about the

  Do you want to get better at using your money? Or do you want to get out of debt? Certified Financial Coach Jessi Fearon's new book, Getting Good with Money, offers a lot of practical advice that is easy to understand and enjoyable to read. As Getting Good with Money begins, Fearon explains why she decided to get out of debt, make a budget and get better with her family's finances. Throughout the book, she merges the practical advice she offers with the personal stories she shares of how both her and her husband learned and grew through their financial steps and misteps. I appreciate how honest and down-to-earth she is in this book. I also liked that she is encouraging and inspiring and by the end of the book, it is easy to believe that you can also make positive changes in your financial life, no matter what your age.  Getting Good with Money would be especially helpful for a young person just starting out but I am a mid-life woman and I still learned several things through

  EMS helicopter pilot Penny Carlton starts out this book in the midst of a high stress situation. She just piloted a helicopter and had to make an emergency landing with a patient in desperate need of care on board. Add to that that her radio isn't working so she heads out to find help during a raging storm with a serial killer on the loose. Woah! Talk about starting out the book running! Life Fligh t by Lynette Eason is sure a page turner. The pacing in this book just keeps the reader on edge right through to the end. Life Flight is one wild ride for the reader going along with some interesting characters. Penny connects up with Special Agent Holt Satterfield as they both try to stay alive amidst the chaos in the area and just when you think they got the killer, you wonder, did they get the right man? There is a lot of action in Life Flight . I'll be honest, I like this author but this one creeped me out more than the usual Christian suspense book. The killer especially cree

  Do you have chronic pain or a chronic illness? Or maybe someone close to you shares those struggles. Hope Amid the Pain by Leslie L. McKee is a 60-day devotional journal that is both practical and inspirational. Hope Amid the Pain has a reading for each of the 60 days that begins with a Bible verse, then has a short, but meaty reading, followed by a brief prayer and then a prompt with space to write following the reading. There is quite a bit of writing space but you could certainly journal in your own empty notebook if you are wanting quite a bit of space.  At the end of the book there are appendixes that offer a lot of good information. Appendix A includes advice for the newly diagnosed that is quite practical and full of wisdom from someone who has been in this place. Appendix B includes tips, helps and hacks for living a better life with the chronic illness. Appendix C includes a lot of good information on gratitude journaling. I thought it was especially helpful that she shares

  Where we live right now it is cold and dark and a bit gloomy. The book, God's Love is Like Sunshine by Sarah Parker Rubio, is truly a breath of sunshine to read aloud.  God's Love is Like Sunshine is full of rhyming verse and many comparisons to God's love that are just delightful. "Love is like music, like your favorite song. Every time that you hear it, you must sing along." This book is about 7 inches square and 24 pages long. The rhyming verse is lovely for any one but it is aimed at pre-school children. It  would be an encouraging book for little ones to grow up with to help them feel God's love--and share it. I also thought the illustrations by Dream Chen were great. They are bright, colorful and set off the written words beautifully. I also like that they are all so inclusive of people of different colors and differing abilities, such as the girl in the wheelchair in one picture.   I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions with

  In the days of the times when the Bible was written, Faith was handed down from generation to generation through word of mouth and teachings through the Jewish holy day observations and rituals. Generation to Generation by Yael Eckstein is a book about passing on the legacy of faith to our children in today's world. It starts with an overview of teaching our children and then moves through a series of the holy Jewish holidays talking about teaching our children priorities, knowledge, gratitude, hope, forgiveness, faith, courage and generosity.  Generation to Generation is quite straight forward and easy to understand. On the website, there is a workbook to download to use along with the book that offers a lot of good questions and discussion to help your family understand the Christian principles that you are teaching. The one downfall is that you need to give the organization your email and phone number to get that workbook. There is also a beautiful colorbook that could be used