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Frank and Red–healing tale
Frank and Red
By Matt Coyne
Frank is a curmudgeon and a recluse. Red is a precocious six year old. Both have had a rough life in the last few years, but they approach their situations from very different perspectives. Frank is in such pain when his beloved Marcie passes away that he creates a dysfunctional relationship with his son. Red’s parents divorce causes upheaval in his life with a new home, new school and new neighbor Frank. Red faces life with enthusiasm despite the tough times. When Frank’s advice to Red about bullies has some unfortunate consequences, Frank finds himself taking on caregiving responsibilities for Red. Frank has a lot to learn from Red. Although some may initially find the plot predictable, the last part of the book is anything but predictable with lots of adventure and humor.
Frank is the ultimate grump, and Red is totally lovable. Together they make an interesting pair. The book is replete with crude language, but being British English it somehow doesn’t seem as offensive to the American ear. Short chapters are entitled “Frank” or “Red” with alternating perspectives moving the story along quickly. Red’s interactions with his new classmates are both sad and funny; it’s hard to be a new student. Red’s mother is a hospice nurse, a very caring woman who is devoted to Red and tries to shield him from an indifferent father. A fence separates Frank and Red, but its physical toppling brings about a metaphorical destruction of the barriers between Frank and Red and between Frank and the outside world that he fears.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Humor
Notes: Offensive Language
Publication: February 1, 2024—Wildfire
Memorable Lines:
He had once heard a saying that went something like: “You don’t need a parachute to skydive once.” That’s what he was thinking about: that falling in love with someone, and allowing yourself to do so, was like falling without a parachute. And that’s okay when it’s the love of your life, because you only intend to skydive once.
And Jake, of course, whom he had absolutely no intention of playing with, inside or outside, on account of him being a dangerous cycle-path.
“You’re comfortable being miserable. You wear it like a pair of slippers.”
The Heart’s Bidding–Amish special education students
The Heart’s Bidding
by Kelly Irvin
Although this book is an Amish romance, its strongest theme is the acceptance and education of children who are labelled as different, educationally challenged, developmentally delayed, disabled, mentally or physically handicapped, or as the Amish prefer to call them “special.” They see these children as gifts from God. In The Heart’s Bidding, Rachelle is a dedicated teacher, but as a Plain (Amish) woman she knows that although she loves teaching and has a talent in that area, her future will be to get married and have children. When the governing educational committee in her community decide that the special children should be transported daily to a town that offers more specialized services than the little community has available and at no cost to the Amish, Rachelle finds her last day of teaching coming more quickly than she could have imagined or desired.
Toby is a handsome bachelor who has been hurt in a past experience in courting and is haunted by the thought that no woman would want to be married to an auctioneer who spends many days and months on the road crisscrossing 5 states. Could an attraction between Toby and Rachelle come to anything? Both of their mothers would like to see it happen and have to be reminded to rein in their matchmaking. Both Toby and Rachelle have special siblings and common love and understanding for them.
There are other plot threads within this book about the large Amish families, the head of a family business stepping down, and an adult with dyslexia that has never been addressed. If you are interested in the Amish way of life and how both education and technology are addressed on an everyday level, this would be a good book to read. It gives the reader a different point of view from an author who is sensitive to both Amish and English cultures. The many children in the book provide both humor and excitement. In particular Jonah, Rachelle’s little brother, and Sadie, Toby’s little sister, both of whom will need lifelong support, will make you smile and tug on your heartstrings.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Religion, Romance,
Notes: 1. The author includes a listing of characters by family and a glossary of Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch words at the beginning. She ends with author’s notes and discussion questions.
2. This is #1 in the series The Amish Calling. There are two in the series available now and one more that will be published in January 2025. All have characters who deal with disabilities of various types.
Publication: August 1, 2023—Zondervan Publishing
Memorable Lines:
Plain women liked their appliances the way some English women loved their jewelry or a roomy SUV for carting around their children—all two of them.
Their education was intended to help them be successful in their Plain communities, to be hard workers and good people, with the skills they would need to sustain to work with their families, to thrive, but to do so in a godly way.
“Sadie’s soul is innocent. It always will be.” Rachelle sought out the little girl. She found her on a swing, her legs pumping, her head thrown back, laughter spilling from her lips. “She knows what is gut and right and fair. Nothing will change that.” “Do you really believe that?” “Gott made her special. I believe His plan is for us to learn as much from her as she learns from us—more really.”
