AMON'S ADVENTURES by Arnold Ytreeide Amon's Adventure: A Family Story for Easter is a wonderful family read aloud or devotional book. Amon is a young, Jewish man (13-years-old) who has a lot of amazing gifts. He is a student of Gamaliel, plays his flute at a banquet at Caiphas' house, and is an inventor. When his father has been arrested for a crime he did not commit and is scheduled to be crucified, Amon tries to save him. In the process Amon comes in contact with Jesus. This book has lots of insight into the Jewish culture and at the end of each chapter a Bible verse and some thoughts to reflect on.

PEGASUS: THE FLAME OF OLYMPUS by Kate O' Hearn SPOILER ALERT! This is a more difficult review to write, because I find myself in a bit of a struggle about this book. I hate to give up endings, but it is the ending that leaves me in somewhat of an internal conflict. Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus is the story of a girl named Emily who lives in Manhattan. In the Prologue of the book we get a flash of a war going on at Mount Olympus between the Roman gods/goddesses and their enemies, the Nirads. The Nirads end up being able to topple and put out the Mount Olympus Flame found in The Temple of the Flame. This flame is the life giving strength to the gods and goddesses. There is a person on earth who carries some of that fire in her heart unbeknownst to her. Pegasus is the one god (he may look like a winged horse, but he is not) who can locate that person to get their flame back. Now to Emily! We find out early on that Emily's mother has recently died and her father is a policeman. Pegasus, heading to earth, crashes onto the roof of her apartment building wounded from the war. Emily and Pegasus quickly form a bond as she helps to nurse him back to health. Meanwhile, Nirads have arrived and are attacking the city. Emily's father is tied up at work dealing with the invasion (think Avengers). Through many chapters of evading Nirads, fights, being caught by a government agency who would like to run tests on them, two other gods arriving, etc we finally, in the last couple of chapters, discover that Emily is carrying the flame! Surprise! Her mother was a Roman goddess by the name of Vesta (keeper of hearths, family, etc). So what is my struggle? For the flame to be relit, Emily must willingly step into the bowl in the temple and be consumed by the fire that will burn from her heart outwards. By doing so, she will restore Mount Olympus and inadvertently help the entire world. This is love at its greatest and could be looked at as a Christ like example. However, this entire time we have only looked at Emily as human and in the last minute discovered she is part goddess. It gives you the feeling of a human dying for immortals, honestly, the reversal of what Christ did for us. There is a short paragraph where it describes the pain she goes through. She physically dies doing this. However, she has some sort of rebirth or mortal to immortal conversion experience. The book doesn't explain this, but she steps out of the fire, her mother is there, and all of Mount Olympus is restored. There are more books in the series, that I would imagine explain more of this and continue with threads that are left unresolved (such as her father becoming a government prisoner in the process). Also, you do follow the story of one of the gods coming to earth that is a coming of age part and didn't concern me like Emily's story did. There are no language issues. There is a little bit of blood and death, and of course, Emily's painful death. The only other thing is she lies to her father about Pegasus for a while to keep him hidden. So all in all, the book is marked 8-12 years old. I wouldn't personally allow an 8-year-old to read this. Do I believe this book will lead to the destruction of our children? No- just be aware. Be willing to read and talk.

FINDING WINNIE; THE TRUE STORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS BEAR by Lindsay Mattick. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. How did Winnie-the-Pooh come to be? Growing up I always heard that A.A. Milne told bedtime stories to his child, Christopher Robin, about Pooh. That was true, but what I didn't know was Winnie was a real bear that Christopher Robin had encountered. Finding Winnie written by Lindsay Mattick, the great-granddaughter of the man that found Winnie originally, recounts the story in this precious picture book. Finding Winnie is a recipient of the Caldecott Medal.

LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTERS by Barabara Rainey Letters to My Daughters: The Art of Being a Wife by Barbara Rainey is a book for married women no matter how long you have been married. Rainey, wife of Family Life founder Dennis Rainey, writes her book in the format of a series of letters answering questions her daughters have asked at many different stages of marriage. The questions are very thought-provoking, and the answers come from years of experience in good times and in bad. It is written from a Christian perspective and Rainey doesn't shy away from difficult topics. Well written.

