Welcome to the May 2021 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

I’ve been reading a couple of circus-themed books to round out an upcoming book review post. The Haunting of Bonaventure Circus by Jamie Jo Wright is a spooky split-time story set at the winter home of a traveling circus. Both timelines center around an unassertive woman struggling to find her footing and be recognized as competent and worthy. There’s a murder mystery that both timelines share related to a sketchy figure known as The Watchman. The author excels at creating a creepy mood and employing atypical heroes.

The Ringmaster’s Wife by Kristy Cambron is the other circus book on the docket. I’m only several chapters in and trying to get a handle on the shifts in timeline and continent. The writing is lovely, and the characters are intriguing. I’m looking forward to discovering what has become of the main character circus stars.

I won a copy of Myra Johnson’s The Rancher’s Family Secret, and it was a quick read for me on a quiet Saturday. A family dispute put Spencer and Lindsey at odds years ago, despite their childhood and teenage friendship. Spencer’s now trying to balance his family ranch obligations with his mission to foster abused and neglected horses and nurse them back to health. Lindsey is back at her widowed aunt’s neighboring ranch, trying to keep it afloat and in their possession. It’s a well-written contemporary romance.

I didn’t know Corinna Turner had planned on adding to her Three Last Things: or The Hounding of Carl Jarrold, Soulless Assassin novella, but A Changing of the Guard takes the story in a new direction following the poorly executed state execution in the first novella. This book, too, examines life, death, moral responsibility, and the capacity to change. Spiritual thriller is about an apt a description of the genre as any.

My older children both have an interest in mythology. My oldest, looking to wrap up school-related reading, checked Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology out of the library. He was slightly deterred by the knowledge that the author is responsible for Coraline, the movie adaption of which he wants no part of. (Not a Tim Burton fan. at. all.) Despite learning that fact, he’s looking forward to reading this. It may also have something to do with the Marvel Loki movie coming out.

My daughter and I have both been reading Our Constitution Rocks! by Juliette Turner. The book, written when the author was a teen, examines the United States Constitution and its amendments in a detailed fashion, providing explanation and historical context with words from the Founding Fathers. I was not as well-educated on our Constitution as I would have liked, but both my daughter and I have learned a lot from this book. It could use an update, as the world has changed since this was published in 2012. It’s almost amusing reading the hypothetical abuse of free speech that she mentions that has come to pass. 

My seventh-grade daughter is working on a report on Louis Pasteur, the scientist who gave us the pasteurization process and the rabies vaccine. The Life of Louis Pasteur by Marcia Newfield is one of her resources. She’s only just begun the book and is learning about Pasteur’s childhood. The book, which she found at the library, seems to have limited availability (hence no cover image).

For St. George’s feast day, I read Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges aloud to the kids. This was unlike the saint stories they are accustomed to – more legend than biographical sketch. They identified it as a fairytale, and it is a retelling from Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. The Red Cross Knight slays a fierce dragon and gets the girl. The book is also a Caldecott Award winner.

My third-grade daughter read a more traditional style saint story, The Sword and the Cape by Pamela Love. This softcover picture book tells the story of St. Martin of Tours, who was a Roman soldier. As the description says, “Using the sword and cape from his Roman soldier’s uniform, he encounters Jesus in an unexpected way.”

The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett is a retelling of The Three Little Pigs. A dassie, also known as a hyrax, is smallish African mammal. As with other Jan Brett books, the illustrations are charming and share a familiar format—a main illustration on each open page with a preview of what’s happening next in a separate panel.

We also read Jan Brett’s Honey . . . Honey . . . Lion!, another African story. The story is about the cooperation of a honeyguide bird and a honey badger who share their sweet bounty. But what happens when the Honey Badger keeps all the sweet treat for himself?

