Every once in a while, a book comes along that keeps you up at night, even though you have to get up early the following morning. Reign of the Black Flame: The Waterglobe by B.B. Vayk is one of those gems. It is the story...

This is a poem about Halloween night, how eerie it feels with the moon shinning bright, casting shadows. The stillness in the pumpkin patch, the cornstalks and scarecrow, but wait, did that scarecrow lurch in the moonlight? Can that really happen? Another feeling is the chilly...

Dori's Gift (a Mom's Choice Award Recipient) by Angie Wilson is the tale of Dori, a young girl who is celebrating her seventh birthday and hoping for a birthday present from her parents. The family live in the mountains and have to work hard every...

The Mystery at Darcy's Discount Store (Gracie's Mysteries--Super Spy Series Book 1) introduces readers to ten-year-old Graceanne Faith (Gracie). She is a ten-year-old girl who loves to solve mysteries, even going so far as to investigate around her apartment complex every Saturday. While she has...

The Mystery In The Window by Angie Wilson is the second book in the Gracie's Mysteries--Super Spy Series and I think this book is even better than the first one, if that is possible! Ten-and-a-half-year-old Gracie loves nothing more than a good mystery to solve....

Dancing With Tex: The Remarkable Friendship To Save The Whooping Cranes by Lynn Sanders is an uplifting story about saving the Whooping Cranes from extinction. It also speaks about the power of friendship. Tex was born in San Antonio Zoo and Fred, the zoo keeper,...

The illustrations by Siera Tomczak in The Color of Beauty are very realistic. She adds so many tones, shadows, and highlights that really give contrast and bring the illustrations to life. The poetry or musings on color by Goob are very well written. The author...

Gracie's Guide: Gracie Learns About the Dangers of Prescription Drugs by Angie Wilson is a children's book about a young detective named Gracie. One day at school, a boy named Eli was starting to eat what he thought was candy when he is called...

Gracie's Guide: How to Deal with Bullying by Angie Wilson is an educational children's book. It follows a young sleuth named Gracie. A boy named Cooper is bullying her by calling her ugly. Gracie doesn't know how to respond. The bullying gets so bad that...

Gracie’s Guide: Bike Safety is a wonderful story that children and parents can relate to. Author Angie Wilson conveys the emotions of everyone involved in the story and how they felt about bike helmets and safety equipment. Gracie, her BFF, and her mom go...

"The Little Rose" is a beautiful story written by Sheri Fink and illustrated by Mary Erikson Washam. Little Rose was surrounded by weeds and never felt as if she fit in with them. Little Rose was teased, called names and treated poorly by those around...

It Is Only Money: And It Grows on Trees! is a non-fiction business/finance book written by Cara P. MacMillan. The story takes place in a classroom where a teacher named Catherine has written the word, Money, in large capital letters on the blackboard. She invites...

Erase and Rewind by Annemarie Musawale is an interesting science-fiction anecdote about a young girl's lives and her alternatives. Rosemary and Russel are twins. Their mother, Celestine, had been a jazz singer when she married their father. Bored with family life and regretting her decision...

Mighty Big and Super Great: Texas Is The "Lone Star State"! written by Amber Manning, and illustrated by Kory Fluckiger, is an educational children’s book about Texas. It can be said to illustrate a love story between Amber and her state. This book is not...

The wonderful anticipation for any reader of young adult fiction, but an equally difficult challenge for its author, is the always exciting and expectant notion of One … Great … Story. The implication being: The writer had better be a good storyteller. In just such...

The Announcement by Jim D Buchanan is one of the greatest books I have read this year and one that I’d recommend to every reader — and I mean every reader. You may ask: How can a book appeal to every reader? This story won’t...

Little Frenchie and Mirror grew up together and they always spent a lot of time laughing, singing, and playing with each other. Little Frenchie's mother always told her how beautiful and precious she was. Lately Mirror had been telling Little Frenchie hurtful things about her....

The Unexpected Journey: Fire and Gold is an absorbing rendition of true events where author Dedrick L. Moone describes his life experiences as a black disabled father trying to raise a daughter in contemporary America. After losing his job due to discrimination and constant harassment,...

The Christmas Lesson: Unwrapping Love and Family by Dedrick L Moone is a children's adventure story. Lamar is a mischievous little boy who lives in Greensboro. The one thing he loves more than anything else in the world is Christmas: the smell of cookies baking,...

The world Anni lives in has always seemed so normal and straightforward. Being the orphan girl at an all-girl’s school hasn’t always been easy but she’s always had Lexi and Mabel to help her get through it. All of a sudden, however, things are starting...