THE WORD IS MURDER by Anthony Horowitz Anthony Horowitz ( author of Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War) is a brilliant storyteller in The Word is Murder. He actually casts himself as a writer in his book and references his real works. ( This definitely gives this book an air of reality.) In the novel, Horowitz is approached by former Detective Inspector Hawthorne to write a book about a current case he has been asked to help solve. The case revolves around Diana Cowper, a lady who goes to a funeral home to plan her funeral and ends up dead a few hours later. This sets off a chain of events that resurrects past happenings that will keep you guessing at the solution. Heads Up- There are a handful of f-bombs. There are references to gay relationships, but no indepth scenes. Inspector Hawthorne is accused of being homophobic. I rate the blood/gore at a medium.

HALF BAKED HARVEST: EVERY DAY by Tieghan Gerard This is part of my reading for the day, a new cookbook! Thank you to my sister for gifting me this right-up-my-alley cookbook! Half Baked Harvest is a cookbook filled with recipes of whole food and fresh ingredients by Tieghan Gerard. I am not familiar with her, but I can't wait to dig in and start the deliciousness flowing out of the kitchen!

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis I can't tell you how many times I have read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Narnia series was my go to reads as a kid, and I have shared them with each of my children, lately Callie.  The four Pevensie children have been sent to the country to live with a professor during WWII. During a rainy day game of hide and go seek, Lucy ( the youngest child), opens the wardrobe door to hide. She steps inside and finds herself transported to another world full of talking animals and mythical creatures that is in a perpetual state of winter. Evil has taken hold and the time is right for the curse to be broken, but it will take all of the children and a lion named Aslan. After reading the book, I can tell you that I stepped into closets checking the back to see if I could go to Narnia. I may still check to this day, but I'll never tell!

SUNFLOWER HOUSES: GARDEN DISCOVERIES FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES by Sharon Lovejoy Planning your gardens for the year? How about doing a children's garden? Sunflower Houses: Garden Discoveries for Children of All Ages is a book full of different garden ideas and activities to do in your garden with children. A garden of ABC's or where something blooms every hour are a couple of possibilities. Beautiful illustrations make the book enjoyable for young and old alike.

UP IN THE GARDEN AND DOWN IN THE DIRT by Kate Messner. Illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal. Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt follows a young girl and her grandmother as they care for their garden. A fascinating read of what is happening on the surface of the garden and below. Illustrations are engaging and there is lots of additional info in the end pages. Alongside Activity- Consider planting a garden! Keep an eye out for all the creatures, good and bad, that you read about in the book.

HARRY THE DIRTY DOG by Gene Zion. Illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham Harry is a little dog who hates baths. (Does this remind you of any of your kids?) He hides the scrub brush and sets out on adventure to get as dirty as he can. The results aren't quite what he expected! This is such a delightful story. Definitely a family favorite!

I WILL REJOICE by Karma Wilson. Illustrated by Amy June Bates Karma Wilson (author of Bear Wants More and Mortimer's Christmas Manger) helps us to remember that we can go through our day rejoicing in I Will Rejoice. Based on Psalm 148 we follow a young girl as she lives out her day thanking the Lord for each part. Written in rhyming verse, this book, illustrated in lots of sunny yellows and grassy greens, helps us think of warmer days ahead!

THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF PETER RABBIT by Beatrix Potter We also can't have a Spring Series without mentioning a certain mischievous, little bunny - Peter Rabbit. This brazen, young bunny disobeys his mother's last words (before she heads out on errands) to stay away from Mr. McGregor's garden. She goes out the door, and Peter heads for the nearest gate into the garden. Plenty of mishaps ensue and natural discipline takes its course. BUT then he later returns with his cousin in the Tale of Benjamin Bunny. More lessons are learned especially with the help of Benjamin's father! These classics can speak to all of us today about the price of pursuing what we know we should stay away from! Beatrix Potter's beautiful watercolors throughout the little stories are a joy to look at for all ages!