Review: Abigale Hall
In a hidden corner of the Welsh countryside, beneath the dark green hills and stretching deep underground, lies a secret.
This is not the sort of book I would usually reach for, even around Halloween. Maybe especially around Halloween. But Madeleine at Top Shelf Text recommended it so highly that I had to give it a try. I’m so glad I did, because while it was an anxiety-inducing novel, it was a really well-written one. Abigale Hall
17-year-old Eliza and her younger sister Rebecca have orphaned due to various events during WWII. Their mother was killed in the Blitz, their father committed suicide, and their aunt very suddenly and mysteriously decides she can no longer care for them and they are sent to work at a crumbling mansion in Wales. They never see the owner, Mr. Brownwell, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Pollard, is . . . off. Eliza tries to make plans to escape back to London, but when she discovers a book covered in blood, she has to figure out what’s going in the house and why none of the other girls hired in the past are alive.
This book made me nervous when I read it, and I genuinely feared for the safety of the characters. If the plot reminds you of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, it’s for a good reason. There are definite similarities between the two, and if you like Rebecca you’ll probably like this book too. The story is creepy and mysterious, but it’s not gory, so if gore bothers you (like it does me) don’t let that keep you from this one! WWII is the backdrop of the story, but I wouldn’t say it’s a major theme in the book.
None of the characters in the book are completely likable, but it was ok because the story drew me in so much. Eliza, who frustrated me at the beginning of the book, does go through some necessary character changes, and I was completely on her side by the end. I don’t want to say much about Rebecca, because her role in the story is twisted and interesting, but suffice it to say that she definitely adds to the creepiness and mystery!
Abigale Hall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What My Kids Are Reading: Thanksgiving Edition 2017!
You guys, I love Christmas. Love. It. I won’t tell you how many VERY LARGE bins of decorations I have, or how many traditions I attempt to foist upon my family, but believe me when I say there are a lot. Of all of it.
BUT.
I also love Thanksgiving! And I have too many turkey decorations to just skip over this holiday for Christmas. Growing up, it was our biggest family holiday, and it continues to be that way. It now includes my family, my husband’s family, and any random friends that happen to need a place to go on Thanksgiving. The food is the best (my mom could take down Martha Stewart any day), the kids have a great time, and some years it’s even cold enough for a fire in the fireplace. (60 degrees or below if we’re hoping for a holiday fire!)
So in honor of the holiday that everyone seems to skip over in order to start decorating for Christmas, I’m going to share some of our favorite Thanksgiving books to read, as well as some new ones that I’ll be adding to our collection. I’ll probably also be sharing some of my many stuffed turkeys on Instagram over the next couple of weeks, so if you want to see just how many I actually have, head over there!
This isn’t a Thanksgiving book, but it might as well be. This is one I grew up reading, and it’s all about Mrs. Hedgehog and her forest friends, the trouble they get into, and the food they make. And somehow, she makes even dandelions sound delicious. I love reading this with my kids in the fall!
The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin
By now, you know that we love the Berenstain Bears, and every year we read this one right before Thanksgiving. Papa Bear decides he’s going to outdo the farmer next door and grow the biggest pumpkin in Bear Country. As you can imagine, things don’t go as planned, and it’s a fun story to read! (Both of my boys still love it.)
Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Tree House 27)
If you have elementary or middle school age kids, this one is great! Jack and Annie are transported back to 1621 for the very first Thanksgiving. They want to help out, but they don’t know how to do things the way the Pilgrims did. They learn what the Pilgrims actually ate back then (not turkey), get an interesting visit from Squanto, and learn what it means to work together.
I got this years ago from a Scholastic book order form, and I still insist on reading it every year. It’s perfect for young kids and great for early readers. There are cute illustrations, and some funny parts about certain family members (grandma falls asleep), and of course there’s a big finale with the final meal!
This is a really fun book for younger kids about a group of turkeys who get into mischief on a train ride. The illustrations are really cute (I do love turkeys), and it’s a fun one to read out loud since it’s written in verse.
If your kids love Olivia (like mine used to), they’ll love her Thanksgiving book! She’s convinced she can “talk turkey” and tries to convince her parents that a turkey would make a great pet. If you can find the TV episode that this is based on, it would be fun to watch and read!
Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving
Do your kids love Pete the Cat? Ours do, and I have to say it’s one of the more fun books to read out loud. In this one, Pete is in the school play about the first Thanksgiving, and as usual, he uses his groovy ways to make it interesting! (There are also flaps with fun pictures hidden underneath.)
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey!
My 6-year-old LOVES this series, and I’m going to get this one for our collection this year! She swallows many things, including a turkey, a football, and a boat. This old lady must have an iron stomach to continue surviving this series.