What are you reading? Share it at An Open Book and find new book recommendations too! #openbook Share on X

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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

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Welcome to the February 2021 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

My husband has been reading Consoling the Heart of Jesus: Prayer Companion from the Do-It-Yourself Ignatian Retreat by Michael E. Gaitley during his weekly Adoration hour. The book is compact—easily portable—and offers some short meditations for reading and reflection. I see my husband is highlighting passages, which means he’s finding it valuable. And since there haven’t been any in-real-life retreats happening for the better part of a year, this seems like a fruitful option.

I’ve been wanting to read Emily Jaminet’s latest book, Secrets of the Sacred Heart: Twelve Ways to Claim Jesus’ Promises in Your Life, for a while, and a CatholicMom Book Club was the impetus I needed to get started. I’m taking it a couple of short chapters at a time, watching the author’s videos, using the free journal I downloaded to accompany it, and reading the CatholicMom reflections on it. We’ve been dipping our toes into this traditional devotion for a while with a lovely painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (given to us by the Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus who had been residing in our parish) and beginning the First Friday devotions. I’m looking forward to doing an enthronement in June, and this book will be our guide.

I enjoyed The Truth about Romantic Comedies by Sean C. McMurray, a smoothly written Young Adult romance featuring Tim, a fatherless teen who spends much of his time tending to his grandma, who has Alzheimer’s and is undergoing cancer treatment. The cancer center is where he meets Rachel, a Christian girl who changes her hair color with her mood and is a firm nonbeliever in teenage love. It’s both humorous and poignant and rings true from my memories of teenage years.

Jennifer Rodewald has become one of my favorite contemporary Christian romance authors. Everything Behind Us is an atypical marriage of convenience story, one motivated by listening to and obeying God’s direction. It’s a deeply moving story that reveals the beauty of married (not necessarily synonymous with romantic) love. I’m not much of a crier when it comes to books, but I’d recommend tissues for this one.

I highly recommend The Work of Our Hands: The Universal Gift of Creativity by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur to anyone, but especially to artists of all stripes. The short, unique reflections provide a deeper understanding of what it means to be made in the image of God, the Creator.  As a bonus, it gave my creativity a little boost too. Worth reading and pondering.

The Boy Who Knew (Carlo Acutis) by Corinna Turner is the first book I’ve read about Blessed Carlo Acutis, my new go-to guy for tech problems. He’s so much more than that though. This author has a way of drilling down to the meaning and purpose of life using the high stakes matters of life and death, not just in this book but in many of her other books as well. Blessed Carlo’s story is told through a British teen faced with a leukemia diagnosis and grappling with his mortality. This book is also noteworthy for being set during a recent event: the October 2020 celebration of Carol Acutis being named Blessed. While the subject matter is necessarily a bit heavy, it’s a great introduction to Blessed Carlo and his life.

My oldest son is beginning Hamlet with his William Shakespeare class. It’s premature for us to discuss it or start watching movie adaptions, but the time is right for coloring the Hamlet page from Crush and Color: Keanu Reeves: Colorful Fantasies with a Mysterious Hero by Maurizio Campidelli, which made its way into our house as a Christmas gag gift. The coloring pages themselves are interesting, and the romanticism is hilariously over the top. If you’d have told my late 1980s high school self that Keanu Reeves would be even more popular now than he was then, I’d have laughed. But here we are!

Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz-Ryan was a gift for my daughter. She’d previously read Esperanza Rising by the same author. In Riding Freedom, Charlotte has nothing to lose when she runs away from an orphanage disguised as a boy. The story is especially appealing to horse lovers and is based on the first U.S. woman to ever vote—disguised as a man.

Traer Scott’s Nocturne: Creatures of the Night is filled with beautiful photos of nocturnal animals and interesting facts about them. My seventh grader picked this up for a research paper on the fennec fox, but this book appealed to everyone in the family. Just a pleasure to look at and so much to learn about God’s amazing creatures.

The Story of William Penn by Aliki is the second children’s book we picked up about William Penn. The first was filled with too many details, and both the children and I thought it was confusing. This short book was well-written and provides a basic overview of the life of the founder of Pennsylvania (“Penn’s Woods.”)

