Firefly Hollow

Miriam,

I read this book to the kids and the boys even got it! This one might be great for your girls as well. It's a book about a firefly who lives in a community of fireflies who live in fear! They teach the young fireflies to fear humans and fear the unknown. The author actually named the main characters "Firefly" and "Cricket" so it makes things a lot easier to understand for the kids. Firefly decides she wants to leave the tree of safety and venture out to see where a mysterious song is coming from. She meets a friend from the cricket community and they become friends. Both friends are excited about getting close to humans, in particular one particular kid. They succeed in their quest but meet plenty of challenges a long the way. The boy which they befriend also has experienced heartache and the friendship is much needed for the child as well.

The end of the book is pretty good but I wouldn't put it on my list of best endings. My favorite aspects of the book is that it's simple and easy to understand, even for B and M. Each night of reading there would be new things that happened in the story. It moved quickly.

The kids asked about when Firefly loses a firefly close to her. They were sad but the story talks about how he is up in the stars glowing. It was a loss in the story but the author provided a way to deal with the loss as part of the story. We also talked about how friendships also pop up in ways we least expect them.

Good easy read, would recommend for a cute story to read to the girls, especially in the summer time because that is when the story takes place.

I'm lucky I live where there are fireflies, wish you did too!

Talk soon,
Hannah

Click HERE for the Amazon Link

The War That Saved My Life

Miriam,

I have a great book to tell you about. I just finished reading it to the kids and a tragic girl's life became something we all felt warm and fuzzy about at the end. It's interesting that on Amazon it lists it under the category of "child dysfunctional relationships" or something of the sort. The main character, Ada, was raised in a super abusive home where her mom kept her locked in the house because she was ashamed of her club foot. The way her "Mam" treated her was even horrific for an animal. WWII in England pushed children from London out to the country to avoid bombings. Ada and her brother end up with a woman who wasn't prepared for children and had her own pain she was dealing with. The relationship becomes symbiotic as there is healing on both sides. Ada has PTSD (not stated in the book but pretty obvious) and it's beautiful the way that Susan (her caretaker) is able to love her regardless of her unpredictable and reactive behavior. The buildup to the end is really heart-wrenching and you wonder if the children will have happiness in their lives.

The story provided discussion points about poverty, abusive relationships, the history of WWII, sibling bonds and the sacrifices we make for those we love. It also opened up discussion about trauma and how it effects the way people form relationships. This literature was very enriching for me as well as K. The boys had limited understanding but did get glimpses here and there.

Also a bonus for a horse lover as I know you and your daughters are.

Happy Reading!

Love,
Hannah

Click HERE for the Amazon Link

Hello and Welcome

Hello and welcome to our blog!

My name is Hannah. I am a mother of 3, K (10 yr old daughter) and B and M (5 yr old twin boys). I have 5 sisters and three brothers so I grew up with a life full of imagination and LOTS of reading. I don't think I always had the best attitude when my mom would sit us down for reading of Little House on the Prairie or The Christmas Carol (my attitude has been adjusted, don't worry).

About a year and a half ago I started reading the Harry Potter series to my kids. My daughter loved them and they provided so many opportunities to discuss very important things such as friendship, loyalty, prejudice, and family. We finished about one book every 2 weeks (and those books are not short). Every night I sit in my daughter's room, where all three of them can hear me (even my husband sits and listens), and I read. We have taken journeys through many books now and we have been blessed by the author's rich words and life lessons. We have also been thoroughly entertained by many fantastic adventures.

My daughter is now writing fantastic stories full of meaning and original ideas. She raises her hand in class to share insight on a book the teacher is reading to the class. Her teacher is constantly baffled at her level of understanding. I believe reading books out loud to children is a priceless gift we can all give. K and I visit the library after we are done with a book and sample different books. We write a "reserve list" so we have one for next time and we pick one to read that time. This has been priceless time together.

Where does the blog name come in to play? Well, one of my many beautiful, smart, gorgeous sisters happens to be the ear to all my book reviews and I have always heard her book reviews as well. She is an avid reader and always has deep insight on books. Her and I have decided to start a blog and just write each other a letter about the books we have read. We will try to write them as close to the way we would talk to each other. We tend to like young adult and children's novels (think Harry Potter, Charlotte's Web, etc.). My hope is that this will bring great ideas for books to read to your children. If you have any questions please leave a comment!

Thanks,
Hannah