Recap Book Chat
130 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 11 ratingsIf you are looking for a place to dive into great books, unpack big ideas, and connect with a community of readers, you made it! My mom, Sheila Barnes has taught and inspired young minds as an elementary teacher for 40+ years. Her passion is reading and it is contagious. My name is Kate Matthews and I am an artist, seeker of wisdom and lifelong student. We decided to start a book club a couple of years ago which has impacted and grown us tremendously. We hope you will join in on the fun and get lost in the magic of reading with us.
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Episodes
Bonus Bite- “Home is A Safe Place” from House Rules by Jacob Hudgins
April 18, 2024 16:01 - 31 minutes - 29.4 MBGreetings dear friends! We are embarking on a new impactful Book Bite journey. Join Kate and Sheila as they start 10 Guidelines for Christian Homes in House Rules! The book connects with the timely quote by Fredrick Douglass, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Jacob Hudgins delivers a clear and concise plan to help readers build homes where families thrive. “Homes are where kids’ hearts are formed and if we get home wrong we cause unspeakable damage.” Homes ar...
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
April 16, 2024 19:47 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBRuta Sepetys' finely crafted WWII novel, Salt to the Sea, is a gem. It was inspired by the real-life tragedy of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff which claimed over 9,000 lives making it the greatest maritime disaster in history. The story is told in four voices, each from a different homeland, Readers will meet: Emilia, a 15 year old blond Polish girl with unbelievable perseverance and resilience. Joana, a smart young woman with some medical training that abounds with kindness. Florian...
Bonus Bite-“The Rest of the Journey” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
April 11, 2024 20:31 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBKate and Sheila wrap up Rebecca DeYoung’s Glittering Vices in this episode. It has been an enlightening trek. As Horace said, “To flee vice is the beginning of virtue.” The Rest of the Journey wraps up our study on the seven deadly sins and their remedies. Pride is the root and the trunk of the vice tree and vainglory, envy, acedia, avarice, wrath, gluttony, and lust are the main branches. The worst thing about the vices is that they thwart our ability to love and be loved. “Why are you relyi...
Samuel Coleridge’s Four Types of Readers
April 09, 2024 16:45 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBHave you ever heard the last two lines of this poem? “Water water everywhere And all the boards did shrink, Water water everywhere Nor any drop to drink” Join Kate and Sheila as they discuss Samuel Coleridge’s Four Types of Readers: Sand-g...
Bonus Bite-“Lust” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
April 05, 2024 04:22 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBPlease join Kate and Sheila as they discuss the last vice in Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung. She defines lust as a disordered desire for sexual pleasure. Lust begins as a sin of weakness not malice. This habitual attachment to pleasure erodes our relationship with God. DeYoung puts it this way, “Lust is a problem with the heart above your belt before it is a problem with the heat below it. Fulfilling pleasure without full human intimacy is lust’s false promise… an imitation of happiness...
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Part 2
April 03, 2024 02:23 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBLet’s meet the brothers: Dmitri- the eldest, impulsive, strong, uneducated, driven by desires Ivan- the middle, the intellectual, preoccupied, gloomy atheist Alyosha- the youngest, kind, thoughtful, brave, spiritually minded Smerdyakov-illegitimate, ungrateful, sneaky, devious (creeper alert) Please join Kate and Sheila discussion about the age-old struggle of good versus evil ...
Bonus Bite-“Gluttony” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
March 29, 2024 02:34 - 21 minutes - 20.3 MBOuch! Ouch! Ouch! This vice really hit home. Gluttony, like all the vices, begins with something created for good but sin creeps in and our desires run amok. Gregory the Great from the Middle Ages summed gluttony up in five categories: Too daintily (nothing is ever quite right) Too sumptuously (lavishly) Too hastily (gobble and go) Too greedily (ravenously-think Augustus Gloop) Too much (tastes like more) We learned that “what’s being eaten” deals with the first two and “how the food is eaten...
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
March 26, 2024 17:49 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MB“No great wisdom can be reached without sacrifice.” What a powerful quote in The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis! The prequel to the enduring and ever-popular The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Readers discover how Narnia came to be in this timely tale when two children from London, Digory and Polly, stumble upon Digory’s Uncle Andrew; he tricks them into putting on rings that transport them to another world. They encounter the evil queen, Jadis, who destroyed her world and seeks to des...
