A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Blog

An Occasionally Happy Family

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (An Occasionally Happy Family) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

You know how sometimes you can read a book and think… hmm… now did I like it?  An Occasionally Happy Family is one of those books.  There is much I liked, and there is some that I was somewhat less than keen on. Overall it was a good story with some solid resolution at the end. 

An Occasionally Happy Family

The basic details

Reviewing An Occasionally Happy Family for Raincoast Books.  You’ll find that t-his 224 page was written by Cliff Burke and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt books. A chapter book for youth 8-12 years in age.  The story is that of a family whose mom died of cancer and dad, daughter and son are struggling with grief.  Dad decides it’s time for a vacation… with a surprise guest.  Will this surprise turn out well?  Will it be a fresh start or the start of a disaster?   No spoilers in this review!  🙂

The deeper details of An Occasionally Happy Family

Grief is handled in so many different ways, even within a family.  And in An Occasionally Happy Family, grief is a central aspect to the Ripley family.  But problems arise, Dad comes up with a solution.  A family vacation.  Camping in Big Bend in the middle of summer.   Older sister steps in to help, as a planner Dad is not!  

You’ll laugh at times, and at other times shake your head (perhaps just me as an adult reading though).   

You won’t find illustrations within the pages, just ornamented chapter headings. 

Theo (13) and his sister Laura (16) frequently fight, and know well how to get under each other’s skin.  But like with most siblings, despite the arguments, family holds true.  Through this sibling rivalry, grief plays a role.  This is where good characterization comes into play.  You can see Theo trying to figure out his loss in the words he writes, and Laura, with her in-depth research, and Dad, off in his own quietness and lately acting a bit odd. 

You’ll find the text easy to read.  I got the book finished in five 15-minute read over my lunch periods at work.  Any unusual words were contextually explained in a way that makes sense.  You’ll feel the emotions of the family, emotions of frustration, joy, sorrow and delight.  Wonder will occasionally overtake them, as will moments of sadness.  You’ll experience silliness (don’t all families?) which just helps make it all real. 

On your shelf perhaps?

An Occasionally happy family helps youth see how people deal with grief in different ways and the difficulties of how to express your thoughts at times.  I can totally see this chapter book appealing to this demographic.  

I liked the story of how Dad tries to connect with his children, how he made this huge effort to help his youngsters move through their grief though he wasn’t sure what to do. 

My dislike happened with the characterization of youtubers and the oddness in the family they met on a walk. It might be true in some situations, but the generalization bothered me.  Just felt … unnecessary? 

I was pleased that it was all just normal family life, with the awkwardness that is part of that at times.  No unnecessary plot lines, just family learning to be family again, through the pain of grief. 

So Many Beginnings

By 4 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (So Many Beginnings) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

Did you like the book Little Women?  If so, So Many Beginnings is just the book for you.  This particular book is written with an African-American point of view, during the American civil war.  You’ll find yourself immersed in the lives of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy along with their momma, and their own twists of the character. 

so many beginnings

The Basic Details

So Many Beginnings: a Little Women Remix. This is the second in a series of remixed classic books.  These remixes allow you to enjoy a classic book from a different perspective.  It’s a rather neat idea.   Bethany C. Morrow  does a really good job of copying the form and story of Little Women.   Fiewel and Friends, published a beautiful hard-cover book, for the 13-18 year old range, with 304 pages. 

Learning more about So Many Beginnings

Just as in Little Women, in So Many Beginnings you’ll find Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy.   Four young ladies and their momma living our their lives.  Meg a teacher, Jo a writer, Beth a sewer and often sickly, and Amy a free-spirit.  We are led into the drama of their lives. 

Well-developed characters fill the pages. I found that I understood Jo better in this book than I did in the original Little Women classic.  You won’t find a lot of adornment in the pages.  Occasionally a page break could be found. 

This is a lovely book to hold in your hands with a comfortable font.

The familiar storyline draws you through.  You’ll find the characters a bit different, the style is the same, but the story takes a different turn in areas.  