We recently received Our Lady’s Wardrobe by Anthony DeSefano as a gift, and I’m delighted with it. It is a lavishly illustrated introduction to several of the most common titles of the Blessed Mother, most of which are tied to Marian apparitions. The illustrations are paired with mellifluous rhyming text that gives a thumbnail sketch of the locale and circumstances of each apparition.

Squirreled Away (The Dead Sea Squirrels) by Mike Nawrocki (Veggie Tales) is a recommendation I picked up from another An Open Book post. This eight-book chapter series begins with Michael and his friend Justin accompanying Michael’s dad to an archaeological site. The boys get lost in the Dead Sea caves. They discover some seemingly dead squirrels, Merle and Pearl, which then become re-animated.

It had been a while since anyone in the house had read Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. The story of the little French girl who has her appendix removed was a childhood favorite of mine, and it fit perfectly with my young son’s study of Europe and his sister’s study of France. I’d not previously noticed so many Parisian landmarks in the illustrations. The story remains a favorite.

Angelo by David Macaulay is another picture book set in Europe. Angelo restores an Italian church façade, and over the course of his years’ of work, befriends a pigeon. It’s a poignant story about craftsmanship, friendship, and what we leave behind.

I knew nothing of Ernest Shackleton until I read the graphic novel Shackleton and the Lost Antarctic Expedition by Blake Hoena with my son. (Another gap in my knowledge discovered. There are many.) The book covers Shackleton’s failed expedition to the South Pole, recounting the amazing story of Shackleton and his team’s survival. I can barely imagine the conditions these men endured.

Want more details on An Open Book? You can also sign up for An Open Book reminder email, which goes out one week before the link-up. No blog? That’s okay. Just tell us what you’re reading in the comment box.

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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

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Welcome to the January 2021 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

If you’re looking for something to read for the Feast of the Epiphany (today!), I’ve got the perfect book for you. From Afar by Roger Thomas is a fictionalized (but realistic) account of the Magi based on Scripture, history, and modern research. I had to set the book aside to tend to some other projects but am eager to dip back into the story as the three wise men are setting off on their journey.

Mistletoe and Murder: A Christmas Suspense Collection by various authors including Nancy Mehl and Lynn Shannon, is a priced-to-sell introduction to a variety of Christian suspense authors. For 99 cents, you get ten novellas, which is quite a deal! I expect the story quality to be a little uneven over that many authors, but there are sure to be some here I’ll love. From what I’ve read so far, these stories can be enjoyed any time of year.

My daughter and I have been listening to The Beautiful Pretender ( A Medieval Fairy Tale) by Melanie Dickerson while riding in the car, peeling potatoes, or coloring Christmas pages. It’s a fairly simple retelling that’s a little Beauty and the Beast and a little Princess and the Pea. Geared to a younger audience, it’s enjoyable, if predictable, and I love sharing audiobooks with my almost-teenage daughter.

The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season One) by Phil Szostak was a Christmas gift to our oldest son, who’s a huge Star Wars fan. We’ve all enjoyed the glimpses of artwork from The Mandalorian that is shown during the end credits of the series. The book is a large, beautiful hardcover, and he’s enjoying savoring each page.

For an independent school project, my high school senior has chosen Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. His take at the very beginning is that it is “good but weird.” I’m intrigued by the description, which reads, in part: “In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride.”

My seventh grader read D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingrid D’Aulaires and Edgar Parin D’Aulaires as part of her schoolwork and thoroughly enjoyed it! She was able to have a great discussion with her father and brother about mythologies, Norse myths, Marvel superheroes, and the storyline of the video game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The D’Aulaires’ myth books are well-done!

The White Stag by Kate Seredy is a Newbery Medal winner about Attila and the Huns. The Huns and Magyars follow an elusive white stag to their promised land at the direction of their pagan gods. This also worked into my daughter’s curriculum and was a short read.

