non fiction review

Book Review: If I Had Lunch with C.S. Lewis

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If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis by Alister E. McGrath

If I Had Lunch with C. S. Lewis: Exploring the Ideas of C. S. Lewis on the Meaning of Life
by Alister E. McGrath

4 out of 5 stars

The author postulates what subjects might arise if you had lunch with Lewis. Taking quotes from Lewis’ written works, we can guess what direction the conversation would take and generalize things that Lewis would probably say. However, this is not a book of imagined dialogue. It is a compilation of generalizations and paraphrases about what the author thinks Lewis would be likely to think and say on certain topics.

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Non Fiction Review: I Begin With Spring

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I Begin with Spring by Julie Dunlap

I Begin with Spring: The Life and Seasons of Henry David Thoreau
by Julie Dunlap, Megan Elizabeth Baratta (Illustrations)

3 out of 5 stars

When Henry David Thoreau was a boy, he explored the forests and meadows and ponds surrounding his beloved home in Concord, Massachusetts. This book gives us a look into his writings, his life, and the nature that inspired him.

The illustrations are beautiful. Some of them are sketches and maps from Thoreau’s own notebooks. The sketches of birds, plants, and animals are all beautifully and delicately drawn.

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Non Fiction Review: The Leadership of C. S. Lewis

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The Leadership of C.S. Lewis by Crystal Hurd

The Leadership of C.S. Lewis: Ten Traits to Encourage Change and Growth
by Crystal Hurd

5 out of 5 stars

What are the character traits that make a good leader? This book explores ten important attributes that are essential for any leadership role, and demonstrates how C. S. Lewis displayed those traits through his life and his writing. Here we analyze the details of why Lewis’s influence still continues to inspire countless Christians through his fiction and apologetic books.

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Children’s Non Fiction from 360 Degrees

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Children of the World by Nicola Edwards

Children of the World
by Nicola Edwards

5 out of 5 stars

All around the world, children in different countries have vastly different homes, languages, schools, games, and cuisine. This book explores amazing details about beautiful cultures across the globe, and how children live their everyday lives in such different ways. There are also chapters about food, kitchens, bedrooms, weather, pets, manners, celebrations, and superstitions.

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Non Fiction Review: Ornamentation

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Ornamentation by Valery Lloyd-Watts

Ornamentation: A Question & Answer Manual
by Valery Lloyd-Watts, Carole L. Bigler, Willard A. Palmer

5 out of 5 stars

This book gives valuable information about how to interpret ornamentation markings such as trills, turns, and mordents in music. Each era of music had their own style of ornamentation with slight differences, so it can sometimes be difficult to determine exactly how the composer intended their ornaments to be played. This book clears away all that confusion, and gives precise instructions about how to play ornaments in music from all the eras.

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Non Fiction Book Review: The Pursuit of God

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The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine
by A.W. Tozer

4.5 out of 5 stars

This book dives deep into spiritual truths and how we can strip away foolish lies we tell ourselves and truly pursue God with our whole heart. There are chapters about what real spiritual treasure is worth compared to earthly riches, how Christ has removed the barrier of our sin so that we can approach God, and the “universal Presence” of God and how we can be more aware of His Presence in our lives. I especially loved the chapter about “The Gaze of the Soul” and how faith is simply looking to God and turning our spiritual eyes to Him. There is also a lovely chapter about the meekness of Christ and how we can rest in Him.

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Non Fiction Review: Encyclopedia of Animals for Young Readers

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Encyclopedia of Animals for Young Readers by Tomáš Tůma

Encyclopedia of Animals for Young Readers
by Tomáš Tůma

3 out of 5 stars

This book teaches you how to classify different animals as mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, or insects and other invertebrates. Each page has large cartoony illustrations of various types of animals, and small paragraphs with facts and information. This design is perfect for capturing the attention of a curious child!

I love the cartoony art style! It’s so cute and colorful. This book is really interesting, and it’s so cool to find out some new facts about rare species and also about common animals.

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Non Fiction Book Reviews: Atlas of Extinct Animals and Atlas of Endangered Animals

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Atlas of Extinct Animals by Radek Malý
Atlas of Endangered Animals by Radek Malý

Atlas of Extinct Animals
by Radek Malý, Pavel Dvorský, Jiří Grbavčic

Atlas of Endangered Animals
by Radek Malý, Pavel Dvorský, Pavla Dvorská

4 out of 5 stars

The Atlas of Extinct Animals lists information about particular species that have now tragically gone extinct, and the Atlas of Endangered Animals gives information about currently endangered species.

I really like the design of these books; on one side there is a full-page illustration of the animal, and on the other side a page of text detailing in what type of habitat the animal lived, its main characteristics, and what it ate, and finally how it went extinct or why it is currently endangered. There is even a little map, showing where the animal lived or lives.

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Non Fiction Review: Atlas of Cats

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Atlas of Cats by Helena Haraštová

Atlas of Cats
by Helena Haraštová ,Jana Sedlackova, Giulia Lombardo (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

This book gives information about all the different breeds of cats, how they first developed, what their temperaments are like, and how to tell them apart from other cat breeds. There are also cat stories told from the perspective of the cats in their own newspaper, “Meow News”.

This book is so adorable! I love the attractive design and the sweet artwork. Every page is so colorful, and all the kitties are so cute!

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Non Fiction Review: A Dab of Dickens and a Touch of Twain

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A Dab of Dickens A Touch of Twain by Elliot Engel

A Dab of Dickens A Touch of Twain: Literary Lives from Shakespeare’s Old England to Frost’s New England
by Elliot Engel

2 out of 5 stars

This book gives short biographies of literature’s greatest authors and poets, including Chaucer, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Poe, the Brontes, the Brownings, Dickens, George Eliot, Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Hardy, Doyle, D.H. Lawrence, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Frost.

These are actually classroom lectures that have been written out, and the writing style reflects that. It doesn’t feel like a normal biography or literary essay. The style is more conversational. I really hated that, because the author tries to be funny and clever and does not succeed. The dad jokes are numerous.

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