children’s book

Several New Books in 2024!

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by Sandra Merville Hart

My fellow ERASER admins and I have had a productive year for our books. We invite you to consider these books for the reader on your list or as a gift for yourself. šŸ˜Š

Waiting for Sunset is a contemporary romance by Starr Ayers that released on September 28th.

When Olivia Houstonā€™s need to let go collides with her reason to move on, she finds herself thrust into a tomorrow she didnā€™t see coming.

A Certain Man, Book 1 in A Certain Future, is a Biblical Fiction novel by Linda Dindzans that released on August 13th. This is Lindaā€™s debut novel and weā€™re grateful it wonā€™t be her last!

There was a certain manā€¦He offered an outcastā€”a shunned, shamed womanā€”a new life.  

What would Happen? is a Childrenā€™s book written by KD Holmberg that will release on January 13, 2025. Itā€™s geared to ages 3-8.

Imagine a world where every ā€œWhat Would Happen?ā€ becomes an adventure!

The Case of the Stolen Memories, Book 3 in A Mac & Sam Mystery, is a contemporary suspense novel by Deborah Sprinkle that released on August 20th. Death Under the Ice, Book 4 in Trouble in Pleasant Valley, is her newest book set to release on December 17th!

Here’s the hook for Death Under the Ice:

What happened to Homeland Security Analyst Claire Greenā€™s brother, and why is someone coming after her now?

Three of my booksā€”Sandra Merville Hartā€”released in 2024. Streams of Courage, Book 4 in Spies of the Civil War, released on March 26th.  A Spring at The Greenbrier, Book 6 in Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts, is a nostalgic inspirational story set at the beautiful The Greenbrier resort. River of Peril, Book 5 in Spies of the Civil War, released on October 15th. (Tides of Healing, Book 6 in Spies of the Civil War, is the last book in the seriesā€”that one will release on February 11, 2025.)

Hereā€™s the hook for River of Peril:

Amnesia stole his memory, and now heā€™s fighting for the wrong side.

Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

My young grandchildren love for us to tell them knock-knock jokes. We remembered a few but then drew a blank.

So when I found this delightful joke book geared to children 6 ā€“ 9, I snatched it up. The children have enjoyed it as much as Iā€™d hoped. In fact, the seven-year-old reads them to us!

I recommend this fun book for children 5 ā€“ 9.

Amazon

The U.S. History Cookbook by D’Amico and Drummond

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Delicious Recipes and Exciting Events From the Past

I love to find books suitable for elementary grade children. This one not only gives some fun facts from U.S. History, it also includes easy recipes for children to make with their parents. I love it!

The first part of the book shows sketches of items used in cooking, such as a pastry blender or a rolling pin, and how they are used.

The next part explains cooking terms with sketches for cutting, measuring, stovetop cooking, and separating eggs. And I love that thereā€™s also a section about safety. The authors put a lot of thought into this cookbook.

After that, each chapter provides historical background, ā€œFun Food Facts,ā€ and recipes representing the time period.

Included in this book are chapters on Colonial Fare, The First Thanksgiving, A Pioneer Breakfast, and World War II Rations, to name a few.

Very well-done cookbook for children. I love that it also teaches them a bit of history along the way. šŸ˜Š

Recommend for elementary children and perhaps a year or two into the middle-grade category.

Amazon

Mandie and the Cherokee Legend by Lois Gladys Leppard

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Book 2 of the Mandie Mysteries series

I loved the historical story of this book. I was happy to learn more about the Cherokees who stayed behind in North Carolina after the tragic Trail of Tears.

Mandie is a young girl traveling to the home of her Cherokee relatives when the story begins. Her cousin, Tsaā€™ni, doesnā€™t like her at all and causes trouble for her many times during the story.

After Tsaā€™ni leaves Mandie and her friends in a cave to find their own way out, they find something that would greatly help their tribe. This discovery stirs up more trouble, adding to the adventures of the novel.

There are plenty of adventures for this spunky heroineā€”and danger, too. This book is a page-turner for young readers, who will want to know what happens next.

I enjoyed this story. I didnā€™t learn Mandieā€™s age, which is an important detail for children reading the story. Perhaps I missed it.

So much backstory from the previous book was given in the first chapter that it slowed down the story. The chapters also seem a bit long for the targeted age group.

As an author of historical novels set in American history, I enjoyed learning details of everyday life.

