A good read for horse crazy girls

Keeping Secrets by Maggie Dana


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Keeping Secrets by Maggie Dana is about a 14 year-old named Kate McGregor who is trying to avoid her past and her Aunt Marion by getting a summer job. Unfortunately that job means having to deal with her past instead of ignoring it.




If you know a girl aged 8-12 who is crazy about horses, this book is definitely for her. Kate has to deal with all the typical things girls this age face—bullies, truth and lies, trust, and emotional roller coasters. Even as an adult I found myself laughing and crying.




*Note: there is one language issue toward the end. Anyone sensitive to this may want to preview before handing it off.






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My daughter and I both loved it!

There's a Spaceship in My Tree! by Robert West


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There’s a Spaceship in My Tree!: Episode I (Star-Fighters of Murphy Street) by Robert West is about a boy whose family moves from California to the Midwest and the adjustments he has to make. Everything is so different and he prays each night and wishes on a falling star that he can just go back “home.” As he meets a couple kids who also live on Murphy Street, he discovers that things are more different than he thought. In fact, they’re strange—including the spaceship-shaped treehouse.




West adds a new twist to Christian Sci-fi that I hadn’t seen much, if at all. It’s a fun middle-grade page-turner that I think both boys and girls will enjoy.






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Cute, fun read for 7-10 year-olds

The Chicken Pox Panic by Beverly Lewis


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Chicken Pox Panic (Cul-de-Sac Kids #2) by Beverly Lewis is a cut story for 7-10 year old girls. Abby Hunter is focused on planning a special party for one of her adopted brother’s first birthday in the U.S. Then one of her friends begins to wonder if she is adopted. Abby worries that the special day will be ruined when the cake plan falls apart and chicken pox spreads through the neighborhood.




The Cul-de-Sac Kids books are Christian, but not preachy. They are a quick, fun read.






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Similar to Chronicles of Narnia

Emberoks by Andrew Duncan


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Emberoks by Andrew Duncan is about a thirteen year-old boy named Kristofer who is going on his first camping trip alone—his rite of passage to manhood. His night is interrupted by his grandfather getting sick, his brother and sister getting kidnapped and meeting Emberoks. It is really hard to describe an Emberok. Perhaps it is a mix of elf and gnome with an occasional giant.






Overall the story, plot, descriptions and characters are well-done. It is an exciting fantasy adventure that keeps you turning pages. Bible stories are sneaked in, in an interesting way. The metaphors and symbolism are not preachy. In my opinion, only one or two scenes are overdone. I think it was worth the money.






If you liked Chronicles of Narnia, you will probably enjoy this, though I would recommend it for older middle grade to young adult age.






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A little bit Star Wars, a little bit Pilgrim's Progress

How to Slay a Dragon by Bill Allen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I stumbled on How to Slay a Dragon by Bill Allen as a freebie. Greg Hart is a small, skinny boy who loves to write imaginative stories which make him the hero of mythical, medieval adventures. He is bullied by a typical bully—Manny “Malice.” One encounter with Manny is interrupted as Greg is transported to the planet Myrth to fulfill a prophecy.



At times this story reminded me of Pilgrim’s Progress and at others it reminded me a little of Star Wars. It is a definite page turner as the author leaves you hanging at the end of each chapter forcing you on. I would think this is perfect for 8-12 year-old boys, though girls who enjoy medieval adventure would probably enjoy it as well.





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Out with the old

I saw a tweet from an author the other day, begging teachers not to make their students learn to write “snail mail” to him but instead teach them to email him and he would respond. Now I don’t have a problem with teaching kids to use email and encouraging them to correspond with their favorite authors, but to throw out “snail mail” because it is old fashioned is wrong in my opinion. Learning cursive is becoming “old fashioned,” yet at some point we all have to learn to sign our name. Oh but some day it will all be done with finger-print scans. Well, someday isn’t here yet, so in the mean time, kids have to learn cursive so they can sign their name. If you really want to phase out writing, how about phasing in keyboarding class so kids can learn to type instead? But so far, I don’t see that happening, I just see and hear people complaining about the old fashioned stuff we need to get rid of.

I know more and more companies are encouraging their customers and clients to switch from paper statements to all online billing to be “green.” But tell me what happens when the internet is down? Some of these companies will simply charge fees for late payments, regardless of internet issues, computer glitches, etc. A company called me recently regarding a bill, and expected me to pay it over the phone because there was no invoice to send. Excuse me? It’s one thing to encourage customers and clients to be more green, but to assume someone pays bills over the phone all the time?

I have an idea, what if we teach our kids about how it WAS done, even letting them experience writing with a feather and ink well and other “old fashioned” ways then maybe we would be a bit more thankful for what we DO have. Let’s take our kids to museums more often, otherwise, what’s the point of even making movies about the olden days. Even watching Kitt Kittredge with my daughters I realized they didn’t really understand the storyline because they have no idea what a typewriter is or how a Model T was started with a crank.

I wonder when someone will suggest we phase out history class since it’s all old news anyway.

Completely unimaginative

The Adventures of Kid Combat Volume One: A Secret Lost by Christopher Helwink

My rating: 1 of 5 stars





There is a group who doesn’t exist. They are called the Secret Organization of Clever Kids or S.O.C.K.S. Kid Combat, secret kid agent and leader, and his gang are out to save their town from the likes of Jones who is trying to take over every inch of their beloved town.



If you can step back after weeding through way too much fluff and extra stuff, the storyline is cute is and would appeal to the 9-12 age group. They probably wouldn’t notice the numerous clichés or confusing inconsistencies. They may not even notice that the overall idea is completely unimaginative and too predictable. In fact, 9-12 year olds might enjoy that. But the book seemed way too long to me and each chapter seemed to drag on forever—not appealing to a reluctant reader of said age group—and I’m an adult and avid reader!



I could have tolerated the overly simplistic bad guys is the author had just spent a little more time on the characterization of the heroes instead of all the nifty gadgets and the cool new Playground that they somehow secretly built in a grove a trees off the park (a bunch of 10 year old kids managed to squirrel away and install that much glass and wood flooring?). If these kids were such geniuses and so special, it is highly unlikely they would all be the same age and in the same classroom at the same school. Okay, so it’s a small town with only one school. The author took the easy way out on that one otherwise the kids would have been a variety of ages and in at least two, maybe three different classrooms.



The author also seemed to use this as an opportunity to climb on his soapbox about big companies taking over small towns to “improve” them. I really think that personal agenda will be lost on this age group.



I’m glad this was a free download, because I would have been very disappointed, possibly upset, to have wasted any money on this.





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