Jonathan Rogers. The Bark of the Bog Owl. Broadman & Holman Fiction, 2004. 240 pp. ISBN: 978-0805431315

I love it when authors recreate biblical events into fictional stories. These gems retell the stories I love with a fun twist. The Bark of the Bog Owl is the first book in a series of three by Jonathan Rogers, and it develops the young life of King David in terms our boys and girls can appreciate and enjoy. There is an appealing element of fantasy to the story and let me just say it is laugh out loud funny! My kids and I had not doubled over since reading Soup by Robert Newton Peck. (To be featured at a later date if you haven’t read this oldie, but goodie yet.) There’s nothing better than the sound of pure laughter from unruly boys on an otherwise dreary night.

This one is a no miss.

The Bark Of The Bog Owl (The Wilderking Trilogy)

AMAZON BOOK REVIEWS

I am blessed to have children who love to read. This is partly owing to the fact that we limit the time the T.V. blares in through our living room, but also largely due to my children's VIVID imaginations. Some of the books that they bring home I am already familiar with, and we are able to talk about the content of the stories they choose and their minds and hearts will be affected by reading them. Other times, I am totally in the dark, and also in doubt. It is then that I explore my options.

1. I read the book myself and discuss what I find with them.

2. I ask around, but many people I know don't favor books for adolescents like I do.

3. I check Plugged In online. (VERY helpful for movies, but their literature library is lacking.)

4. I check the reviews on AMAZON.COM.

Really. I think customer reviews are the best thing since sliced bread. (um.. make that Peanut Butter M&M's.) I check reviews on everything I buy online, and the insight of my internet neighbors has saved me a lot of time, money and trouble.

As far as books go, reviews I've read provide detailed information I can use and the authors range from grandparents down to early readers. What a great tool for literary analysis and written expression for students and for moms too!

SEE WHAT I MEAN. Here's a link to a novel my son (a high-school senior), was required to read last fall. Scroll down and explore the detailed reviews to this modern, controversial classic.

FINDING "THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS"

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) PG-13. 94 min.  

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Classroom Edition [Interactive DVD]

Relevant historical fiction and a shocking end enabled this flick to make its mark on my family, as I’m sure it did for many others. This movie is currently available on Netflix and somehow I happened on it, without any idea how good it might be. It stayed in the queue for weeks before we watched it, and afterwards I wondered what rock I was living under for me not to hear about this movie.

In a nutshell, Striped Pajamas is about a friendship between a young Jewish boy who held in a prison camp in the isolated German countryside, and the son of the Camp’s supervising officer. The bond grows between the boys unbeknownst to the rest of the world and the outcome of their desire to be together profoundly affects the otherwise unreachable German aristocratic family.

The genius of this story is that it is told through the eyes of a child, which allows the audience to hear it without the encumbrance of the money, foreign affairs or politics of the Jewish persecutions that occurred within Nazi Germany during the first half of the twentieth century. Still, don’t let them watch it alone.

WALK TWO MOONS - Tween (and Mom) Tearjerker

Sharon Creech. Walk Two Moons. New York: Harper Teen, 2003. 304 pp. ISBN: 978-0060560133. $6.99.

Walk Two Moons won the Newberry Award in 1995. The novel is based on a thirteen-year-old girl, Salamanca Hiddle, who deeply mourns her mother who left Sal, her father, and their lovely farm in Kentucky.

This book really appeals to the emotional curiosity of adolescent girls (I get teary just writing this review), but might be slightly difficult for a tween girl to comprehend-unless of course she also might be dealing with a similar situation. Despite what might at first appear to be a scandalous storyline, Walk Two Moons sweetly encourages family relationships, communication, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Though it is written for young audiences, this talented author effectively weaves rich character development, symbolism, and relevant themes into her story. Respect for Native American culture is also one of the novel’s major themes and, SPOILER ALERT: In Creech’s stories, a mother always returns to the family she loves.

Study guides are available on Amazon 

or ENotes http://www.enotes.com/jax/index.php/enotes/gsearch?m=co&q=walk+two+moons

Check out the author’s website for her charming bio and additional books. http://www.sharoncreech.com/