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn–a no-nonsense coming of age story
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith
Sometimes publishers and reviewers have the audacity to promote a newly published book as a “classic.” In my opinion a classic is a book of excellence that has stood the test of time and is judged to be worthy of reading and rereading by future generations. First published in 1943, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is such a book. Written by Betty Smith, it is fiction but it has its basis in Betty Smith’s own coming of age in Brooklyn.
The protagonist is Francie, a girl who grows up in difficult circumstances of poverty with an alcoholic father who is nonetheless likable. Her mother favors her younger brother over Francie knowing she will be able to succeed in spite of her background. Francie, like Betty Smith herself, from a young age is a reader and a writer. Francie’s mother, Katie, works cleaning houses and believes with all of her being that education is the route to success for her children. She insists that her children read a page from Shakespeare and the Bible each night. She evens barters piano lessons for herself and Francie, with little brother Neeley, who inherited his father’s musical aptitude, watching. Their father Johnny worked as a singing waiter when he could get employment.
There is not a plot per se in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; it is a recounting of a family’s struggle to survive. The reader is immersed in the setting, the culture, and the characters. Despite the lack of twists, cliff hangers, climax, and denouement, this novel is a page turner of a gentle sort. Ripe with symbolism, this book is perfect for discussion and introspection. It opens the door to an era gone by and good hearted, imperfect people who want to keep their dysfunctional families intact and give their children a better life than they had. It is the fight for the American Dream set down on paper.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Classic, Literary Fiction
Publication: 1943—Harper Collins
Memorable Lines:
Mama explained: “Francie is entitled to one cup each meal like the rest. If it makes her feel better to throw it away rather than to drink it, all right. I think it’s good that people like us can waste something once in a while and get the feeling of how it would be to have lots of money and not have to worry about scrounging.”
“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It’s growing out of sour earth. And it’s strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong. My children will be strong that way.”
Oh, the last time how clearly you see everything; as though a magnifying light had been turned on it. And you grieve because you hadn’t held it tighter when you had it every day.
The Coat–sacrificial giving
The Coat
by Séverine Vidal and Louis Thomas
The Coat is a children’s picture book that tells the story of Elise who waits longingly for the day when her big sister Mia will outgrow her perfect red coat and pass it on to Elise. It also is the story of a homeless child dressed in a few layers of summer clothes sitting with her mother on cardboard on the sidewalk…in the snow. Elise passes her by the first day she wears her new red coat, but after a restless night, she can’t look away again. The second day she is late to school, coatless, and happy.
The Coat is a touching way to teach children about sacrificial giving. The homeless child is not given a name in the story which seems appropriate because there are so many “nameless” children who need help and hope. The pictures are colored line drawings, simple and almost cartoonish with an appeal to the reader to join the story. The snowy scenes and dialogue about “penguin cold” are perfect for this story. It is a book that children will request rereads on, and as they hear it again and again its message will make its way into their hearts.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Children’s Fiction
Notes: Reading age: 3 – 7 years
Grade level: 1 – 2
Publication: October 11, 2022—Flyaway Books
Memorable Lines:
It was bitterly cold. Penguin cold!
But now when Elise thought about the warm, soft, red coat, it hurt a little, kind of like a pinch.
Her thoughts were enough to keep her warm.
The Sugarcreek Surprise–trusting again
The Sugarcreek Surprise
by Wanda E. Brunstetter
I was glad I returned to Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Creektown Discoveries series to read the second book, The Sugarcreek Surprise. Part way through the first book in the series, Brunstetter found her pace and upped her style. She maintained and even improved on it in this fictional tale of two young people who have been hurt by life and are afraid of renewed suffering if they give life a second chance—outside of the protective shell each one created.
Paul is betrayed by the woman he has been courting who drops him for his best friend. Lisa has survivor’s guilt when, as a child, her parents and grandparents are in a fatal car crash, but she alone survives. Fortunately, these two are mentored by loving relatives and friends. Life is not easy for either one of them and even more surprises are thrown their way as they cautiously try to open up to others.
I enjoyed this trip to Walnut Creek and Sugarcreek, Ohio. Lisa is a school teacher and I found the differences in her classroom
and the typical Englisch classroom fascinating. School extends only through eighth grade for the Amish. Although the children are typical for their ages in mischievousness and enthusiasm, they arrive with basic manners and parental expectations for good behavior. Paul has an excellent work ethic and is skilled in carpentry. Both are committed Christians and practice their faith through Amish customs. They learn to pray more and trust God more. Witnessing how Amish practices play out in our current world is interesting. This book makes it clear that there are benefits and hardships to contemplate about both Englisch and Amish lifestyles.