I think I came across Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham in another blogger’s An Open Book recommendations. The time period (colonial America) suited my daughter’s interests, so I checked it out of the library for her. She loved this story of a genius of sea navigation. I’d like to read this one as well.

This same daughter, who out-read all of us this month, also read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens for the first time. (I only read it for the first time myself last year.) She noted Dickens’s style of using long descriptions, running pages long in some cases, but still enjoyed this Christmas classic.

I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson aloud to my three youngest children. Only one had ever read it (several years ago). I looked forward to each chapter of this short book, enjoying the antics of the rotten Herdman siblings. Despite the humor, there’s a lot to think about at the conclusion of the book, especially how our familiarity with the Christmas story allows us to gloss over the details and the import of it. The Herdmans, heathens that they are, take the story to heart, and everyone is the better for it.

Before listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, we read the picture book Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Anna Harwell Celenza. I knew little of Vivaldi, so this was an education for all of us. Did you know that Vivaldi was a Catholic priest? I didn’t. Knowing more about him and the genesis of the music made me understand and appreciate it more.

The Spider Who Saved Christmas: A Legend by Raymond Arroyo was a Christmas gift for my youngest son. We were not familiar with the legend of the Christmas spider beforehand. I enjoy legends in general, and this one did not disappoint. The illustrations are dark but rich and a bit magical, and the story builds on the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. I like how Joseph is portrayed in his role as protector, and Mary is both gentle and wise.

What are you reading? Share it at An Open Book and find new book recommendations too! #openbook Share on X

Want more details on An Open Book? You can also sign up for An Open Book reminder email, which goes out one week before the link-up. No blog? That’s okay. Just tell us what you’re reading in the comment box.

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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

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Welcome to the August 2020 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

We’ve been doing a lot of reading this summer, especially since our local libraries have re-opened, at least in part. Let’s face it: there aren’t a whole lot of entertainment options this summer, so in addition to hanging out at the pond/creek, my kids are enjoying reading good books.

While his time on the road has been greatly diminished, my husband did begin listening to Grant by Ron Chernow on his way to and from Scout camp. Intrigued by a History Channel series on Ulysses S. Grant, he was eager to learn more about this former general and president of the United States.

Love and a Little White Lie by Tammy L. Gray is a very well-written inspirational romance novel of healing, hope, and spiritual awakening. I love the direction the author is taking with this story, which reminds me a lot of one of my favorite novels, The Grace Crasher by Mara Faro. I also love this striking cover.

I was moved by this debut novel by Neena Gaynor, The Bird and the Bees, a Christian romance set mainly in Erie, Pennsylvania. The patient, stalwart third baseman Ketch Devine serves as a model of God’s unconditional love. There is a lot to ponder here about what it means to live and to whom or what we anchor our lives.

Ranger Redemption by Lynn Shannon is a well-executed romantic suspense novel with an intertwined small-town cast of characters that add layers of complicity and multiple suspects to the lineup. The story is well-paced with a sweet second-chance romance at its center.

I enjoyed the second installment in Dani Pettrey’s Coastal Guardian series, The Crushing Depths. It’s uniquely set on an oil rig off of the Virginia coast. There’s a big cast of characters and multiple crimes. If you’re looking for a fast-paced crime novel with a sweet romance, this one will fit the bill.

Though War Be Waged Upon Me: A Saint Michael Treasury of Prayer and Reflection by Carol Puschaver is a short prayer book that will deepen your knowledge of the familiar prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.  It also includes information on how to pray the St. Michael Chaplet.

The Dunes by A.R.K. Watson is a short novella with a Twilight Zone vibe. This short fiction features a married couple and is set on the beach. Saying much more may ruin if for you, so you’ll have to check it out for yourself. At 99 cents, why not?

The second book in The Desperate Forest series by Cece Louise is at least as fun as the first. The Jabberwocky Princess is a historical YA novel with a contemporary feel and a little light magic (think dragons!). This is a fantastic series of clean romances for teens that have a bit of a fairy tale quality to them. More on that in the interview I did with the author last month.

