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Akimbo is a young African boy whose father is a head ranger of a game park. When his father announces that he is going to one of the farms in the south because of reports of a lion attacking cattle, Akimbo convinces his father to let him tag along with the promise that he will be good and help.

True to his word, he does help his father in more ways than one. On the night they set the trap, they are in for a big surprise. Akimbo's quick-witted actions and bravery save his father's life. In the end, they don't catch a lion, but a lion cub, which Akimbo begs his father to keep. The cub grows faster than anyone expects, causing lots of interesting situations.

Beautiful pencil drawings add drama and interest to this easy-to-read, short chapter book set in Africa.

There are many nice qualities to this simple story for emerging readers. Foremost is the wonderful relationship between the father and son. It is apparent that they love and respect one another.

This book is part of a series of books with the main character of Akimbo. The book would be of interest to children between 3rd and 6th grade.

These little saint stories, beautifully illustrated by Augusta Curelli, are very appealing to children because of the nice hardcover format and the full-color pictures on each page. The moderate amount of text (about 4-10 lines per page) makes it fairly accessible to beginning or reluctant readers. We found this series to be an excellent help to our eight year old son who was struggling with reading. I was delighted at how much he enjoyed reading about the saints and he didn't even mind reading about the girl saints. :) The sewn binding (so unusual even in hardcover books nowadays) make the books very sturdy for heavy family use. Children may need help reading the names of people and places.

Individual Titles:

• Saint Angela Merici: Leading People to God by Sr. Maryellen Keefe, OSU
• Saint Anthony of Padua: Proclaimer of the Good News by Marie Baudouin-Croix
• Saint Catherine Laboure: Mary's Messenger by Sister Marie-Genevieve Roux and Sister Elisabeth Charpy
• Sister Colette: In the Footsteps of Saint Francis and Saint Clare by the Poor Clares of Poligny and Sister Elisabeth
• Saint Francis of Assisi: God's Gentle Knight by Francoise Vintrou
• Saint Therese of Lisieux and the "Little Way" of Love
• Saint Vincent de Paul: Servant of Charity by Sister Catherine Ethievant

Our family is crazy about picture books, saints books *and* alphabet books: this fantastic new publication fits all of the above. In fact, it was some time after my order arrived before I could get my hands on it: a Catholic homeschool mother who was over visiting opened the package and enjoyed reading it with a large sample size of our children before I could even see it!

Each page has a whole-page illustration of the saint and the letter of the alphabet where it belongs: St. Martin de Porres uses the legs of the capital M to hang his laundry and St. Zita uses the bottom leg of the Z to store her jars of food. The illustrations are at the same childish and realistic with enough details to entertain the adult reader. The four-line verses are delightful and contain an important aspect of the saints’ life. Blessed Kateri’s reads:

As the Lily of the Mohawk,

Kateri was sweet and pure.

She kept her faith with patience,

all the way to heaven’s door.

Below the verses the authors added a few lines about the life of each saint, and I think this was a very clever idea. For one thing it allowed them to be able to focus at times on very minor aspects of their lives in their verses without leaving aside what was essential about each of them.

Alvin returns in another thrilling adventure in Alvin Fernald, Foreign Trader. This time his “Magnificent Brain” has created the prize winning tasty concoction of "Fernald’s Fireballs" that propels him, his friend Shoie, and his sister Daphne on a whirlwind European tour.

Together they have entered a recipe contest. The grand prize is an all-expense-paid trip to Europe. Since they concocted the recipe together, they all three get to spend an exciting summer vacation with the company owner, his wife, and the Director of Public Relations, Mr. Bixby B. Beasley. The excitement mounts when a mysterious Mr. X turns up threatening harm and causing mayhem. Not to be intimidated, Alvin outwits the Mr. X and his thug partner on more than one occasion.

As Alvin, Shoie, and Daphne explore the beauty of Europe, they also learn some practical lessons about foreign trade, making an otherwise dull subject to grade school students real and relevant to their lives.

Alvin Fernald, Foreign Trader is a fun adventure story that teaches the value of friendship, family and foreign trade.

Alvin’s Secret Code is another Bethlehem Books winner. I confess; I polished it off in one day (It helps if you are stuck in an airport for a 2 ½ hour layover without any interruptions). My 8-year-old, Kateri, also polished it off in record time. She was so completely absorbed in it that she read it in two afternoons.
In this fun, mystery story, Alvin, his best friend Shoie, and Alvin’s younger sister combine their talents to unlock a secret message to buried treasure.

