The Cottage at Bantry Bay Author(s): Hilda Van Stockum I often have the hardest time reviewing my very favorite books. The O'Sullivan family, of Ireland in the 1930s, have become very dear to us over the years. The story is simple and charming, but very real...in the best sense. You pick up the book and can't help reading it with an Irish brogue..and getting carried away from the modern noisy, busy world of today to a land of simplicity and beauty (though not an easy life). Read more about The Cottage at Bantry Bay
Up and Down the River Author(s): Rebecca Caudill Six year old Bonnie and eight year old Debbie decide early one summer that they want to get rich. Nosing their way through magazines they decide upon some simple investments – selling a few items around to their neighbors and raising ducklings. They keep up the projects all summer, but the rewards don't turn out quite the way they expected. Rejoin the Fairchild family for a charming summertime in a time and place where the pace of life was a little slower and the joys of childhood were many. Read more about Up and Down the River
Schoolhouse in the Woods Author(s): Rebecca Caudill This second installment in the Fairchild Family Series (which starts with Happy Little Family) is a charming account of young Bonnie enjoying her first few months in a little one room schoolhouse. She and her siblings enjoy playing with friends in the rural schoolyard, having the teacher stay at their house for a week and preparing for a Christmas pageant. The story makes a nice read-aloud or chapter book for young readers. Read more about Schoolhouse in the Woods
Sun Slower, Sun Faster Author(s): Meriol TrevorIllustrator(s): Edward Ardizzone Thirteen-year-old Cecelia Morne was staying at Welston Manor for a time (not long after World War II ended) while her parents were out of the country. This family estate in the countryside near Bristol, England, was owned by her uncle, Ambrose Morne. Ambrose had a great-nephew, Richard, who was also staying there. Cecelia ("Cecil") soon become good friends with Rickie and his tutor, Dominic. One day Dominic showed Cecil and Rickie a small room hidden in a wall of the old manor. A little later, the two children entered the room. It had a door on each wall. Read more about Sun Slower, Sun Faster
Happy Little Family Author(s): Rebecca Caudill The Fairchild family – Father, Mother, Chris, Althy, Emmy, Debby and Bonnie – live in the hills of Kentucky in the early 1900s. We are particularly treated to simple stories of everyday life through the eyes of four-year-old Bonnie: her frustrations with trying to keep up with her older siblings, the love of her understanding father, the importance of "little" things, like sunbonnets and arrowheads. The large text, comfortable length and engaging storyline make it a great choice for young readers. Read more about Happy Little Family
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Author(s): Humphrey Carpenter (ed.)J.R.R. Tolkien This book is not a "must read", but it is an enlightening read (best for high school and up). I have not read any other compilation of letters like this, so even the concept was new to me. There isn't a format, a thesis or an argument to unify the book. Rather, it is the life, work and times of Tolkien which generate the letters. He writes to his wife, his children, fans of his work, his publishers and various friends. The book is a subset of his letters (edited with the help of his son Christopher). Read more about The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Missionary of Charity Author(s): Mary Kathleen Glavich, S.N.D. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta is the story of her life simply told for children. Although it is a children's book, it covers enough material for even an adult to have a greater appreciation of her life. Written as a short chapter book with a few illustrations sprinkled throughout the book, it begins with her childhood in Albania and follows her decision to become a missionary and join the Loreto sisters, and continues after her dramatic step to serve the poorest of the poor without any financial backer. This is a true lesson in trusting in God's Divine Providence. Read more about Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Missionary of Charity
The Drovers Road Collection Author(s): Joyce West Drover's Road is a sheep "station" set way back in the hill country of New Zealand in the 1920s. Gay (Gabrielle) Allan, who lives at Drover's Road with her cousins and her uncle, writes of their happy childhood, of their adventures on the farm, on horseback, and exploring the hills and caves surrounding Drover's Road, in an "upside-down world" (to those of us from the Northern Hemisphere) where at Christmastime the house can be decorated with fresh flowers from the garden and the weather is very warm. It is a world filled with family, humor, hard work and horses. Read more about The Drovers Road Collection
Beany Has a Secret Life Author(s): Lenora Mattingly Weber Beany's been having a pretty rough time of things lately. Norbett, away in college in Ohio, has sent her a letter breaking off their relationship. The Malone's widowed father decides to marry again – a pretty artist named Adair. Unfortunately Adair and Beany get off to a really rough start. Meanwhile, some troubled teens at school invite her to join a secret club – for those who want to shut out family as much as possible. This suits the miserable and stubborn Beany just fine. Read more about Beany Has a Secret Life
Beany and the Beckoning Road Author(s): Lenora Mattingly Weber After a heart-rending discovery of Norbett spending time with another girl, Beany is delighted to have an opportunity to go away on a road trip to California with her brother Johnny and her little nephew. Tight finances and a favor to a friend cause the trip to become harried with a whole array of fellow-travelers (and a horse). Kindly, motherly Miss Opal doesn't have money, but performs near-miraculous feats of producing food and lodging out of thin air (not to mention her tomato plant in the back seat). Cynthia forces herself upon the group through kind-hearted Johnny. Read more about Beany and the Beckoning Road