Recommended for children 8 to 14 and for lovers of American history.

https://www.christianbook.com/the-mandie-collection-volume-1/lois-leppard/9780764204463/pd/204463

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

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by Sandra Merville Hart

This childrenā€™s chapter book is a treasure.

I read it many times to my daughter when she was in elementary school.

Wanda Petronski didnā€™t come to school for a couple of days before Maddie missed her. Wanda was quiet. She didnā€™t have any friends at school. She wore the same clean, faded blue dress every day.

So when she claims to have a hundred beautiful dresses in her closet, the girls laugh at her. Then they ask her about them daily.

Maddie is poor too. She doesnā€™t laugh or ask Wanda to describe the dresses as Peggy, her best friend, does.

As the days pass and Wanda doesnā€™t return, Maddie begins to worry about her and to examine her own actions.

A poignant story with believable characters that tug at your heart.

Recommended for children in elementary school.   

https://www.christianbook.com/the-hundred-dresses-eleanor-estes/9780152052607/pd/2052607

Stuart Little by E.B. White

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Stuart Little is a mouse, but one thing that makes him extraordinary is that his mother, father, and older brother are human.

Since Stuart is only two inches tall, his bed is a cigarette box. He has plenty of adventures with his family and the family cat before Margalo, a beautiful bird, comes to live with the family.

Stuart exudes confidence and gets into many scrapes dangerous to a mouse.

I didnā€™t read this book as a child when I might have liked it. As an adult, the story seems disjointed. He acts like more like an adult than a child from the beginning. When Stuart is seven, he leaves his home in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. At seven, he didnā€™t ask permission to leave, which a young child will notice.

The main character isnā€™t successful in his quest to find his friend Margalo, who flew north. The book ends on a vague note with no real ending or resolution. It almost seems the author grew bored with the story or perhaps ran out of ideas.

After loving Charlotteā€™s Web, another book by the same author, I was disappointed in this one.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Newberry Honor Book

I read this book as a child and loved it. When I read it as an adult, I saw other levels of meaning.

This book is about friendship. Wilbur the pig is the runt of the litter. Fern, a little girl on the farm where the pig lives, rescues him and raises the farm animal as her pet.

Wilbur becomes friends with Charlotte, a spider in the barn where they both live. When the pig learns heā€™s in danger, he turns to Charlotte. This amazing spider helps him.

The characters in this story are believable and relatable. Friendship and sacrifice are part of this classic childrenā€™s story.

Recommend for children in elementary school.

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Book 4 of the Little House series

I loved this book!

I found this book among my daughterā€™s childhood collection and read it. What a refreshing read!

Laura Ingalls is seven when her family moves to Minnesota. Their first home is a sod home by Plum Creek, and they all have much to learn about living thereā€”including what the term ā€œgrasshopper weatherā€ implies.

Her father plants a wheat crop that will pay for a new home and buy many things the family has had to do without. Then tragedy strikes.

I love Lauraā€™s feisty character and how she longs to be more like her older sister Mary, who is always obedient. Every character is well-defined and lovable.

The descriptions of everyday life and Lauraā€™s new experiences captivated me as a reader. As an author of historical novels set in American history, those details took on deeper meaning. I loved it!

I read some of this series as a child. I look forward to reading the whole collection!

Recommend for children in elementary school and for lovers of American history.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Winner of the Newbery Medal

This simple childrenā€™s story gripped me from the first page.

The story opens with Annaā€™s mother giving birth to Caleb. Her mother died the next day and it took three days for Anna to love her brother.

Several years pass. Readers arenā€™t told how old the children are when her father places an ad for a mail-order bride. Sarah writes that she will come for one month ā€¦ just to try it.

On the prairie, Anna and Caleb are desperate for a mother. Will she stay?

I love the characters in this story. It drew me in so that I wanted to keep reading. The story is told entirely from Annaā€™s perspective.

Another thing I loved is how children will read it on one level and adults will see another level of meaning.

Recommend for elementary and middle grade readers!

That Grand Easter Day! by Jill Roman Lord

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by Sandra Merville Hart

What a delightful childrenā€™s picture book!

I love childrenā€™s stories that rhyme, especially when it builds and expands it with each new page. What I mean by that is that the phrase on the first page is included in following pages to tell the story.

This book is about the day that Jesus arose from the dead on that first Easter. Iā€™ve read this to my children in my life who were captured by the story and the rhythm of the words.

Well-done! I love this book and its illustrations. Recommended for children from 2 ā€“ 7.

https://www.christianbook.com/that-grand-easter-day/jill-lord/9780824956806/pd/956806