I enjoyed reading Antony Kolenc’s Shadow in the Dark, new from Loyola Press.  This historical novel for tweens and teens is set in medieval Europe and centers around a spooky mystery: Who or what is the shadow roaming the abbey grounds at night? The angel of death or a wayward monk? Such begins the series featuring young orphan Xan (short for Alexander) and his friend Lucy.

My oldest son is procrastinating on his school summer reading project by reading more from the Star Wars universe. He picked up Star Wars Myths & Fables  by George Mann on our first trip to a bookstore this year! This attractive hardcover features various Aesop’s fable-like stories including various Star Wars characters in different times and places. He appreciated the artwork at the beginning of each chapter too.

We have a slew of decades-old Timothy Zahn Star Wars paperbacks in the attic, but my son was drawn to a more recent release by the same author at the library. Thrawn is short for Grand Admiral Thrawn, an officer in the Imperial Navy. The story follows his rise through the ranks in the early days of the Empire when many alien races are oppressed. This is the first book in a trilogy he plans to read.

My seventh-grade daughter chose The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan as her reward for completing the reading portion of the library’s summer reading program. This series came recommended by her older brother, and she has been tearing through it greedily as fast as she can get the remaining books from the library. In a world where Greek gods and demi-gods roam the earth, Percy  Jackson discovers he’s the son of Poseidon, which puts his life in danger. When someone steals Zeus’s lightning bolt, Percy must find it.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare came recommended by a librarian based on my daughter’s interest in colonial America. A young girl, Kit, flees her home in Barbados and arrives in Connecticut. Kit befriends a Quaker woman the local Puritans consider a witch.

Knowing how much my daughter loved Anne of Green Gables, I picked up a copy of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin from the library, and she loved it, informing me that this book actually was written before Anne and influenced L. M. Montgomery and various other authors. Imaginative Rebecca comes to live with aunts in Riverboro, where she comes of age.

George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff was required summer reading that my daughter liked (but didn’t love). Several kids time travel to Revolutionary War times where they witness General Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River and try to get home. My daughter was a little frustrated by the magical rowboat plot device.

I ordered some (wonderful!) Usborne books and products for my kids this summer and grabbed Girls with a Voice and Girls with Courage by Ann Turnbull and Adele Geras. In Girls with a Voice, set in the 18^th century, a girl dreams of becoming an opera singer. She’s sent to boarding school when her father loses a large amount of money on a failed investment, jeopardizing her musical education. In Girls with Courage, set in the 19^th century, a girl is sent to her uncles’ home when her mother is having another baby. She must ride with her eye-patch-wearing uncle to discover what’s happened to her mother. (To buy, check in with an Usborne Books & More consultant.)

My third grader picked out a huge book from the library that she is steadily reading aloud to the rest of us (whether we’re listening or not). The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter includes all of the classic tales of Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin, and more with the original illustrations.

We brought home a slew of Berenstain Bears books from the library too.  All four of my kids have loved the Berenstain Bears, and we read these books again and again and again. As a parent, I’ve always appreciated the honest but gentle and humorous way they tackle common childhood problems. One of the favorites this go-round has been The Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

I’ve begun reading The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame aloud to the kids. It’s been a while since I read this one, and the chapters are pretty long for a children’s book. I enjoy introducing the kids to this world, which they connect with a particular area of the children’s garden at the nearby Hershey Gardens.

My youngest son has been reading Potterwookiee: The Creature in My Closet by Obert Skye. In it, the main character puts both books and a chemistry set in the closet and some amazing creatures result. This one was handed down from his older brother. Illustrations à la Diary of Wimpy Kid make it a fun read.

What are you reading? Share it at An Open Book and find new book recommendations too! #openbook Share on X

Want more details on An Open Book? You can also sign up for An Open Book reminder email, which goes out one week before the link-up. No blog? That’s okay. Just tell us what you’re reading in the comment box.

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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.