Should you Get it?

I have to be honest.  As I was never a fan of Little Women, I approached this historial novel with some trepidation.  I wasn’t wildly enamoured, but I know so many people who LOVED Little Women, that I wanted to tell you about this read.  This book would SO suit that audience.   Honestly, if you love the style and story of Little Women, Bethany C. Morrow will NOT disappoint you in this novel. And just so you know, wildly enamoured or not, overall… a good read. 

What did I like?  I loved the different perspective. My enjoyment of the historical aspect, of seeing the world out of African-American eyes, was significant.  I love learning about different aspect of wars that I didn’t know about before. To see a side of history, with some of those little things that make history come to life, that I so much appreciate. 

So many beginnings is rift with those little details. 

So…. if you are a fan of little women… read this book.  You’ll enjoy it.

If you want to see a side of the civil war that perhaps you haven’t seen before, read this book. 

And/or if you want to catch a glimpse of freed slave lives in the 1860’s, you’ll see it here. 

Can Sophie Change the World?

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Can Sophie Change the World?) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

Mitzvahs are really powerful! But …. can Sophie Change the world?   A mitzvah is a word from Judaism meaning a good deed done from religious duty. Would it be possible to perform enough mitzvah that you change the world?   That’s the question asked in this picture book from Nancy E. Wallace.   I love the family connection and the neighbourly feel of this sweet book. 

Can Sophie Change the world?

Learning about Can Sophie Change the World?

Sophie is a young girl and her grandpa is about to have a birthday.  What can she give him?  Grandpa says “Sophie, change the world.  Give me a mitzvah!”.   And so Sophie worried.  What could she do?  And so the story unfolds over 32 pages, children 3-5 will follow Sophie efforts to please her Grandpa.   

I am reviewing this lovely read on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

I love how easy it would be to stop as you are reading this story and ask listeners how they might change the world.  What Mitzvah could they perform? What kindness could they do that might change the world for the better in some way?  Wouldn’t that make a great discussion? 

You will love the illustrations created by Aura Lewis that bring author Nancy Elizabeth Wallace’s words to life.   She liberally uses yellows, greens and pinks throughout, with the odd darker shaded page. 

None of the pages feels crowded, with a good use of white space provided.  A steady progression in a young lady learning to use kindness to change the world. 

I love how often family connections found their ways into the mitzvahs that Sophie did.  Helping her parents, aiding her grandpa, and those people close to her. All these connections provide conversation starters with young listeners, helping them to see how they can change the world. 

Add it to your shelves?

Yes, it’s a sweet book that teaches a good lesson.

Regardless of how big or small you are, small acts of kindness matter.  They all help to change the world that we live in.  Beautifying neighbourhoods, touching hearts, lending a hand, caring for wildlife and helping a baby.  All these things make the world a better place.   In Can Sophie Change the world, Sophie learned that all the little things she does matter… and can affect more than she thinks. 

Publisher Chronicle Books put together a lovely hardcover book that will delight the eyes and hopefully inspire the hearts of the youngsters in your life. 🙂 

How to Train your Dad

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (How to Train Your Dad) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

Oh my word what a funny read!  I hooted too often while reading this quick middle school read.  While How to Train Your Dad is a fun read, it also broaches themes of family, green-living, and the complications of love.  Gary Paulsen takes us on a wild ride through the emotions of one 12ish year old boy told from his point of view. 

How to train your dad

The Basic Details of How to Train Your Dad

Gary Paulsen is a well-known author of Middle-school reads.  I’ve also reviewed his book Gone to the Woods.  How to train your dog is a humourous look at a young teen’s attempt to change his dad.  Add in a cunning dog with street smarts and you’ll start to wonder just who is training whom!  Written for youth 10-14 years of age with 192 pages.  Farror Strauss Giroux as publisher.  Reviewed on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

You’ll learn about bartering, green living, respect for animals, family and friends, sacrifices made, and how to be yourself.   With good characters (including the dog) young readers will laugh their way through this first-person narrative from a young man’s point of view. 

