BOXCAR CHILDREN BEGINNING by Patricia MacLachlan If your children enjoy the Boxcar Children series, you may be interested to know that MacLachlan wrote a prequel. It is set during the Great Depression and tells about the family's life on their farm. It is a very sweet story as they are very willing to help others through the tough times everyone is going through. The book also answers the ultimate question of what happened to Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny's parents. Obviously, there is loss of life, so while this book is an easy chapter book it may not be appropriate for the tenderhearted

THE HUNDRED-YEAR BARN by Patricia MacLachlan he Hundred-Year Barn is told through the eyes of a boy as he watches the building and usage through the years of his family's barn. His father calls it the Hundred-Year Barn, because he says it will last for a hundred years. Beautifully written and just as beautifully illustrated by Kenard Pak (author and illustrator of other books shared on this page Have You Heard the Nesting Bird and Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring). Alongside Activity- Did you know Ohio has a list of Century Farms on the Ohio Department of Agriculture website? There are 1500 farms and at least 2 per county. We happen to live next to one! Drive by one with your kids or maybe ask if you can tour it and learn the history.

SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL by Patricia MacLachlan With the passing of author Patricia MacLachlan last week I will share a few of her books. I first encountered Sarah, Plain and Tall as a Hallmark movie on TV. It was fantastic! Sarah, a mail order bride from Maine, comes to the prairie to be a mother to Caleb and Anna and wife to Jacob Witting. (Their mother died giving birth to Caleb.) The house has lost its music and happiness, and Anna and Caleb hope that Sarah will bring life to their home. But when Sarah comes they can tell she desperately misses the ocean. She has one month to decide if she will go or stay. Very precious! There are 5 books in the series.

THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray I just finished The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. It is a novel, but it is based off of the true story of Bella da Costa Greene, whose actual name was Belle Marion Greener. Greene was the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan. She built and catalogued the amazing collection of rare books and manuscripts of the Pierpont Morgan Library. Why is this so amazing? She was a woman, first of all, in a man's world, and secondly, she was a light-skinned African American. She hid that from the world by changing her name and claiming to have some Portuguese blood in her. While this story is amazing, there were parts I skipped over. HEADS UP- J.P. Morgan's daughter Anne was rumored to be gay. Her relationships are discussed but not shown. Bella da Costa Greene committed herself to never marrying in case she had a child that would have dark skin. She did, however, wind up in a relationship with Bernard Bernstein who was married. Bernstein and his wife had an "open marriage" policy. There are a couple bedroom scenes. Greene ends up pregnant and has an abortion. I researched each of these and it is possible that each is true.

TODAY by Julie Morstad Today is a fun book to read with your kids to discover their likes and dislikes. Each picture has a theme, like breakfast, with lots of choices to pick from. The picture asks "which would you pick?" What makes this book so enjoyable is that tomorrow, when you read it again, they may choose completely different things! Illustrations are precious and will remind you of crayon-colored pictures.

WHITE BIRD by R.J. Palacio If you are familiar with R.J. Palacio's Wonder (either in book form or movie) White Bird is a spin off from it. Written in comic book form, but still very moving, White Bird tells the story of the bully from Wonder, Julian's, grandmother Sara. Set in France during WWII Sara's Jewish family thinks they will be able to make it through. When the Nazis show up at school to round the Jewish students up an unlikely hero comes to the rescue and the value of true friendship comes to light. Beautifully written. White Bird would be appropriate for upper elementary and above as difficult subjects are dealt with. HEADS UP - As with any WWII/Nazi/Concentration camp book, not everyone makes it. Palacio also uses her last few comic frames to compare what happened to the Jews to Trump's border issues.

