Category: Book Reviews

the stranger in the lifeboat by mitch albom www.atozmomm.com

The Stranger in the Lifeboat

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

The Stranger in the Lifeboat is a novel by Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie fame) about what you would do if God did show up when you asked.

The book is told from two points-of-view: one is a man named Benji who is narrating the tale of those in the lifeboat from his journal and the other is from the inspector who is investigating the lifeboat when it washes onto shore at Montserrat. In the lifeboat, a man claims to be God and if they would all believe in him, they would be saved.

Of course, most do not believe he is God, even when he brings an unconscious woman back to consciousness and he makes it rain when they desperately need fresh water.

The book is full of nuggets of wisdom, such as God saying that worry is nothing but something created by humans when they lack faith. And, all prayers are answered, but sometimes the answer is ‘no.’

God perpetually tells them “I am the Lord, and I will never leave you.”

Instead of asking, “Why did God take your loved one?” ask instead “Why did God give them to us? What did we do to deserve their love, joy, and the sweet moments you shared?” Loss let’s us appreciate human existence.

Benji realizes in believing, he is saved as God promises.

Great book. Fast read. The end has some great plot twists that you won’t see coming, and the book will most definitely have you thinking of life and death in a different way, as well as the meaning of life itself. It will have you asking yourself what you would do if God showed up in your life. Would you believe?

Highly recommended. My daughter is reading it now, but she’s a teenager. It deals with life and death, so if your child is comfortable with that subject, they would enjoy the book, too. I would say teenager and up, though.

Will make a great Christmas gift/stocking stuffer. Order from Amazon here today.

 

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Boy Called Christmas

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews
A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig
A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig is a tale of how Santa Claus came to be. It’s a very quick read and has a lot of nuggets of wisdom spread throughout.

Nicholas is poor. His mother has died from a bear attack and his dad cuts firewood. One day, his dad decides to go on an adventure in hopes of bringing back riches, leaving Nicholas with his Aunt Carlotta. She is mean, makes Nicholas sleep outside, and barely feeds him. Nicholas runs away and runs into a reindeer who accompanies him on his journey. He decides to try and find the land of elves. He soon meets the elves who tell him “An impossibility is just a possibility you don’t understand yet.” “To see something, you have to believe.”

He runs into his dad in the north who fell in with the wrong crowd. They ended up kidnapping an elf child as proof they exist to take to a king for money. When Nicholas finds out, he tells his dad, “Being good is better than being rich.” “Nothing is as wonderful as doing the right thing.”

His dad does do the right thing, and in the end, sacrifices his life for his son’s to save the elf boy. Nicholas ends up staying with the elves, on a quest to find his life’s journey. “The easiest way to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”

“The only way you can make something impossible and real is…with the right magic and belief inside you.”

Great book for boys especially. Kids who love Santa Claus, whether they believe or not, will love this book. There is no religion in this book, focusing instead on the story of how Santa came to be. I love the emphasis on finding your purpose as Nikolas strives to do so, and when he does, he stops aging. This can apply to us all. Highly recommended for all. If you are interested, you can purchase

Book Review: The Whipping Boy

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

The Whipping BoyThe Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman is the 1987 Newbery Award winner for children’s literature. A very short, cute tail, we follow the story of Prince Horace, and his whipping boy, Jemmy, who is a former rat catcher. A whipping boy was someone who took the beating of the prince in his place since royalty could not be beaten. Whether or not this is historical fact is debated. Suffice it to say, Jemmy did not like Prince Horace because of it.

One day, Prince Horace is bored and decides to run away, taking Jemmy with him. Jemmy is ecstatic because now he can run away. However, the boys run into two ruffians, known as Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater, who discover they have captured royalty and intend to ransom the prince. However, these ruffians are dull, and the boys have no problem defeating them at every turn.

Full of delightful adventure and funny scenarios, The Whipping Boy is a tale you and your kids (especially boys) will love. Highly recommended

Book Review: Rascal

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews
Rascal by Sterling North
Rascal by Sterling North

Rascal by Sterling North is a delightful tale about an 11 year old boy who raises a baby raccoon. A 1964 Newbery Honor Book, this book is based off the author’s real life year with a raccoon. Sterling is out with his friend in the woods when he scares a raccoon family and one baby is left behind. He keeps this baby, Rascal, and raises it. The boy’s mother has died, leaving just the boy and his father, who is a lawyer and is gone all the time. The book takes place in 1918, near the end of World War I.

