A good story from a first time writer...

I read the author's bio before I read this book and realized it is his first book. I have to say--I have read a lot of books this year and I have really come to appreciate how hard it must be to write a book. I've tried several times, but blogging is all I have time for right now. When I blog, I only write short entries. Undertaking an entire novel would be a very different thing. All that said, I think Dan Walsh does a great job his first time around the block!

To read an excerpt from this story: http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719241.pdf

The story is set in the 40s during World War II. I believe it is set in Baltimore (I don't know of any other town with a Baltimore Pike). It made sense to me in light of the details included, because Baltimore is just south of the Mason Dixon line--it's not exactly in the North and not exactly in the south--but somewhere in between. A young boy has just come to live with his grandfather. His mother has died and his father is away at the war. The story centers around the young boy and the broken relationship between his widowed grandfather and his father. I don't like giving away details about stories because it's much more fun to read them for yourself. So, I don't want to say much more than that.

I enjoyed the historical details woven into the story. I learned a lot. The details about race relations during that time period were different than what I've read in most books, but they were different because they simply haven't been included in other stories I've read. I grew up out west and so did my father's family, so much of the details about the relationships between people at that time on the east coast are very foreign to me. I've been learning a lot about over the past 8 years that we've lived on the east coast.

The only thing I wished had been different about the book was that things were wrapped up a little too quickly and a little too neatly at the end. But, that said, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book and I look forward to reading more by this author!

Please note: I did receive a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher--but it is one I would have bought myself, borrowed from a friend, or checked out from the library on my own!

Great Christmas Bible StoryBook and DVD!

A few months ago, I received the Read And Share Bible for Autumn and I wrote a review of it that I posted it on this blog. I'm not sure exactly what I wrote--but we have loved this Bible Story Book! It is very biblical and has really caused me to think about what the Bible says and what it doesn't.

I don't have the DVD version of the Bible, but have been curious about it. So, I was very excited to receive a copy of The Christmas Story storybook from Thomas Nelson. It includes a DVD with a sampling of the stories on the Read and Share DVD Bible.

This storybook is a larger sized storybook than the read and share Bible that includes the stories about Zecharias, Elizabeth, and John, as well as the stories about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus' birth. My 6 year old enjoyed the pages at the end which ask you to tell the story with the pictures (which are out of order). The stories on each page tell a story (they don't have to be combined all together and then put in order).

We all enjoyed the storybook and then really enjoyed the DVD. I think it's a very tricky thing to do--to bring to life the stories from the Bible without reading into them and adding details that aren't there. But, Thomas Nelson does a great job with the stories that are in this DVD. I highly recommend this book--the storybook and the DVD!