BottomlessBookBag

    As you are looking for best-of-the-best in Realistic Fiction genre, I recommend The Paperboy by Vince Vawter. This Newbery award winner could be considered Historical Fiction, depending on YOUR age. For me personally, it is realistic as I am reading about life in a small town in the 1950's. If you were morn after 1990, it will seem to be more historical. For nostalgia and vintage seekers, it is one of the most realistic, and accurate to the times, story I've read. Vawter frequently includes television, movies, and athletic heroes well known during those "HAPPY DAYS"  of 1950 to 1960.    More important is the story of an 11 year-old boy who stutters. During this time period, little could be done to help stutterers. Research in providing strategies to overcome traumatic speech problems was sadly lacking. As our hero approaches the trauma of adolescence, he is further stressed while trying to communicate through his stuttering disability. The story is m...

  A dollar for the paper growls a tall man in a raggedy coat. His hair sticks up higgledy-piggledy all over his head. He thrusts a thin newspaper toward Lily's mother. Lily hides, clutching her mother's coat as she peeks out. I was drawn to Lily and the Paperman   simply because of the name Lily. My mother, who preferred being called Peggy, was named after her grandmother. The spelling Lily-dell was a little different and mother could never quite get used to the dell as an addendum to the name Lily. When I read Lily and the Paperman by Rebecca Upjohn and illustrated by Renne Benoit, I was captivated by a little girl whose generous heart also reminded me of my mother as a child. Being very tender-hearted she would have reacted just as our storybook Lily did on a cold city sidewalk.   The story is set in a major metropolitan area in a cold climate. Lily and her parents live in a high-rise apartment with an elevator rather than a front porch or a back...

Sugar In Milk

  Picture books, as a form of publication, are usually written for young readers, even nonreaders. But, there are many "picture books" with higher vocabulary and abstract ideas that would need an adult to explain to a young child. Grandma’s Gift, written and illustrated by Eric Velasquez is one such picture book. Assigned to the genre biography/memoir, the story is the realistic event described by a young boy whose family lives in Spanish Harlem, New York City. Sometimes referred to as El Barrio , this culturally rich community is Spanish speaking and African American in heritage. Receiving the Pura Belpre Award , some would call the story a memoir written by young Velasquez.  The story is set during the Christmas holidays. Young Eric will stay with his grandmother while his parents are working. “Grandma” is a perfect example of a loving, wise grandparent. She and her grandson remind me of Latino children I tutor. Their English language is excellent but ofte...

  The Skinny Cows and the Fat Cows Carol A. Brown  W hen I was about 10 years old, I would spend several weeks each summer on my grandmother’s farm. I remember telling her, “When I grow up, I want to be a farmer, or maybe a farmer’s wife. Grandmother surprised me with a reply, “Well it’s very hard work. I’m not sure you would really like it.” Then she picked up her milk pail and trudged back to the house. Grandmother milked their cow twice each day, 7 days each week, 365 days a year. This was her routine until her sons were able to pitch in with chores. She also worked her garden in season, kept house and cared for her children. Both she and Granddad worked hard at the textile mill in town along with running a farm. Even during the dark days of the Depression era, my grandparents kept their family well fed, safe, and protected on the farm. The family always had a cow, or as they called her, the milk cow. The cows were Jersey breed with rusty red coat, ...

  In 2008, I traveled to Brazil with the North Carolina Baptist Singers.  It was one of those once in a lifetime adventures. Although sang in many churches and schools, one my favorite memories was conversations with children at their schools. We had a great time trying to understand each other in broken English and very limited Portuguese. Read more about out wonderful trip to Brasil.

I was looking through my personal diary/journal written December 2020. I don't think I realized at the time how lonesome and scary was our community during Christmas time a year ago. Although we still face many frightening events occurring December 2021, we can trust the promises of God. We are looking at the Advent of Christ's birth which has already occurred. Today we wait for the Advent of Christ's second coming to earth. On that day, we will no longer see in a mirror darkly.  This beautiful devotional magazine will help keep your thoughts focused on the Advent Season. Refresh is published by Lighthouse Bible Studies.