DRAGON HOOPS by Gene Luen Yang Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang is a true story comic book (437 pages) about the Bishop O'Dowd High School boys basketball team in 2015. Yang's fulltime job was a teacher at the school, and he was also a graphic novelist. He had never had an interest in sports. He says in the story, "In a well-crafted story, everything makes sense. Which is more than I can say for sports." He was on the lookout for a new story to write when he started hearing about the school's basketball team. The theme of this book is STEP. Several times an emphasis is put on someone having to take a STEP out of their comfort zone into a new possibility. This theme is a beautiful part of the book! Yang takes the first one stepping into the world of sports. The book is full of so much more than the story of the team. You look at the history of their coach, the history of how basketball came to be, the history of women's basketball, the history of basketball in China, etc. It is so well interwoven in this book! HOWEVER... HEADS UP- There is language in this book. The f bomb is used approx. 12-15 times. They don't actually put the word in. It's f***. What kid doesn't fill in those blanks? There are a handful of other words also asterisked out. Also one of the original coaches from way back was accused of molesting a student. It was never proven, and it went completely against how everyone Yang interviewed said their coach was. He was completely broken, and the current coach who played for him shows a beautiful example of compassion. So where does this leave me? Honestly this book is so fantastic I would like Isaac (6th grade) to read it, but I'm probably going to black out the language. If he was older I would consider leaving it. This book would be enjoyed by an age range of about 12+.

MAISIE DOBBS by Jacqueline Winspear Reading Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs is like eating comfort food. It just feels good and satisfying to the soul. With 17 books in the series set in the early 1900s to WWII, Maisie begins in very humble surroundings and through hard work, intelligence, and some special people in her life emerges to be a sought-after private investigator. War is often the backdrop, and Maisie makes her own contributions to the war effort which often puts her in the path of a mystery to solve. This series has stayed remarkably clean! Language is very sparse, if any. There is one point you know she is sleeping with someone, but there are no details. Murders are described, but they are not gory. Winspear is a master at sharing circumstances surrounding Maisie and the cases she is working on that take you deeper than the average mystery. The language is descriptive and keeps you in the middle of everything. If you like mysteries and haven't experienced Maisie Dobbs, give her a try!

MAC B. KID SPY by Mac Barnett. Illustrated by Mike Lowery Are you on the hunt for easy chapter books for your kids? Mac B. Kid Spy written by Mac Barnett may be a good fit. American, elementary age kid, Mac B, receives a call from the Queen of England. Her crown jewels are missing, and she needs his help finding them. In a note from the author at the front of the book he claims, "This actually happened to me." After you read his wacky adventure you can decide if you think it happened or not! Lots of silly fun!

MIZ FANNIE MAE'S FINE NEW EASTER HAT by Melissa Milich. Illustrated by Yong Chen When Tandy's daddy decides it's time for mama to have a new hat for Easter, mama sends her along to help pick it out and to make sure he doesn't spend too much money. When mama says the hat they picked out must go back, because it costs too much money, Daddy comes up with a funny solution. That's nothing compared to the miracle that happens later as a result of the hat! Absolutely delightful!

MIRACLE MAN/ GO AND DO LIKEWISE by John Hendrix If you have not seen John Hendrix's Miracle Man and Go and Do Likewise books, they are worth checking out. Written in a combination style of comic book and traditional book style, they are very engaging for kids. The pictures are full of activity, life, words made into part of the pictures, etc. Miracle Man covers the miracles including the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Go and Do Likewise focuses on Jesus' parables. Very well done! Heads Up- My only heads up is in Miracle Man Hendrix portrays the child in the Feeding of the 5000 as a girl. I looked up the gospel accounts of this amazing miracle. Matthew, Mark, and Luke only state that we have 5 loaves and 2 fish. The book of John reports the disciples telling Jesus, " There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" (John 6:8-9 NKJV) Alongside Activity- Not always, but often, Hendrix portrays a lot of life around Jesus with flowers, birds, butterflies, etc. Notice the life around Him in the pictures. Notice the lack of colors on the crucifixion pages. Notice the return of color in the resurrection!

A TALE FOR EASTER by Tasha Tudor Tasha Tudor's precious artwork in A Tale for Easter makes this book one of our Easter picks. Follow a little girl as she prepares for Easter and all the wonders it can hold!