Sandra Merville Hart

Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Book written by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt

I love to share about cute picture books with a message when I find them.

This is a rhyming book, which appeals to young children.

The “Whatif” monster keeps the boy in the story too afraid to try anything new.

Like climbing a tree or playing with a new friend or playing baseball or eating a new dish. Then the boy realizes that each of those situations could as easily turn out well.

This story could help children who are afraid to try new things. Parents may first want to read the picture book—and any book their child wants to read for the message it conveys.

I liked the book and recommend it for children from 3 – 7.  

Amazon  

A Picture of Hope by Liz Tolsma

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Heroines of WWII Series

American Journalist Nellie Wilkerson has been in London during the daily bombings, just waiting for a chance to get to France where the fighting is intense. She seizes the opportunity to disguise her identity to get there with her camera. The Allies are there now so she should be able to convince one of the units to take her along to the front lines. She doesn’t intend to accept no as an answer. She’ll snap photos to back up the story of what’s really happening.

Jean-Paul Breslau is determined to find his comrades but stumbles upon Nellie, alone in the French countryside with a dead soldier. He can’t turn his back on her any more than he can walk away from Claire, the little girl they find in a village, who is the sole survivor of terrible fire set by the Germans. Claire has Down Syndrome and the Germans will kill her.

Their paths cross with others who resist the German soldiers. Danger escalates with each chapter.

This book is a page turner! Readers will find themselves pulling for the children in this story to reach safety. The characters are likeable, strong, and determined—though the heroine’s insistence on having her own way frustrated me as a reader. She placed herself and her companions in more danger through her choices.

Recommended for readers who enjoy World War II stories.

Christianbook.com

Broccoli Casserole Recipe

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by Sandra Merville Hart

A restaurant near my home recently added broccoli casserole to their listing of side dishes. It’s delicious! I’ve ordered it three or four times before deciding to create my own version. It’s been a few years since I’ve made one because my husband doesn’t like broccoli. I can’t believe how well this new recipe turned out! It’s so easy! The longest part of the preparation was chopping the fresh broccoli florets and steaming them. It requires about twenty minutes to prepare, not including baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

INGREDIENTS

6 cups chopped fresh broccoli florets (3 heads)

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

2-3 slices Colby or American cheese

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Ritz crackers, about 15

In a medium saucepan, heat about ½ cup of water (should be enough water so that the water level is about an inch) to simmering boil. Add fresh broccoli, cover, and reduce heat to low and cook until almost tender or about 7 minutes.

(If using frozen broccoli, reduce the cook time to 4-5 minutes.)

Remove broccoli from heat. Drain.

Prepare a medium-sized casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the broccoli to the dish. Next, layer the Colby or American cheese (I used Colby) on top of the broccoli. It won’t completely cover the vegetable—it adds to the melted goodness of the other cheeses.

Next, sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese. Then sprinkle on the cheddar cheese. (You may not need the whole ½ cup, depending on the dish you use.)

Crumble the Ritz crackers over the top. Then drizzle the melted butter on top.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes or until the crackers on top are lightly browned.

Delicious! The blend of the three cheeses absolutely melts in my mouth. It gives the casserole a bit of the creaminess that other recipes add with creamy soups or mayonnaise mixtures.

Since my husband doesn’t eat this vegetable, this side dish is sometimes my main meal for lunch. I love it and hope you will too.   

Enjoy!

A Christmas Tradition: Epiphany

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Epiphany is a word that Christians use to describe the day that the Magi from the East found Jesus. The meaning of epiphany is a sudden, striking realization.

The Twelve Days of Christmas begin on December 25th with a celebration of the Jesus’ birth and end on January 6th, which is traditionally celebrated as the day the Magi’s visit.

In the Middle Ages, Epiphany was also known as Twelfth Night or King’s Day.

Prince Albert and Queen Victoria of England turned this celebration into a family celebration in middle of the nineteenth century. It celebrated the Magi’s revelation at finding the Christ child.

The holiday season was celebrated from Christmas Eve to the Eve of Epiphany, when families sang songs and took down decorations. They attended church services on the Eve of Epiphany. Aromas from baked or simmered herbs reminded Christians of the Magi’s gifts.

Children left food for the wise men and hay for their camels that night. The food was usually gone the next morning, replaced by gold coins. This gift-giving was gradually replaced by Santa Claus in the United States and Father Christmas in England late in the 1800s.

Children in Germany dress up as Magi on January 6th and follow a child holding a star to find baby Jesus.

Epiphany is called “King’s Day” in parts of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Argentina. Wise men leave presents on the Eve of Epiphany. “King’s cake” is often served as part of the next day’s celebration.

Children fill shoes with barley for the Magi’s livestock in Italy and Spain.

A ship sails into many Spanish seaports on the morning of Epiphany with the Magi on board. These wise men give candy to children lining the sidewalks.

It’s fun to discover some of the different traditions associated with the 12 Days of Christmas.

 

Sources

Collins, Ace. Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, Zondervan, 2003.

Kennedy, Lesley. “How 25 Christmas Traditions Got Their Start,” History, 2020/11/12

https://www.history.com/news/christmas-traditions-history.

The First Christmas

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by Sandra Merville Hart

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:26-28 (NIV)

Joseph paced back and forth in his carpenter’s shop, hardly knowing what was best to do. Mary had promised herself to him … yet she had returned with child from a visit at her aunt’s home.

She had been gone three months. Did it take so little time for her to forget her promise to marry him? To be true to him?

