Usborne Book Drive

Books for MKs is a Protestant Christian not-for-profit organization, dedicated to donating books to Missionary Kids on the mission field. We currently mail books to over 140 missionary children! There is no cost to the missionary family at all, and the books are theirs to keep.  It is a free gift!

For the next three days, Books for MKs is holding a fundraiser together with Usborne Books!

 

Help us reach our goal for donations and Usborne Books will match 50% of donations in free books for the MKs!  This offer expires on Tuesday at midnight, so we need to raise funds quickly!

You can be a part of this amazing ministry, and help send books to children in need! Donate NOW at https://www.youcaring.com/books-for-mks-https-booksformks-wordpress-com-578134

We desperately need funds to cover the cost of postage and to buy more books. Help us put a smile on these MKs faces and reading material in their hands!

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Book Review: The Box of Delights

The Box of Delights
The Box of Delights by John Masefield

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Kay comes home for the holidays, he meets a strange man who warns him, “The Wolves are running,” and entrusts him with a magical Box to keep safe. The evil Abner Brown is after the box with his gang of kidnappers and cutthroats, and when people begin disappearing in Kay’s town, Kay must use the Box to travel into the Past to save his friends.

I had high expectations for this book, and while I did enjoy it, I was a little disappointed. The plot has many gaping holes in it, the characters act in ways that don’t really make sense, and I never did figure out WHY exactly the villains wanted to steal the Box of Delights.

The one thing that lived up to my expectations was the Box of Delights itself. I loved the fairies, mouselings, and Herne the Hunter, and magical ladies of light, the Greeks, and pirates and Roman soldiers. All the butterflies, birds, and bees that helped Kay escape from the wolves were just beautiful written and wonderfully charming. All that magic was exactly what I wanted from this book! Continue reading

Book Review: The Clockwork Three

The Clockwork Three
The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of three unlikely children living in a big city, where they find adventure, mystery, and even a little bit of magic. These children start their stories alone, but each meet the others along the way and learn to trust and rely on one another.

Guiseppe is a street musician, who finds a magical green violin. Frederick is an apprentice clockmaker and an orphan, who is determined to create a marvelous automaton. Hannah is a poor maid with an ailing father, who is desperate to get money for her family.
On the surface their problems seem simple, but the deeper the story goes, the more complex their difficulties become. Continue reading

Book Review: Pax

Pax
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. When Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa, but Pax can’t go. Peter throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. -GoodReads Description

 

I’m not a huge fan of animal stories (unless they are anthropomorphic), but the writing in this book was so excellently crafted that I loved it!
I especially loved the boy’s story, how he travels across country and the people he meets and connects with. There’s a lot of depth to the story, and the spiritual journey that the boy goes through is just beautiful.
The fox’s story was less compelling. Basic animal survival and a lot of dead things, but it was certainly interesting. Continue reading

Ruler of Books Tag

 

Ariel’s Original Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLRJx1d36sQ
Questions:
If you were the Ruler of Books…
1/ What book would you make everyone read?
2/ What would you abolish in book construction?
3/ What author would you commission to write you any book?
4/ What book would you demote to the library basement to make room for new books?
5/ What cover artist would you commission to make a mural?
6/ What characters face would you put on a coin?
7/ What book would you award the “Ruler of Books” 2016 Prize to? Continue reading

Review: The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved loved loved this hilarious graphic novel, and then the end left me flat. I hate those poignant, leave-you-hanging, no closure endings that are supposed to be all philosophical and crap. Bleh. There is no resolution and I hate that!

The artwork is beautifully detailed, but still gives this impression of space on every page. It really draws your attention to these little changes and reflects the mood of the story perfectly!

I adore the writing style, the prose and almost poetry, that makes every word count. It’s just perfection!
The plot is hilarious and the weird and wild things going on just put the characters into stark relief before this background of a war between chaos and order.

I was laughing and weirded out and thoroughly enjoyed it…. except for the end.

View all my reviews