Book Reviews

Find book reviews and tips on blog posts below.

Our Marriage with a Trip to the Emerald City

Our Marriage with a Trip to the Emerald City

The Emerald City lies in the center of the Land of Oz, at the end of the yellow brick road in Frank Baum’s fabled story, The Wizard of Oz, first published in 1900.  In the center of the city is the fairy-tale Palace where the redoubtable Wizard resides.    ...

Spicy, Sweet Scent of Hyacinths – Ahhh!

Spicy, Sweet Scent of Hyacinths – Ahhh!

  Excerpt from “Easter and Politics,” chapter 24 in Mennonite Daughter: The Story of a Plain Girl   Two doors led into Grandma Longenecker’s kitchen. On this particular Sunday, we aimed for her back door. After Daddy parked our car alongside the back porch,...

Mennonite Man Crafts a Valentine Menu

Mennonite Man Crafts a Valentine Menu

Mennonite Man, Willard Roth, reared on Iowa farmland, has a long career as             Journalist             Author             Church leader             World traveler . . . and always a Cook and Entertainer   Mennonite Men Can Cook Too (2015) is a compilation...

12 Christmas Writing Prompts

12 Christmas Writing Prompts

Wendy Jayne Scott, my author friend from New Zealand, offers writing prompts to engage young people in storytelling by firing up their imaginations (ages 6-up)   Here are 3 examples from her book of 12 prompts: It’s Christmas Eve, and you’re supposed to be tucked...

Moments of Discovery # 6: Whip up Recipes, Stir in Imagination

Clearing out a house after death is a sacred act, yet no amount of holiness assigned to this task can dismiss the back-breaking, shoulder-aching, neck-craning job of sorting, recycling, and passing on to others the possessions of a loved one. Aside from clothing and...

Grandmother Kayaks from Maine to Guatemala for the Children at the Dump

Grandmother Kayaks from Maine to Guatemala for the Children at the Dump These were the words in my invitation to a reception promoting Project Safe Passage honoring Dr. Deb Walters' efforts to raise funds via her Kayak trips. A stellar professional career behind her,...