The Pilgrims Didn’t Celebrate the First Thanksgiving: Exposing Myths About Colonial History
This is for older kids (9 or 10 and up), and if you have a kid who loves history, this is for them. It’s a fun way for kids to find out how the pilgrims really celebrated (or didn’t celebrate) Thanksgiving, and what the true history of Thanksgiving is.
What Was the First Thanksgiving?
This is such a fantastic book series, and so far I’ve loved every one we’ve read. It’s for older kids (8 and up) but I think it would be ok to read to younger kiddos as well. It’s a really great way for kids to learn about the pilgrims, Thanksgiving, the Wampanoag tribe, and how our Thanksgiving celebrations have changed throughout history.
[Top]Review: Mighty Jack Graphic Novels
Mighty Jack
Thanks to the Kid Lit Exchange for the review copies of these books! All opinions are my own.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I am very new to graphic novels. My kids love them, and they are very popular at the school library, so I’m doing more research on them than ever. When these Mighty Jack
In the first novel, Mighty Jack
The first novel ends with Maddy being taken by an ogre into that magical plant world. The second novel, Mighty Jack and the Goblin King
These graphic novels are so good! I think any middle grader who enjoys twisted fairy tales or graphic novels will love these. There are some heavy topics involved, so I would recommend them for ages 9 or 10 and up, but they’re also a lot of fun. The kids go on some big adventures, and they have to learn to work together, and around their differences, to survive.
I also love that while Maddy is a main character with a big role, and her autism simply highlights how she reacts differently to situations and how Jack and Lilly accommodate her, while still including her. She only speaks when something is really, really important to her, and she doesn’t let that disability stop her from having the same adventures.
Mighty Jack
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
[Top]Review: A Fatal Grace
A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
Gamache was the best of them, the smartest and bravest and strongest because he was willing to go into his own head alone, and open all the doors there, and enter all the dark rooms. And make friends with what he found there.
A Fatal Grace
This book takes us back to Three Pines with another mysterious death. This time, CC de Poitiers has been electrocuted in plain site at a curling match. (Does it get any more Canadian than that?) Somehow, no one saw anything, and no one is too upset that CC is dead. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called in to investigate, and he soon realizes that something very strange is going on, and the people of Three Pines may know more than they’re letting on.
Where Still Life
Gamache is one of the best detective characters I’ve ever read, and I love him more with each book. In my review of Still Life (Read that review HERE) I said that I keep thinking I’ll run into him because he’s so well written he seems like a real person. I still feel that way, and I’m kind of disappointed that I’ll never be able to actually meet him.
A Fatal Grace
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
EXTRA!
As with Still Life, A Fatal Grace features the most delicious food, and I wish more than anything that I could sit down for a meal at the local bistro in Three Pines. During the off murdery season, of course. This is such a great series for a book club, especially if you want to tie food in to your meetings. Cozy mystery and great food? That’s all I want for Christmas.
[Top]What My Kids Are Reading: November 3, 2017
The Wizards of Once
Happy November! We are gearing up for the holidays (one down, two and a birthday to go), winding down fall sports, and finding lots of new books! It’s hard to get my kids to read anything but Harry Potter these days (as evidenced above), but we’re working on finding books that are just as worthy.
The 8-Year-Old
The Wizards of Once
We received this in our very first OwlCrateJr. subscription box, and I’m stealing it as soon as my son is finished with it. This is written by Cressida Cowell, author of the How to Train Your Dragon
The 6-Year-Old
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Well, this is probably the millionth time I’ve talked about Harry Potter here, and it definitely won’t be the last. My 6-year-old is trying to read this on his own, but I’m mainly reading it to him because it’s a little difficult. He heard most of it when I read it to my 8-year-old, but he wants to start the series just for him now. And I’m ok with that!
What We’re Reading Together
The Magician’s Nephew
We’ve finally started the Narnia series! I’ve been dying to start this with my kids, and we’re reading about a chapter a night. My 8-year-old was a bit resistant, because he doesn’t want to read anything except Harry Potter right now, but he is loving it! My 6-year-old is too, and it’s tough to find a book that both of them love. I decided to read the series in chronological order, not publication order, and I THINK I’m ok with that. This book tells the story of the beginning of Narnia, and it makes me even more excited to read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to them next!
EXTRA!
Those bookmarks you see (Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and Lucy Pevensie in The Magician’s Nephew) are from Carrot Top Paper Shop. Y’all, she has the cutest female literary hero prints and bookmarks. I have a bunch, and I have a feeling my collection is only going to get bigger. (I’m not affiliated with her shop or sponsored or anything-I’m just a huge fan!)
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