Reading, Writing & Pondering

  The Inkwells Chronicles continues with the second book in the series, Race to Krakatoa . This is a magical book aimed at middle grade readers, ages eight to twelve. In the Race to Krakatoa , Everett and his younger sister, Bea, are drawn deeper into the world of the inklings. Magic Ink is beginning to disappear around the world. is a new substance called Inkanto the solution? Everett and Bea aren't sure. They race around the world trying to find out the answer and they face villains and make unexpected friends in this fun series. I would recommend that readers start with the first book in the series, The Inkwell Chronicles, before reading Race to Krakatoa . For readers who already started the series, I am sure they were anxiously awaiting this installment. It is a fun fantasy series with a lot of adventure that middle grade kids will enjoy. It may be one that they would read on their own or it would be fun in the classroom. This is a series I would have had my son read if we were...

    The Inkwell Chronicles is a new series for Middle Grade readers from J. D. Peabody. The first book in the series is called The Ink of Elspet. The Ink of Elspet features 11-year old, Everett and his little sister, Bea, who are left with a big mystery after their father is in a train crash in London. They receive a mysterious pen and magic ink that help them as  they face enemies and danger searching for their father. The Ink of Elspet is a great adventure book for middle-grade readers that focuses on the struggles between good and evil. There is a lot of magic, interesting creatures and adventure to keep tweens turning the pages. I think it is one many kids who enjoy fantasy and magic would enjoy. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  Castles and dragons and mystery abound in the new middle-grade fantasy book, The Dragon and the Stone by Kathryn Butler.  The Dragon and the Stone begins with Lily McKinley finding a dragon named Cedric in her kitchen eating her dinner. Things start to get really crazy for Lily after she confronts a bully named Adam in her school yard and the a stone pendent that belonged to her father, who recently passed away is now glowing, and she is transported to a magical place with the magic pendent when she puts it on.  I enjoyed this magical book even though I don't read a lot of fantasy. It would be a fun book to read as a family. There are themes of faith, mourning, sacrifice, salvation, and redemption. The Dragon and the Stone has some fun characters and is a wonderful adventure into a magical land. I enjoyed the characters and the surprises along the way. There were some points that would make for some great family discussion. While it is a fun book as a whole, there are ...

    All we have to do is look around and we can see that God made us all differently. We have different hair colors, different body shapes and different abilities. We are also different colors. In Creative God Colorful Us , Trillia Newbell helps middle grade students understand our differences and to celebrate them--as all of us are God's children in His family. Creative God Colorful Us starts out with a letter from Newbell explaining why she wrote the book and how to use it. There are seven chapters. Each chapter is framed around one big idea for kids to focus on. At the end of each chapter, Newbell asks them some questions to think about and to either write about or talk about. There is also an activity at the end of each chapter to help each big idea stick in the kids' minds. At the end of the book, Newbell also includes a list of helpful words to know from the book, Bible verses to read, and a letter to adults who are guiding families to help them enjoy their differences....

The Edge of Everywhen by A. S. Mackey is billed as a middle-grade book but I think this is a book for the whole family to read and enjoy. Thirteen-year-old Piper and her autistic brother, Phoenix, are sent to live with Aunt Beryl after their mother passes away in a car accident. Their father is also missing while working construction overseas. Together Piper and Phoenix find a mysterious book calling to them from Aunt Beryl's library. Novus Fabula is a story that will speak to each of them and change their lives forever. I truly enjoyed The Edge of Everywhen I found Piper and Phoenix to be a very likable main characters. I especially resonated with Piper's love of books and I liked that so many bookish quotes and references were made in this book. While I was rooting for the main characters throughout the book, I also liked Beryl by the end of the book. I also enjoyed Mr. Greene and Sofia. Within the fantasy realm, this story was captivating and uplifting. I liked the m...

Do your kids enjoy a good joke or funny story? Sandy Silverthorne has created a whole book full of  funny riddles, jokes, one-liners, and other humorous stories and lists. Crack Yourself Up Jokes for Kids is aimed at kids ages 6-12--but everyone in my family enjoyed them. There must be a joke of some sort to make most everyone laugh in this book. It has a lot and one or the other of them should make someone laugh. I think it could be a lot of fun to use as an icebreaker for Sunday School, School groups or with youth group meetings besides adding to family fun times. I would encourage families to get a copy for the fun of it. It sells for less than $5 on Kindle or in hard copy so it could create quite a bit of entertainment for the money invested. Here is an example of a joke we enjoyed from Crack Yourself Up Jokes for Kids . You may enjoy it or one of many other jokes in the book: Teacher: If you have five dollars and ask your father for five more, how much money would y...