Sterling is alone most of the time and Rascal and the other pets on the farm serve as his companions. He takes Rascal everywhere with him, and they have many adventures. Rascal sleeps with Sterling and helps Sterling fish. The family goes on vacation for two weeks and Sterling and the boy spend the entire time playing in the woods while his father works. He is building a canoe in the living room (hard to imagine these days kids getting away with that) and basically takes care of himself. As Rascal grows, however, he gets in trouble with the neighbors for eating their crops.

When Rascal is around a year old, the boy makes a decision to release him back to the wild, so he won’t be shot by the neighbors. He paddles the raccoon far away and watches him as he meets a female and leaves.

Like Adam of the Road, this book has much historical value. It speaks of a time where kids had to entertain themselves and played in the woods all day long. A time when kids were routinely left alone and had to feed themselves. A time where having a pet raccoon was no big deal. A simpler time, indeed.

There is one part of Rascal (the very beginning) where my kids and I almost quit reading. It’s how Sterling got the baby raccoon. Basically, they come across a raccoon family hiding. The mother climbs a tree, and Sterling and his friend decide to chase the mother raccoon up the tree. One boy climbs the tree and cuts down the limb where the mother raccoon is hiding. She falls and runs off, but only 3 babies follow her, leaving the 4th behind who could have died if Sterling hadn’t have raised it. This part was cruel and hard to read as the boys didn’t really care — all Sterling wanted was a pet raccoon.

If you can get over the part of how he gets the raccoon, you won’t be disappointed by the rest. Overall, Rascal is recommended for the story of a lonely boy and his pet raccoon, which you’d be hard pressed to find such a relationship these days.

Book Review: Adam of the Road

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray in a Newbery Award winner for 1943.  Here we meet Adam, a boy of 11 who is a minstrel’s son in the thirteenth century in England. When we meet Adam, he is staying at a monastery while awaiting his father, Roger, to pick him up after Roger travels to France for his job. Here, Adam has a dog named Nick to accompany him.

Roger returns and Adam and Roger embark together on the road since minstrel’s had to travel to earn a living. Along this road, Adam’s dog, Nick, is stolen by another minstrel who feels he’s been cheated of his horse by Roger. Now, both Adam and Roger are on the trail of the other minstrel to get Nick back.

Along this trail, Adam loses Roger when he goes chasing after Nick in another town. Now, Adam has to find his father, Roger, and his dog, Nick.

Admittedly, this book slows down leading up to the major plot twist (Adam doesn’t lose Nick until almost half-way through the book), and then the pace quickens while one setback after another happens to Adam. This book is good for purely historical reference. An 11 year old boy is galavanting across England by himself, looking for his dog and his father. This, of course, would not happen nowadays (at least not for long before the authorities stepped in), so this fact itself makes this book interesting. Adam is self-sufficient. He takes care of himself. He procures his own food. He is focused on finding his father and his dog and won’t stop he does.

In the end (very end), Adam finds both and all is well. He is offered a chance to stay at Oxford college, but he turns it down to be on the road (not a wise choice). One other little fact that is often confusing to children (and me) as you read this book: Adam calls his father Roger throughout the entire book and since Adam is the narrator, he’s constantly talking about Roger, which is weird to us nowadays and makes the book hard to follow in the beginning.

Adam of the Road is recommended but because it was written decades ago and about 75 pages needs to be cut where nothing happens, it’s not highly recommended as a Newbery winner. It’s got great historical value and the pace does pick up and is exciting to the end.

I Survived

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

Image result for i survivedI Survived is a kids book series, featuring a pre-teenish boy or girl protagonist who survives some ordeal (usually a natural disaster) based off real historical events. By Lauren Tarshis, I Survived books are short, easy reads sure to delight and teach at the same time.

The latest in Ms. Tarshis’ series is called “I Survived The Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967.” We follow an eleven-year old girl named Mel whose mother just died in a car accident. She visits her grandfather every year who lives in Glacier National Park. This is the first year they visit without her mother, and Mel is having a hard time adjusting. However, this year, the grizzlies in Glacier National Park are acting strangely, and Mel is determined to find out.

Her Aunt Cassie is a writer, and she visits as well. They meet a wildlife biologist investigating the bear incidents as well and decide to hike to a lodge up in the mountains called Granite Park. There they learn the grizzlies have become a tourist attraction as the lodge is feeding the bears (aka baiting them) with garbage. It’s become quite the show.