Learning More

Upper Elementary through middle school readers will delight in the antics of Carl, Pooder (his best friend), Carl’s dad and of course Carol (the dog).  Carl tells the story and walks us through his dad’s philosophy of life. One thing you need to understand through this entire book is that Carl loves his dad!  As much as he wants to train his dad, it’s more like he’s seeking ways to tweak his Dad a little.  Young teens should be able to relate to this as what teenager doesn’t want to change their parent once in a while? 

You won’t find illustrations beyond the cover art.  But you will find clear writing that slightly pushes the reading level of younger readers. It’s good for readers to not know every word they are reading.  It pushes a body to learn more eh? 

Good characters fill the pages.  Pooder is a lad who would be fun to know.  Carol….. that pitbull has a storied past and made me wonder who was being trained, the dad or the lad.  Dad is an intriguing character with a love for bartering that exceeds my own.  And then there’s Carl, a maturing lad who is developing ideas of his own and they don’t always mesh with Dad’s.  Hence the need to train his dad…. 

You’ll find the text easy to read and the chapter headings straight-forward. 

Should this be read by YOUR middle schooler?

I think so yes.  It’s a fun, yet thought provoking read. How much consumerism is okay?  What are the problems (if any) with trying to live as green a possible? Is it possible to train your parents (particularly with the method Carl was using)?

Besties: Work It Out

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Besties: Work it out) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so. 

I’m often not a lover of graphic novels, but sometimes you run into one that tells a good story.  Besties: Work it out is one such book.  I can totally see middle school students making some of the mistakes the girls in this tale made.  AND it made me smile!  Girls learning and becoming more …. good growth, good advice, and great family connections.  It’s what you want to see in a good middle school book don’t you think? 

Besties: work it out

Besties: Work it out, the basic details

Authors Kayla Miller and Jeffrey Canino have produced a stellar graphic novel in Besties: Work it Out. Readers 8-12 years old will enjoy the full colour story over 216 pages. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is the publisher.   

The story concerns two girls who have troubles of their own.   Beth, to get a present for her mam. Chandra,with goas to raising up a cat.  These best friends need to work out their options to help meet those goals. 

Heading Deeper into Besties

There is so much that I enjoy with Besties: work it out!  I found the illustrations clear and the text easy to read.  This is a really easy, quick read.  Granted, I do read fast, but I was able to complete this over two lunch breaks at work (so about 1 hour).  The fact that the story moves along at a good pace, that it made sense, and intrigued me enough to keep reading, are of course contributing factors.  🙂 

The good characterizations, and real-life situations, draw you into the lives of Beth and Chanda.  Dealing with disappointment, disagreements, disasters and more.   Life lessons of working hard, fixing mistakes, trusting friends (or not trusting them), owning up to mistakes, asking for help, and honouring your family. 

Should it be on your shelves?

Besties: Work it out is a well-done story.  Graphic novel style not withstanding…it’s a good story.  Girls, wanting to do right by their families and finding a way to do so.  They run into some snags, seek out good advice from those they respect (Kudos to it being a family member), and then … actually LISTEN to that advice.  There is so much that I like in this novel.  

It’s a short, sweet and engaging story. I found it quite enjoyable for a middle-school read.  Despite not knowing the Click stories, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.  I suspect if they are written in the same style, they would also be an enjoyable read. 

God’s Announcement

By 8 Comments

I’ve been puzzling through this word prompt all day.  Announce.  I have ideas, but I’m not sure how to put those ideas into words without it all just sounding wrong.   So let’s get writing and see how it all comes out in the end shall we? I think I found my title!   God’s announcement!

Annoucements rang out throughout Christian history.  Sometimes they weren’t known for what they were until after the fact, but throughout history we knew, someone bigger than we were, was coming.  That someone would be sent from God.  Someone who would bring relief from the bondage we were under. 

God's announcement

God’s Announcement

Adam and Eve
The consequence learned
What happens when one
heeds another than God.
Leading to God’s announcement.