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Barbour Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Christian, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. #2 in the Creektown Discoveries Series, but could be read as a standalone because the main characters first appear in this book.
2. The book ends with recipes and discussion questions
Publication: March 1, 2022—Barbour Publishing
Memorable Lines:
Even snippets from the past, which sometimes flitted through her mind, caused Lisa to feel fearful and despondent. She’d convinced herself that the only way she could be happy was to keep her focus on the present and refuse to give in to thoughts of the past.
The Lord knows each of us very well. He also knows what needs to happen for each of us at the proper time.
“Fear doesn’t stop death; it stops life. And worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles; it takes away today’s peace.”
If I Built a School–school can be fun!
If I Built a School
written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
Jack uses his imagination to create the perfect school in If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen. Written in rhyme, the first verses immediately bring Dr. Seuss to mind:
Jack, on the playground, said to Miss Jane,
This school is OK, but it’s pitifully plain.
The builder who built this I think should be banned.
It’s nothing at all like the school I have planned.
Unlike Dr. Suess, Van Dusen sticks to real words and the book is ripe with opportunities for vocabulary study—after a long period of enjoying the story and illustrations.
As Jack takes his teacher on a tour, we see his ideas play out in colorful and fun illustrations. His concept includes puppies and a zoo in the lobby, hover desks, and hologram guests. This is such a fun book; I think it would be a particularly good read in the classroom lending itself to much discussion and creative followup as children illustrate and write about their own notions for a perfect school.
Warning to school administrators: there is no mention of testing in this book because as Jack concludes:
On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15!
And learning is fun in a place that’s fun too.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and to Dial Press (Penguin) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Children’s Fiction
Notes: Ages: 5-8
Grades: K-3
Publication: August 13, 2019— Dial Press (Penguin)
My Teacher’s Not Here!–read this to your class!
My Teacher’s Not Here!
written by Lana Button
illustrated by Christine Battuz
My Teacher’s Not Here! is an endearing story designed to help children adapt to change, particularly the fear of a substitute teacher in the early childhood years. In so many cases, teachers become substitute parents and much more as they guide twenty or more students through a specially designed routine and know the needs of each student.
The teachers and children in this book are adorably depicted as a variety of animals. The story is told in predictable rhyming patterns from the viewpoint of a cute, apprehensive kitten. Their loving teacher has left a note for the children saying she is counting on them to help Mr. Omar (a giraffe), and so the little kitty overcomes her fears and does everything she can to be helpful.
I highly recommend this book for reading to a classroom. It will help allay anxieties and prepare students for that inevitable time when the teacher will be absent. Although the illustrations depict a preschool classroom, students in K-2 would also enjoy the message and the rhymes.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kids Can Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Children’s Fiction
Notes: Ages 4-8
Grades P-2
Publication: April 3, 2018—Kids Can Press
Memorable Lines:
Smiling Miss Seabrooke should be here to meet me.
But my teacher is missing and NOT here to greet me.
Someone is standing
in MY teacher’s spot.
He’s ginormously TALL.
Miss Seabrooke is not.
A Good Day to Buy–crime at a garage sale?
A Good Day to Buy
by Sherry Harris
Having held exactly one unsuccessful garage sale and participated in one equally disappointing flea market, I approached reading the fourth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Series with a modicum of trepidation. I concluded A Good Day to Buy with no increased enthusiasm for the process, but with a great deal of respect for the author, Sherry Harris, whose cozy mystery is outstanding. The story centers around former Air Force wife Sarah Winston, and her ex-husband CJ, a police chief. There is a huge cast of characters, so many I had to refer back frequently. Normally I would find this distracting, but it was compensated for by a plot line that is complicated and intriguing. There are equal amounts of cerebral efforts and action as Sarah tries to solve a multi-layered crime that starts at one of her garage sales and spreads out to include military friends and her long-lost brother.
I’m glad I chose to read this book in spite of its theme. There are worthwhile garage sale tips at the end for those interested. The book was successful in making me want to read more books in the series even if I was not convinced that conducting a garage sale is a profitable effort for me.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #4 in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series, but works well as a standalone
Publication: April 25, 2017—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
I stuffed some of the plastic bags into another one. What was with these things? They multiplied like those Tribbles in a Star Trek episode. You have a couple because you might need them, then boom, they’re everywhere.
In a small town, stories spread faster than news of antiques at a garage sale.
I’d always made the best of our assignments because it was either that or be miserable for a few years.
education pathways 