There are some great moral lessons in this story, but you don’t have to tell your kids that. After Alvin and Shoie accidentally find an encoded message, they are convinced that a lonely old man is a Russian spy passing on military secrets. They soon find out that overactive imaginations can lead to false assumptions.

In the process of decoding their mysterious message, they meet a World War II veteran who shares with them his knowledge of codes and ciphers. In our modern culture that segregates age groups, it is great to see these age barriers broken and different generations spending time together and communicating with each other respectfully.

For me the most touching moment occurs when Alvin generously offers to help someone in desperate need, but I can’t give away all the details. For my daughter, her favorite part of the story is when Alvin gives his sister a medal, allowing her to become Secret Agent Z 13 ½. Even though Alvin refers to his sister Daphne as “the pest” throughout the story, he allows her to tag along and is never nasty to her. In fact, he does appreciate her contributions to solving the mystery and in the end rewards her. She idolizes Alvin as her older brother and that is why she wants to tag along.

If you are looking for an interesting as well as informative read, you won’t be disappointed with Alvin’s Secret Code. With a mysterious stranger in town, a damsel in distress, and the three “secret agents” looking for a mystery to solve, Alvin’s Secret Code is the perfect recipe for a fun adventure. After reading this book, don’t be surprised if your children start writing messages in ciphers and codes. There is an appendix in the back of the book with an explanation of ciphers and codes along with samples.

Sister has given us a beautiful look behind the closed doors of a cloistered convent in this little gem set in post 9-11 America. It is the story of a young woman who feels called to religious life but struggles to understand God's workings. This woman had been discerning her vocation to religious life when her life is shattered by the death of her brother, a seminarian, who is killed by terrorists. She has been unable to get over the loss of this beloved brother and although she wants to, cannot forgive the men that killed him.

She enters the convent as planned and the struggle to come to terms with her grief blends with her journey to find her place in the community of sisters. Her superior gives her the religious name of Amata because she wants the woman to know that she is beloved of God.

When the convent is gifted with a really fine bell, the rest of the monastery rejoices. Sister Amata, however, reveals that her brother had been the bell ringer at the seminary and she hates the idea of hearing the bells ring at the convent. However, not only must she hear the bells and be reminded of the pain of losing her brother, the novice mistress assigns her the job of actually ringing the Angelus bell. As she conquers her fear of the bell, she finally accepts God's will and the death of her brother, and is able to forgive his killers. This is stated so simply here, but Sister Catharine's writing is very moving. I cried through the whole last half of the book. She captures the movement of the heart as it leaves itself and the world and turns to God.

While the story of the young woman's conversion is lovely, one of the best things about this book is the view of religious life. The nuns order pizza or ice cream on special occasions, have talent shows, and work with sheep. Their conversations over the cleaning of the wool are joyful and witty. One of the nuns even translates documents for the Holy Father.

Sister Mary Catharine distributes this book to young women who might be interested in a religious vocation to give them a perspective on the life. However, this would be a good book for a high school girl to read whether she is considering a vocation or not.

Yet another delightful story to read aloud with your family from one of my very favorite authors. Andries is a troublesome 10 year old orphan who comes to live with his bachelor uncle in a large lonely house near the Dykstra home (which is quite the opposite - small and overflowing with children). Although his reputation as a troublemaker precedes him and is firmly cemented in the townspeople's heads, the Dykstras, who are less quick to judge, discover that he is really kind-hearted, but lonely. Their friendship helps to build his confidence and cut down on his mischief and help him develop a happy relationship with his uncle.

A charming book of religious poems for young children - one for each letter of the alphabet. The simple, rhyming poems have been favorites with my little ones and provide a nice introduction to the Saints and Angels, Our Lady, God's love for us, important virtues... Some titles include: C is for Cherubim, F is for Father, G is for Gabriel, L is for Lamb of God, M is for Saint Michael, O is for Obedience, Q is for Queen of the Angels. We've used this book and the Harp and Laurel Wreath for most of our poetry memorization as recommended for the early grades in Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum.

Angus is a little Scottish terrier who is terribly curious about everything - especially a noise coming from the other side of the large green hedge. One day, when "the door between outdoors and indoors was left open by mistake" he goes exploring to discover what makes that noise. His adventures are very cute, my children love hearing the sounds made by Angus and by the ducks. The text is very short and simple, but the real beauty is in the language which has a charming and humorous flow to it - it is perfect for reading aloud to little ones.. When my son was three and tired of me reading so many long books to his older sister, this one really helped him start to enjoy stories.