He had no union with her. They had waited for their wedding vows. And now her betrayal tore his very heart from his chest.

Never had he considered this possibility, that his sweet Mary would return as a pregnant woman. He raked his fingers through his dark hair. How he loved her.

Did she really expect him to believe that an angel had visited her? She said the child she carried was the son of the Most High and that He was to be called Jesus. Really? They had long awaited a Savior, and to blame her indiscretion on the Lord when she had obviously fallen in love with another man was more cruel than the act itself.

Yet Joseph loved her, even though she had betrayed him. He would not bring public disgrace upon her. He’d divorce her quietly.

With a heavy heart, he lay down on his mat expecting sleep to be a long time in coming. He fell asleep and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.

“Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”*

Joseph awoke with a sense of wonder, as if a heavy burden tumbled from his back. Mary had been telling the truth … the angel confirmed it.

His head spun to marvel that he, a poor carpenter, was being entrusted to raise Jesus along with Mary. God’s own Son.

Highly favored, indeed. Just as the angel told Mary.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7 (NIV)

*Matthew 1:21b-22 (NIV)

A Miser. A Manger. A Miracle. by Marianne Jordan

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This story is a retelling of Charles Dickens’s classic The Christmas Carol, done with creative twist.

Set in the time of Jesus, this novel transports the reader from the manger to the cross. In this beautifully written story, Jordan shows surprising parallels between the characters of Jesus’ day and the time of Dickens.

Reading this book prepared my heart for Christmas. A touching and powerful story.

Highly recommended!

-Review by Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

Christmas Dinner in the 1870s

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Christmas dinner is a big meal at our house. We roast a turkey large enough to feed the family and provide leftovers for pot pies and sandwiches. There are plenty of side dishes with everyone’s holiday favorites. Dessert always includes at least pumpkin and chocolate pies. There are plenty of Christmas cookies too.

I thought this was a big meal until I read suggestions for Christmas dinners in an 1870s cookbook.

Here are the meats:

Clam soup, baked fish, Holland sauce;

Roast turkey with oyster dressing and celery or oyster sauce, roast duck with onion sauce, broiled quail, chicken pie

There were numerous side-dishes:

Baked potatoes in jackets, sweet potatoes, baked squash, stewed carrots, turnips, canned corn, southern cabbage, tomatoes, canned pease (peas);

Graham bread, rolls; plum jelly, crabapple jelly;

Salmon salad or herring salad, pickled cabbage, mangoes, French or Spanish pickles, Chili sauce, gooseberry catsup; and

Beets, sweet pickled grapes, and spiced nutmeg melon.

There were lots of dessert choices:

Christmas plum pudding with sauce, Charlotte Russe;

Pies—mince, peach, and coconut;

Cakes—citron, White Mountain, pound, Neapolitan, and French loaf;

Cookies—peppernuts, ladyfingers, centennial drops, almond or hickory nut macaroons;

Candy—coconut caramels, chocolate drops;

And even ice cream!—orange or pineapple

Beverage choices were coffee, tea, and Vienna chocolate.

If large families (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) prepared even a third of these dishes, they undoubtedly had one thing in common with us—leftovers!

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

 

 

Five & Dime Christmas

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

In the 1880s, the Woolworth’s Five and Dime department store has a home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This nostalgic place is the setting for four historical novellas in the Five & Dime Christmas collection.

I enjoyed this collection! Of course, I had my favorites yet each story took me back in time. I thank the authors for the historical glimpses into this store. Likeable characters drew me into their heartache and struggles. I love reading Christmas books during the holiday!

There wasn’t a lunch counter in the 1880s, as the authors mentioned in their notes, yet this feature greatly added to the atmosphere of the stories.

In A Merry Little Christmas by Susanne Dietze, Hattie, a store clerk, discovers that her favorite customer inadvertently threatens her struggling brother’s job.

In A Home for Christmas by Patty Smith Hall, Essie, a socialite working as a store clerk, is intrigued by a pastor who has taken six homeless young boys into his home.

Alone this year, Lizzie’s job is her sole support in The Light of Christmas by Christina Lorenzen. Can she save her home on her salary? The new bookkeeper wonders how to help.

Lunch with Maggie by Cynthia Hickey finds Maggie, who works the lunch counter, making a friendship with a widower and his young daughter, regulars at her counter. Maggie, who’d been jilted on her wedding day, refuses to trust another man with her heart.

An enjoyable, nostalgic Christmas collection!

Christianbook.com

Announcing the Second Edition Release of Six Books!

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Exciting news! My publisher, Wild Heart Books, is releasing a second edition of my books today, December 11th, directly into Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited! Each new edition includes new bonus content in the back matter.

They’ll be in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited library again!

If you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, even if you purchased the first edition, it would be so helpful for us if you download the book as one of your free borrows. Flip through it to see the new parts!

Here are the links to the new editions:

Second Chances series

A Not So Convenient Marriage, Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPKHVHS5

 A Not so Persistent Suitor, Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPKGVHPR

 A Not So Peaceful Journey, Book 3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPKLZH2L

 Spies of the Civil War series

 Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPH312KW

 Boulevard of Confusion, Book 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPH1QFDC

 Byway to Danger, Book 3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPGLN3PF

We’re working to really give these new editions a great start, so any way you can help would be fantastic!

Each of our readers is important to us. Please share this information with your reader friends.

Thank you SO much for your support! 

Other Wild Hearts books also recently rereleased. This list includes my books. New books will be added to this list as they are rereleased. Be sure to save this universal link so you can find them: 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/wmtseriesbundle