Mel herself almost gets attacked by a grizzly, but she is saved by a porcupine. That summer, two teenage girls are attacked and killed by grizzlies, bringing national attention to this problem. Trash was also everywhere, not being disposed of properly, further enticing the bears to change their behavior. These bears had lost their fear of humans and saw humans as a threat to their food source — garbage. The bears were also dying of starvation, having gotten glass in their mouths from all the bottles of food they tried to eat.

In 1967, this truly did happen. Many called for the eradication of the grizzlies (as if it were their fault humans were baiting them and feeding them). Luckily, intelligence prevailed and the National Parks began to clean up their acts. They disposed of garbage properly — including instituting bear proof garbage cans — and launched an educational campaign to not feed animals, approach animals, or litter.

Cleaning up our act has allowed grizzlies to thrive. In 1975, the grizzlies became a protected species and could no longer be hunted. There are now 1600 grizzly bears, living primarily in Montana and Wyoming with 32,000 in Alaska.

I personally had never heard of this in history, so this has been my favorite I Survived book so far. Mel learns to talk about her sadness. Very educational and informative and sure to spark many long conversations about topics such as the conservation of animals and humans’ role in preserving species. I loved this book and learned a lot.

Other I Survived topics include the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, The American Revolution in 1776, The Great Chicago Fire in 1871, and the Japanese Tsunami in 2011. Great, quick reads that I highly recommend.

Book Review: A Dog’s Purpose

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

Image result for a dog's purposeA Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron is an excellent book about a dog finding his purpose in this world. The book begins with one dog who keeps leading multiple lives and is perpetually re-born until his purpose is fulfilled. In the dog’s first life, he is feral and ends up being taken in by a kind-hearted woman who can’t take care of so many dogs. However, he ends up lame and unadoptable and is put down, but he made the woman laugh.

In the dog’s second life, he keeps having the nagging feeling that there’s something he’s supposed to do. He ends up in a home as a companion to a little boy named Ethan, where his purpose is to comfort the boy whenever the boy needed him. The dog learns humans are so much more complex than dogs and his job is not what he wants but what his master wants. His purpose was to love the boy and be with him and make him happy.

In the dog’s third life, he is trained as a search and rescue dog where he learned his purpose was to find people and save them.

The last life we find the dog abused and runs away. As he’s running, he runs into a familiar smell: that of Ethan’s girlfriend from long ago. The dog is determined to find Ethan who is still living in the same home except he is old now. He realizes his purpose in this world had been to save and Ethan was lonely without his girlfriend. The dog ends up re-connecting the two who eventually marry. He had fulfilled his purpose of rescuing people from despair of their lives.

FINDING YOUR PURPOSE

Ultimately, it is Ethan’s turn to leave this world. But the dog is by his side, fulfilling his purpose:

“The job of a good dog was ultimately to be with humans, remaining by their sides no matter what course their lives might take. All I could do now was offer him comfort, the assurance that he was not alone but was tended by the dog who loved him more than anything else in the whole world.”

I LOVED this book. Having come off of reading The Art of Racing in the Rain, I wasn’t for sure I wanted to read another book where the dog dies (let alone repeatedly). But A Dog’s Purpose is not sad because the dog lives on and the end of the dog’s life is not written as sad. I love how the dog finds his boy again, is 100% devoted to the boy, and is with the boy at the end of his life. I honestly hope I don’t have pets when it’s my time to go because I feel like it’s cruel to leave them without me, but I liked this book.

I love the insights the dog has to human’s lives as well and how the dog’s life just fits in with the human’s. This book is very realistic and not overly sentimental. If you love pets (especially dogs), then A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron is a must-read.

We all have a purpose and our job is to discover it while we’re here. This dog does and it’s encouraging to the rest of us who are still seeking our purpose in this world. Your pet may seem like it’s just being an animal, leading its life, but when it greets you at the end of a long day with love or jumps on your lap and purrs, it’s fulfilling its purpose. Now go and fulfill yours.

Book Review: Esio Trot

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

Image result for esio trotMore of a short story than a novel, Esio Trot by beloved children’s book author Roald Dahl is sure to leave you with a smile on your face.

Mr. Hoppy, a retiree, is in love with the woman below his balcony, Mrs. Silver. Mrs. Silver is in love with her tortoise (Esio Trot spelled backwards.) Mr. Hoppy has to find a way to ingratiate himself into Mrs. Silver’s heart by replacing the tortoise named Alfie.

