Moving Words
For me, there is no task more dreaded than moving. Fortunately, the times I have packed up my belongings have always been to move to a better place, but what a chore to go through all that stuff to see what is deemed worthy of carting to the new home! No matter how exciting the new place may be, it never overshadows the amount of hard work that goes into getting there.
Moving is the all-consuming focus of Jamie McKie’s mind in Louisville native Liz Curtis Higgs’ Whence Came a Prince (WaterBrook Press, $13.99), the final installment in the fictionalized account of the Biblical story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. Jamie has fulfilled all the requirements of his conniving father-in-law, Lachlan, and is more than ready to move his family across Scotland to his own estate. As usual, Lachlan has a different plan. Who will win this battle of will and wits, and whose hearts will be broken in the process? Higgs again uses her special ability to take her readers along on an emotional roller coaster ride, causing them to feel her fictional characters’ joy, pain, and fear, while giving new insight into the lives of the Biblical characters. I was sorry to reach the end of the book, so much had I grown to love Jamie, Leana, and Rose.
On a more whimsical note, the latest Woody book has arrived. Shepherdsville author Leigh Anne Florence continues the saga of Woody, the Kentucky Wiener, with A New Home (HotDiggetyDog Press, $12.95). In this tale, Woody becomes alarmed when he spots a For Sale sign in the yard of his home, thinking his parents are selling him and his puppy-sister, Chloe. After Mommy reassures both puppies of her love for them, Woody and Chloe begin to worry about what the new house will be like, if they’ll make new friends, and if Santa will find his way to the new house. Daddy answers all these questions, then teaches the puppies that what makes a house a home is having their family all together. With its comforting words and lilting rhyme, the book is a great teaching tool for children experiencing these same fears of moving.
Since it is summertime, why not take advantage of a beautiful day and have a tea party for the children in your life? Linda J. Hawkins’ book, Catering to Children (Heart to Heart Publishing, $19.99), will lead you through each step of the time-honored tradition of high tea. In the first half of the book, Hawkins, who lives in rural western Kentucky, includes descriptions of the various teas, instructions on brewing and serving, and tea etiquette, presenting several educational opportunities for the children involved. The second half of the book offers numerous kid-friendly recipes for “savories” that can accompany the tea. Barbara Yonts’ sweet photographs of children enjoying these gatherings are an added bonus.
