What a treasure "A Christmas Treasury" is! It is a beautiful hardbound book that the family could enjoy for generations. One thing I noticed about it is that it is timeless. This book has beautiful vintage illustrations that feel so warm and nostalgic. It has 25 chapters that each include poems, stories, and quotes about various topics related to Christmas. They are perfect for reading a chapter each night during the month of December.
Some of the chapters include such beautiful topics as; hope, gratitude, traditions, music, compassion, good ceer, selflessness, family, and testimony. Living each attribute listed would bring us closer to Christ. I look forward to the years ahead with my kids around me reading these beautiful messages.
"The Joy of Believing" by Ardeth G. Kapp is not a long read, but an enjoyable one. It is sectioned into 11 short chapters, each one containing a different story or thought about the true meaning of Christmas and how to let it change our hearts. It is an uplifting read. I especially enjoyed the last few chapters because they really touched me. It has helped me gain a greater measure of the true Christmas spirit and caused me to reflect upon the things that are truly important.
This would make a great gift to give to someone needing a boost of Christmas spirit or to give as visiting or home teaching gifts. It would be a great addition to anyone's Christmas book collection.
This is a beautiful book about adoption. It is very simple and straightforward but it has quite an impact. It comes with a cd of beautiful songs written by Michael McLean. After a short introduction at the beginning, the book proceeds to back up the music by providing short simple messages, pictures and the lyrics to the songs. The music is simply touching. My favorite is the actual song, "From God's Arms to My Arms to Yours". I cried when I heard it because it has such a wonderful spirit to it and you can feel the mother's love for her baby as she sings. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to give your baby to someone else and trust that you have made the right decision. This is a book for all those involved in the adoption process, but I think it would be especially comforting for one who is going through the experience.
Andy McBride and Louisa Martin meet in Medical school and fall in love, but soon realize that they can never have a future because of their backgrounds. Louisa is from a polygamous family that expects her to return home after school and attend to her community's health needs. Brokenhearted, they both go their separate ways after school is over. But true love is not easily dismissed.
What a unique, interesting book! I think almost everyone is a bit fascinated by polygamy. The author has obviously done a lot of research into polygamy and what the goals of a polygamous family are or might be. There were a lot of characters in the book and I had trouble sometimes keeping track of them and who was who. My only real problem was with the sister of Louisa. The author brought her up, explained her and then neglected to do anything else with that information. That bothered me because there was no purpose in her being in the story if she was not going to be used for anything. I'm sure it was an oversight.
What I liked about the book was the topic, it is truly unique, (this is certainly not a predictable love story) and the examples in this book of taking risks and helping someone else, regardless of personal ramifications. I think that sometimes we know we should do something to help someone else - but we're too scared that there may be problems - so we let the opportunity pass by. This book was a great illustration of the difference it can make in someone's life when we take the opportunities to serve others as those opportunities come. You won't be able to put this book down!
Leah Sorensen knows she is blunt and abrasive. Ever since her husband died, she has enough to do trying to take care of her farm and raise her two kids. Her attendance at church is sporadic and she knows people don't like her. When the bishop of her ward calls her to be the Relief Society President in the middle of the Depression - she knows he is out of his mind.
This is a very different kind of book. It took me a while to get into it. It's like a movie that has a slow start while it explains the characters and before you know it, you're captivated by the story - for reasons you don't understand. I couldn't tell you if I liked this book. I just know that I had difficulty putting it down after I got past chapter 2 or 3. The book is a bit scary. What we would do today if there was another Depression? People don't live on farms anymore. That made me realize how vulnerable we really are. Also, this book makes you want to be better in life and in callings in the church. Leah really tries hard to do what's right and half the time she's wrong. She learns a lot about humility and judgements and she is truly human. I thought it was compelling, and I've learned a lot from reading it.
When a boy's tummy rumbles, grumbles and mumbles, it makes him eat more than his fair share. In fact, he eats all of America! He starts out eating his vegetables and ends finishing Kansas. Stranded, in the middle of the ocean with his mom, he learns several lessons.
This book is very cute. The illustrations are adorable and bring the story to life. It has a wonderful message that is easy to understand. Young children thorougly enjoy this book. It is highly entertaining and I recommend it to children ages 2-5 years old.
For her school play, Tasia is picked to be the elf - again. She would have much rather been the ballerina like Katie or the teddy bear like Brianna. They get to wear frilly costumes. But all Tasia gets is a "too-large-for-her-head" green felt hat. Her mom helps her see the importance of the crumpled green hat and her role as an elf by telling her a story taking her to a world full of buttons, fabric and the true meaning of Christmas.
This book is a wonderful bedtime story and a delightful Christmas tale. The book is a little long, so kids younger than three years old might have a hard time paying attention to the whole story. I didn't find it much of a problem though, and I read it to several different age groups. "Always the Elf" is a richly detailed story that captivates audiences around 3-7 years of age, but I enjoyed it too! I highly recommend this book.
"Please, No Zits!" is a fun, easy-to-read collection of short stories written primarily for youth. Each story is set in a different place like Scotland, England, Utah and New Jersey and truly appeals to anyone in the world because these issues are universal. Every story is aimed at teaching a variety of morals in a very gentle way, through uplifting messages. The author is very good about letting the reader come to their own conclusions of how the story ends. You walk away thinking, "In that case, would I have done the right thing?"
I recommend this book for the teen in your life. The author truly understands what teenagers are dealing with today. This book gives them an incentive to stand strong and to try and make the right decisions through the emotions of her characters.
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