The Gruffalo and the The Gruffalo's Child

One usually considers picture books to be written for children but Julia Donaldson definitely, definitely must have had bored parents in mind when she wrote these delightful tales, The Gruffalo and the The Gruffalo's Child. The twists and turns are clever to say the least and the humour will have you all giggling away!

The Gruffalo is definitely my 3 year old's favourite book and he knows much of it off by heart! The movie has extended the story a bit but still holds true to the original!

Must look....good books, most libraries should have copies of these modern classics, but you can't beat having your own copy for daily use. It deals with facing one's fears and finding original solutions in a very clever way. It also brings home the point that some fears are are imagined not real.

Sister Lucy's Great Big Family by Susie Poole

Kenyan born but living in Australia, I was delighted to find this treasure for my 'Westernised' children! This is a gentle and sweet true story about orphans in Kenya who are mothered by Sister Lucy, who has no children of her own.  A must read first book for children who know nothing of other children who have less than they do! And who forget to be thankful! A portion of the money you spend on this book goes to WER see http://www.worldemergencyrelief.org/index.html

This is a positive and happy book and does not go into the details of the hardships of life as many similar books do - making it great for a very young child. But don't underestimate its impact on an older child too. Find an orphanage you can support as a family, both with gifts and with prayers! Or support your favourite charity that supports orphans. 

Our favourite two are http://www.tshepo.org/
and http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/OCR-Overseas-Community-Reach/157758800933392

As you will find hidden in the beautiful illustrations, on Sister Lucy's notice board, 

" Join us, we can make a difference" and as the story ends,
"Mungu ni mwema"
(God is good!)

The White Stallion of Lipizza

A must for beginner horse lovers! And for mothers who tire of reading second rate horse books to little girls (and big girls; and boys too)!

The is a first rate read aloud story for any horse lovers or for anyone who loves a good book. I had forgotten how lovely it was - it is the sort of book where Mum has to pause because she is too choked up to read any further...a story of hope and following dreams, even when life is tough! You learn a lot about the real world of the beautiful Lipizza horses too. You cannot get better than this in the imaginary world of horses and in a child’s world of figuring out life!

Art and the Bible for Chidlren

http://www.howgreatthouart.com/products/94.html

What a wonderful book - how inspiring to have the children draw their own Bible illustrations! There are heaps of fascinating children's illustrations all the way through alongside the text, which is well written by a 15 yo homeschooling boy. Plus Barry Stebbing has art lessons dotted all the way through the book too!

It is the most pick up and look some more children's Bible story I have come across!

Tales from Israel:

There is a series of Advent books by Arnold Ytreeide that I have just recieved but not fully read myself; we tried to read Bartholomew's Passage years ago when the kids were smaller and found it a' bit violent', so left it????!  I look forward to revisiting it now, and trying the others


    














And Patrician St John has written


 
I think the Victor and The Run Away are the same book with different titles.











You can download Pearl Maiden for free, but I honestly cannot remember if it is suitable for children, you will have to read it first to decide for yourself!
http://www.manybooks.net/titles/haggardhetext04prlma10.html

Happy Reading, Joy