Monday, April 30, 2012

The Princess and the Goblin

by George MacDonald

An old, allegorical fairy tale (fantasy novel) in which the young princess Irene discovers a magical great-great-grandmother in the attic, makes friends with a young miner and later rescues him from the horrid goblins, and he in turn rescues everyone in the castle.

The lesson of trust in a God we cannot see will likely need to be explained to younger children. I read this book to my kids and they loved it.

This story was first published in 1872; the author, a long-time favourite of mine, was an acquaintance of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain and greatly influenced several later writers including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L'Engle.

Car Camping for Everyone

A step-by-step guide to planning your outdoor adventure

by Mary Burnham

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Christmas Stories to Warm Your Heart

by Karen Conrad

A collection of sweet stories set mostly in southwest Nova Scotia that teach the gospel and gentle lessons of kindness and faith.

I was particularly interested in reading this book since the author is a former neighbor of mine. There were a few editing mistakes, but the stories are interesting.

Contact Karen to purchase her book.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Firestorm

by Kelly Ann Riley

Kitty's deceased father is suspected of arson, and she comes home to clear his name. The fires are still happening and she is inconveniently attracted to the new fire chief.

This story was interesting enough; nothing deep, but decent light reading: however, the author seems to have gotten her timeline a bit mixed up. In one place, she says, "A little over a year ago, Michael was kidnapped. It took nine months to find him..." and a few pages later (at most a few days in the story) it says, "Two years ago, Luke was totally consumed in finding Michael."

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Pottery Barn The Complete Book of the Home

Creative Inspiration and Design Solutions

by Kathleen Hackett Antonson

Design principles for every area of the home, choosing colours, includes many nice photos and thorough information.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Incredible Journey

by Sheila Burnford

John thinks the animals are safe at home and the housekeeper thinks John took them with him. All the while, the two dogs and one cat are on a 250-mile walk through the northern Ontario wilderness in which they face many difficulties and dangers.

Astonishingly, I had never read this Canadian classic, nor have I seen the well-known movie. My daughter started reading it, but had only read one chapter when I began. She is an animal lover and hates any kind of violence toward animals, so I advised her not to read it now because the animals do get hurt by bears, porcupine, hunger and exhaustion. I am not at all an animal lover, but I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was written for children, but according to Wikipedia, it wasn't specifically.

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Happy Camper

An essential guide to life outdoors

by Kevin Callan

This book covers everything about wilderness camping: gear, food, wildlife, canoeing and more. The author's style is entertaining and he is very thorough.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Called to Controversy

The unlikely story of Moishe Rosen and the founding of Jews for Jesus

by Ruth Rosen

Born into a nominal Jewish family, Moishe Rosen had a strong Jewish identity but went to synagogue only occasionally. As a young man, his friendship and conversations with a Christian couple impressed him, but he had no interest in "becoming religious". His wife secretly bought a Bible and began studying it. When she became a believer in Jesus, Moishe tried at first to find proof that would change her mind but finding none, was himself eventually convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. Although his family disowned him, he was obsessed with spreading the gospel--especially to the Jewish people. He went to Bible college and later founded Jews For Jesus, an international organization focused on preaching Christ to Jews.

This biography, written by Moishe's younger daughter, covers both personal and professional areas of his life and doesn't avoid discussing the faults of this obviously strong personality. I was impressed with Moishe's practice of identifying the best methods of evangelizing and his care in staying within the bounds of the law. Although I don't agree with everything he believed, I came away from the book convinced that Moishe Rosen was a good man and that his heart was certainly in the right place.



Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.