One day, Mrs. Silver is complaining to Mr. Hoppy about how she wishes her tortoise would grow. Mr. Hoppy hatches a plan to make Alfie grow, thereby winning over Mrs. Silver. His plan is to tell her to whisper to the tortoise three times a day a ridiculous, backwards sayings. Mr. Hoppy goes out and purchases 100 tortoises with markings similar to Alfie’s and slowly replacing Alfie by stealing him off her balcony.

Every couple of weeks while Mrs. Silver is out at her part-time job, Mr. Hoppy replaces Alfie. Sure enough, Alfie “grows.” Mrs. Silver is forever grateful, and Mr. Hoppy finally has the courage to ask Mrs. Silver for her hand in marriage and she agrees.

This book is literally a 20-25 minute read with pictures on every page. Fun story. The only thing I didn’t like is Mrs. Silver never finds out about the trick and the original Alfie finds a new, loving home. Overall, delightful to read and recommended.

Book Review: The Family Under the Bridge

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

Image result for the family under the bridgeThe Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson is about an old hobo named Armand who one day discovers a family under his bridge. Three kids, a single mother, and their dog, Armand is taken aback. He can’t stand “starlings” as he calls them. Yet the children quickly endear themselves to Armand.

While the mother is working, Armand takes the children to see Father Christmas since Christmas is only a few days away. They all ask for a house from Father Christmas. The children were taken out of school as well so the authorities would not take them away from their mother if they found out they were homeless. All the children desperately want to go back to school.

However, two women discover the children alone under the bridge and head to the authorities. Armand takes the children and their mother to live with the gypsies. However, the gypsies are soon run off as well when one of the gypsies is sought after by the police for cutting down a rare Christmas tree.

Homeless again, the children desperately want a home. It is here that Armand finally decides to take a real job instead of being a hobo. He happens to find a caretaker job where housing is included. In the end, this make-shift family finally has a home.

Written in 1958, this book won the Newbery Honor Award in 1959. If you keep this in mind and use it to study the times it was written in, then this is a good book. There are some elements in this book that you’d never see in a modern book like the cutting down of a rare tree for Christmas. Also, at one point, Armand uses the children to sing so they can collect money for food. And I don’t agree with the fact Armand is a professional hobo. Also, the mother is racist against the gypsies and looks down upon them the entire book.

However, the underlying story is endearing. The children “stole Armand’s heart” by begging to stay with him. Armand’s character arch is impressive as well, going from a life-long beggar, content to not work and saying so, to
beginning to be ashamed of begging as it takes away a man’s self-respect.” In the end, Armand becomes a “workingman of Paris.”

My kids are old enough that when these parts cropped up, we talked about it, and why those parts of the book are wrong. It’s also interesting and telling of the time period when you read these views from so long ago, which spark a discussion of how our thinking has changed.

Good, short read containing lots of teachable moments. Plus, it shows how people can change no matter how old they are.

Book Review: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

by atozmom, posted in Book Reviews

Book Review: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Hoot.pngHoot by Carl Hiaasen is a must-read 2003 Newbery Honor Book. It follows the story of Roy Eberhardt, the new kid in school who has just moved to Florida. He’s picked on by bullies and hates the heat. But when one day he sees a boy about his age running out the bus window, Roy’s life changes. The boy is not wearing any shoes, not carrying a backpack and not carrying books. Who is this boy?

When strange things start occuring on a new pancake house’s construction site, the whole town is interested. Alligators show up in the porta-potties. Snakes start slithering around. Stakes are moved. Seats removed from heavy equipment. What is going on?

Roy eventually catches up with “the running boy” and learns the pancake house is about to be constructed on top of a protected owl species who burrows in the ground. And the running boy is the only one doing anything about it. Roy, wanting to help both the boy and the owl, gets involved and discovers the Environmental Impact Study done by the pancake house is missing from the courthouse, and the pancake house claims no owls live there.

When the dedication ceremony day arrives for the pancake house, Roy hatches a plan. He enlists the help of his school friends, and they form a protest. The running boy buries himself in a owl burrow, and when an owl lands on his head, no one can deny owls live there.

The theme of the book is stated nicely by Roy’s mother: “Sometimes you’re going to be faced with situations where the line isn’t clear between what’s right and what’s wrong. Your heart will tell you to do one thing, and your brain will tell you to do something different. In the end, all that’s left is to look at both sides and go with your best judgment.”

Great theme of standing up for what’s right even when others say you’re wrong, fighting authority when authority is wrong, and following what your heart says to do. Excellent book. Laugh-out-loud funny (like when Roy comments how adults lie to make themselves look more important). Easy to read and a quick pace. And who doesn’t love owls?