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring] and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

Isaiah, speaking to
the Israelites
bringing God’s word
to ears often in rebellion.

God keeps speaking

But God needs them to see
to look deeper so that
they can see hope, to
see the light coming.

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.

The barren elderly,
the young without a mate,
both promised a son.
One to led the way
to the other,
like a voice, calling loudly
in the wilderness
Saying LOOK HERE.
THIS, THIS is the one!
This is bright light spoken of.

 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

The Emmaus Road

God’s announcement,
spoken and written throughout history.
Sometimes we saw it clearly,
and other times we didn’t see it until afterwards.
See how Jesus himself had to explain it
to the men on the way to Emmaus.
From beginning to end.
So they could see God’s annoucements
for themselves in the scriptures they had.

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

The Lines Between Us

By Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Lines Between Us) through Nuts about Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

As I was reading The Lines Between Us, a book I very much enjoyed, I kept thinking… what a cleverly crafted book.  The challenge of being a conscientous objector in the midst of a war.  The vitriole shot at them. the misunderstandings, the beatings some of them took, and the family separations. 

I can’t imagine having to make that decision, and so many simply didn’t take the time to even try.   Some registered with the Civilian Patrol Service filling vital needs in the USA during the wartime.  So many men were off fighting so some conchies (as they were called) filled needed positions… one of those positions… being a smoke jumper.  Smoke jumpers fought wild fires in forests.  Imagine if they didn’t fill those positions… the sheer amount of damage of fire could cause eh?  And yet… that needfulness wasn’t truly seen.   And so we get The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn Green.

The Lines Between us

The Basic Details and Plot

One thing you need to know is the Lines Between Us, as much as it is based on history, it is still a novel.  A well-written novel by Amy Lynn Green.  This novel is thought provoking.  Through internal thought and external conversations, we can see how the lines between a conscientous objector and one willing to fight aren’t as opposed as one might think. 

Bethany House Publishers published this intriguing story in August 2021.  Running at 384 pages, this WW2 novel dealing with American history is geared for an adult audience. You’ll find that faith plays a role on both sides of the issue.  In the midst of all this a mystery needs to be solved.  What really happened to Jack?  Can Gordon (his best friend) and Dorie (his sister) figure out what really happened? 

I am reviewing on behalf of Nuts About Books. 

The Civil Public Service

I found this video on youtube that talks about this new-to-me bit of history.  Perhaps you might learn something new as well.  🙂 

Digging Deeper into The Lines Between us

Good characterization fill the pages.  I felt like I would know Shorty anywhere, and I think we’ve all met a Thomas.  Dorie has more depth to her than you’d think.  Gordon is such a solid fellow with a difficult past.  And Jack, such a nice fellow, a peacemaker at heart I think.  Good characters who draw you into history and times so well. 

The story alternates between Gordon and Dorie.   Each new chapter advances the story in some regard.  It is quite easy to follow along. 

Most of the time the text is a standard, easy-to-read font.  Letters home, a play found, and anything special resulted in a change of font.  Sometimes difficult to read, but doable if taking your time. 

I love when author’s add an end note.  Speaking to their inspiration, and what parts of the story are true, or where they did some of the research.  Always fascinating to get a behind the scenes glimpse into history and process. 

Add it to your shelves?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to loan it out to others interested in different aspects of WW2.  I’m so glad my son tuned up my interest in this period of history.  SO MUCH HAPPENED!  I’ve read a number of fictionalized history books about WW2 and have learned so much. 

The Lines Between Us is a thought-provoking good read.  I was glad to take my time enjoying it over the past bit.  I haven’t quite finished it, but hopefully will do so by the time this review is actually up!   Get it, read it, think! 

A good book to add to a highschool students study on WW2. Would make for some good essay questions. 

I know that my thoughts about conscientious objectors was shifted.  I was never die hard against it, as people have their own convictions before God.  But I did have some misconceptions I had to face up to. Knowing about the CPS option, it makes so much sense to provide an alternative for people.  Letting them serve in ways the still help, but don’t violate their principles.  Good stuff that!