The author is a British pastor's wife. If you like Redwall and Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, you'll love these. They are Christian but not in a beat you over the head with it sense. They are simply steeped in the fragrance.
My Goodreads review of the fifth:
| This is the final book in a five volume series about a kingdom on an island protected by mists and the mysterious 'Heart.' The kingdom is 'peopled' by squirrels, hedgehogs, moles and otters, and occasionally a visiting swan. I cried helplessly and without shame through the last two chapters and everybody should have read this series in their Redwall days, because Redwall is a husk and this is living, breathing, with a beating Heart throughout. Truthfully, it's probably a series best saved for children perhaps 3-8th grade- and up. |
I have also read the adult version, and I much prefer the young readers edition. I think it's better written, has a tighter narrative, is more polished.
Inspiring true story. William was born in Malawi and had to drop out of school after 8th grade because of the famine. His family could not afford the fees. William fills his time hunting, growing food, reading in the tiny local library, and mucking about with mechanical things. Over time he figures out how to build a windmill to power his family's home, and soon to bring water to the farm. He comes to the attention of leaders in his country and gets a scholarship to college. This book is a beautiful combination of scientific and cultural knowledge, ideas, and William himself, as well as his strong, loving family and their faith. Must reading. Probably about grade 6 and up.
Cassie Beasley, Circus Mirandus
Tumble and Blue
Keep your eyes on this author. I expect wonderful things from her. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these books. These are for kids about grade 3 or 4 to maybe grade 8. Possibly older. I enjoyed them after all, and I finished high school nearly 40 years ago. She writes in the genre of magical realism, particularly with Tumble and Blue. She explores the nature of good and evil and choices we make and consequences, and happiness. I saw elements of faith in both her works. Tumble and Blue reminds me a little bit of Holes, not that it's derivative, but there are enough similarities that if you liked it, you'll probably love Tumble, and if you hated it altogether, you probably won't love Tumble.
Circus Mirandus is harder to describe. It was a children's book of the year at World Magazine in 2016. That's why I checked it out from my library, and before I finished it, I had ordered my own copy by mail.
A Long Walk to Water, Linda Sue Park,
Set in Africa in two different time periods, told through alternating points of view and time periods. It's important to pay attention to that and to understand it up front. The information is given you at the top of each page where the switch happens, and it's not hard to follow if you know this from the start. It's not always an easy story to read. The book is based on a true story of war and hardship in African villages, people are shot, abandoned, starved.
Two 11 year olds in Sudan, 25 years apart. In 2008, Nya must walk miles and miles for water for her family twice each day. In 1985, Salva's village is attacked and he becomes one of the Sudan's Lost Boys. Gradually, their stories merge in the present day. Well worth reading. Amazon suggests about grades 5-7. I would say for older students, too. It's a short book, and the readability makes it a light read, although Salva's difficulties are sometimes heartbreaking.
Once you've read this one, you and perhaps your hardy teens with some resilience would appreciate the harder but also uplifting and informative book The Bite of a Mango by Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland. Mariatu was 12 years old and living in her home village in Sierra Leone when her village and family were attacked by relatives who cut off the hands of many of their victims and then abandoned them to die or survive on their own. After they cut off Mariatu's hands, the mocked her and told her to go to the President and tell him what they had done and that she couldn't vote for him. As they abandoned her, she thought, "What is a president?" This is her story of survival. It's not an easy story, but it is a brave one. Trigger warning- there is a rape and resulting pregnancy in the book. It's not graphic, but you can't ignore it, either.
The Legend of Bass Reeves by Gary Paulsen- I have probably recommended this one before. I really enjoyed it. Reeves was a real life U.S. Marshall in the wild west, probably the most successful ever. His life story is absolutely amazing. The only thing I did not care for was the introduction, where the author spends his time debunking all the other legends of the wild west in order to build his guy up. But that's not what happened. First of all, I wasn't reading the book to find out about all the non-heroes, I wanted to know about Reeves. Secondly, by the time I finished his bitter, hostile rantings about the other guys and how terrible they were, what he mainly accomplished was making me wonder how much I could believe about what he said Bass Reeves! Do yourself a favour and skip the intro and just read the stuff about Reeves and his life and accomplishments.
Nice collection, I would also like to recommend few books such as 13 Uur, A Letter for My Mother and A Brief History of Sunday: From the New Testament to the New Creation that are available on Bala Kudu online book store in South Africa.
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