Tag Archives: book review

Cookbook Review: Miserly Meals by Jonni McCoy

It isn’t very often that I give a book review that indicates that the book is mediocre at best or not worth even checking out of the library, but there is always a first time. Unfortunately, this book is Miserly Meals by Jonni McCoy, and it aims to provide “healthy, tasty recipes under 75 cents per serving,” something that we could probably all use. Out of all of the recipes in the book, I choose three promising ones and went to work. On the positive side, McCoy does take advantage of low-cost ingredients and provides plenty of good information, such … Continue reading →

Trusting God Despite Hardship

Fiction reflects life to us, I believe. I’m an avid reader though not usually of Christian fiction. However, recently from our library I picked up ‘All the Days of My Life’ by Jo-Anne Berthelsen, published by Ark House Press. This is the third book I have read by Ark House Press and they have each been very different but all interesting. Although written as fiction, it was ‘inspired by the real-experiences of a post-war Czech immigrant to Australia.’ The book was also a sequel to Helena which I hadn’t read. It didn’t matter. I quickly became interested in the story … Continue reading →

Book Review: We Belong Together

We Belong Together: a Book about Adoption and Families is written in author-illustrator Todd Parr’s signature style of simple drawings in bright colors with thick black outlines. Some people have commented that Parr’s books seem to really engage toddlers and young preschoolers more than others. I believe the illustrations are a big reason why. (Some people also wish the books were available in board book format, to better survive their young admirers’ intentions.) This book is easily short enough to be enjoyed by toddlers, but older kids will find matter-of-fact reassurance in it as well. (My older kids and I … Continue reading →

Book Review: You’re Not My REAL Mother!

“You’re Not My REAL Mother!” is one adoptive mother’s answer to the remark that most adopted kids probably make at one time or another. Molly Friedrich’s is a mother of four, including a daughter adopted from Vietnam and a son adopted from Guatemala. This book, You’re Not My REAL Mother! is her first book and is based on the answer she gave her daughter when she made the dreaded declaration. Friedrich “took a deep breath and thought fast”. The book’s approach is for the adoptive mother to say, “of course I am, my darling! Does a real mother [have tea … Continue reading →

Book Review: Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy

A few months ago I finished reading Tony Dungy’s book Quiet Strength. At the time I read the book we were going through a very difficult time with our special needs child, who had just had a very painful surgery and had to be in the hospital for a week. It was encouraging to me to read about a successful man like Tony Dungy, who had struggled himself a lot as a player and a coach, even getting fired from his first job as a head coach. What struck me about the book was how a man who is obviously … Continue reading →

Book Review: “Mistaken Identity”

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Imagine for a moment losing your daughter in an automobile accident. You go through grieving for your child for about a month, only later to learn that she survived. That’s was one family’s experience. The other family is told that their child is the only one who survived a terrible crash and that she is in a coma. The parents spend about a month believing that their loved one will pull through, only to find out that once the child wakes up, she is not their daughter at all. And that there real daughter died in the accident. It is … Continue reading →

What Your Mother Never Told You: a Survival Guide for Teenage Girls – Richard M. Dudum

Our teenagers today are facing more pressure, more trials than ever before, and author Richard M. Dudum wants to give our daughters a clear, unmistakable message: you don’t have to conform to anyone else’s idea of what you should be. You can decide for yourself if you’re going to get involved in drugs, if you’re going to have sex, if you’re going to play into the social games. He does this in his new book, “What Your Mother Never Told You,” and he does it in down-to-earth language that can’t be misinterpreted. Several different topics are covered in this book, … Continue reading →

A Small Gift With a Big Impact

Christmas shopping this year was made a little easier. Along with the gifts bought for family and friends, I included for each person a copy of ‘The Singing Silence’ by Anne Hamilton. Earlier this year I felt privileged to have been asked to edit this book. It’s only a little book but it packs a great wallop. It is filled with interesting detail and information. I was blown away by what I read. You can read a review of it up on my ‘Write and Read with Dale’ blog or under non fiction at Aussie Reviews-a great site that reviews … Continue reading →

Book Review: Throwaway Daughter

I read this book with a mixture of fascination and horror. The author of Throwaway Daughter, Ting-Xing Le, lived through the Cultural Revolution in China and worked as a translator before defecting to the West. (Her life story is told in her memoir A Leaf in the Bitter Wind.) Throwaway Daughter, however, is a novel about a Chinese girl adopted to Canada who goes back to look for her Chinese family. The American Library Association listed it on its Best Books for Young Adults, but I would warn parents against giving this volume to children. Parents should read it first … Continue reading →

Book Review: We Wanted You

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We Wanted You, by Liz Rosenberg, is a wonderful addition to a child’s library, especially the library of a child who came to his or her family through adoption. The book is simple enough to be understood by a three-year-old, yet the beautiful illustrations by Peter Catalanotto will appeal to younger and older readers, and the message of love will be reassuring to adoptees of any age. The words and pictures interact uniquely to tell the story of Enrique. The pictures begin with the present and go back to the past, while the words tell the adoptive parents’ story from … Continue reading →