Family Stories

Up and Down the River

Book cover: 'Up and Down the River'
Author(s): 
Rebecca Caudill
Six year old Bonnie and eight year old Debbie decide early one summer that they want to get rich. Nosing their way through magazines they decide upon some simple investments - selling a few items around to their neighbors and raising ducklings. They keep up the projects all summer, but the rewards don't turn out quite the way they expected. Rejoin the Fairchild family for a charming summertime in a time and place where the pace of life was a little slower and the joys of childhood were many.

Schoolhouse in the Woods

Book cover: 'Schoolhouse in the Woods'
Author(s): 
Rebecca Caudill
This second installment in the Fairchild Family Series (which starts with The Happy Little Family) is a charming account of young Bonnie enjoying her first few months in a little one room schoolhouse. She and her siblings enjoy playing with friends in the rural schoolyard, having the teacher stay at their house for a week and preparing for a Christmas pageant. The story makes a nice read-aloud or chapter book for young readers.

The Happy Little Family

Book cover: 'The Happy Little Family'
Author(s): 
Rebecca Caudill
The Fairchild family - Father, Mother, Chris, Althy, Emmy, Debby and Bonnie - live in the hills of Kentucky in the early 1900s. We are particularly treated to simple stories of everyday life through the eyes of four-year-old Bonnie: her frustrations with trying to keep up with her older siblings, the love of her understanding father, the importance of "little" things, like sunbonnets and arrowheads. The large text, comfortable length and engaging storyline make it a great choice for young readers.

Happy Times in Noisy Village

Book cover: 'Happy Times in Noisy Village'
Author(s): 
Astrid Lindgren
The charming and humorous adventures of the children of "Noisy Village" are continued in this sequel, recently reprinted by Bethlehem Books. The children's adventures and creative pranks and business ideas make for a fun family story. Speaking from experience, I can attest to the fact that it's an excellent book to curl up with on a chilly fall afternoon with a couple of little girls on your lap. (My eight year old boy hung around to listen too.)

The Drovers Road Collection

Book cover: 'The Drovers Road Collection: Adventures in New Zealand'
Author(s): 
Joyce West
Drover's Road is a sheep "station" set way back in the hill country of New Zealand in the 1920s. Gay (Gabrielle) Allan, who lives at Drover's Road with her cousins and her uncle, writes of their happy childhood, of their adventures on the farm, on horseback, and exploring the hills and caves surrounding Drover's Road, in an "upside-down world" (to those of us from the Northern Hemisphere) where at Christmastime the house can be decorated with fresh flowers from the garden and the weather is very warm. It is a world filled with family, humor, hard work and horses.

Focus On The Family Radio Theater - The Chronicles of Narnia (additional review)

Book cover: 'Focus On The Family Radio Theater - The Chronicles of Narnia (additional review)'
Author(s): 
C.S. Lewis
Our family has been enjoying the first three audio books in this series very much. At this time, most of the stories have been produced in this audio format. The Silver Chair will be made available this spring (2002) leaving only the Last Battle to be produced. The narrator, Paul Scoffield (A Man for All Seasons [1966] and Hamlet [1991]) is just excellent. While the stories are somewhat abridged, they are remarkably complete for an audio drama.

The Last Battle

Book cover: 'The Last Battle'
Author(s): 
C.S. Lewis
This final book really presents a grand finale as the signs of Narnia's own "end times" begin to appear and the good side makes its preparations for a last stand against all the corruption and evil around. Even as a child, I remember enjoying how the author wove in so many "historical" details from the past books. Salvation and the reality of what life is really about are just over the horizon.

The Magician's Nephew

Book cover: 'The Magician's Nephew'
Author(s): 
C.S. Lewis
The Magician's Nephew, although chronologically first in the series, should probably be read after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.. (Even as children should probably be introduced to the story of Christ and his life before going back to the important stories of the Old Testament).

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