Bonus Bite-“Wrath” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
March 22, 2024 02:52 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBJoin Kate and Sheila as they dive into the vice of wrath from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung. There are two schools of thought on this vice. Aquinas believed it was a natural expression of a human emotion and it could be righteous if it targeted injustice. Anger as a holy emotion has justice as its object and love as its root as Jesus overturning the money changers tables. Anger turns wrathful when it fights for its own selfish cause. Cassian claimed all anger causes blindness whic...
The Brothers Karamazov, Part 1 By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
March 19, 2024 19:57 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MBWelcome back, Recapsters! In this episode of the Recap Book Chat, we delve into the rich tapestry of Fyodor Dostoevsky's masterpiece, "The Brothers Karamazov." Settle in with your favorite cup of tea as we embark on a journey through the complex dynamics of faith, doubt, and familial bonds. First, let's meet the titular characters: Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha Karamazov, three brothers who couldn't be more different yet are deeply interconnected. Dmitri, the passionate and impulsive eldest broth...
The Four Tendencies by Gretchin Rubin
March 13, 2024 01:08 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBGreetings Recapsters! For this episode, we discuss Gretchin Rubin’s book, The Four Tendencies, where she discusses how people respond to inner (stop nagging) and outer (traffic laws) expectations. She also wrote Better than Before to help us discover why some people can form habits more easily than others.How do we change? Habits are the invisible architecture of our lives. 40% of our daily behaviors are repeated, why not harness this information to gain self-knowledge that will help us adop...
Bonus Bite-“Greed or Avarice” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
March 07, 2024 20:45 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBGlittering Vice # 4 — Avarice What do Ebenezer Scrooge, King Ahab, Lot, and King Midas all have in common? They all give us a clear picture of the vice of avarice. They put themselves first. Did Scrooge even see Tiny Tim? Did Ahab understand why Naboth said ‘no deal’? Why didn’t Lot insist that Abram have first choice on the land? Why didn’t Midas appreciate what he had? What causes this unquenchable desire for more, more, more? Horace’s pithy quote packs a punch, “The one who is greedy is...
Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse
March 05, 2024 20:20 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBLetters From Rifka by Karen Hesse is told entirely in letter format, so here we go: Dear Reader, The year is 1919 in the month of September when Rifka (age 12) and her family make their escape from Russia. Sadly, the trip to America was eventful. In Poland, Rifka and her family got typhus except for her ornery brother Saul. After the family recovered their journey continued. Rifka befriends a Russian peasant on the train by fixing her hair. The vivid description of the peasant’s scalp by the...
Bonus Bite-“Sloth or Acedia” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
February 29, 2024 20:41 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBGlittering Vice #3 Acedia (uh·see·dee·uh) What is acedia? Maybe we should first say what it is not. Acedia is often called sloth. The problem with this term is it helps to camouflage the real vice. Sloth paints a picture of one who has an aversion to work, like Tom Sawyer taking it easy while his friends whitewash the fence. Actually, the lazy person and the busy person can both suffer from hearts afflicted with acedia. The original definition of sloth was lazy about love not work, a fainthe...
The Wingfeather Saga, book 1, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
February 28, 2024 00:06 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBJoin Titus, Kate, & Sheila as they discuss The Wingfeather Saga, book 1, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. They meet Janner, a 12 year old questioner, Tink, a brave 11 year old with a fear of heights, and Leeli, their younger sister who has a twisted leg and a dog named Nugget. The kids live with their mom, Nia, and their grandfather, Podo, an ex-pirate with a pegleg. The Igiby family lives in a land that has been taken over by flagitious forces. This gritty determined family endures ...
Bonus Bite-“Envy” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
February 23, 2024 03:05 - 16 minutes - 15 MBGlittering Vice #2 Envy What is envy? Rebecca DeYoung explains this vice so well. “Jealousy is envy’s close cousin. Both are personal and related to love. The jealous “have” something or someone they love but might lose. The envious, by contrast, are the “have-nots”--they do not have the good their rival does, and they do not have self-love either.” Let’s look at two athletes and contrast the differences. In 1924, Eric Liddell raced against Harold Abrahams in the 400 meter race in the Olym...
Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan
February 20, 2024 20:17 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBIn Saving My Assassin readers meet Virginia Prodan in Communist Romania in 1961. This powerful memoir begins with this quote, “I should be dead. Buried in an unmarked grave in Romania. Obviously, I am not. God had other plans.” Virginia was a real-life Cinderella, she was forced to do all the work while her siblings played. Her mother threatened to put her up for adoption, dyed her red hair black so she would blend in and never once in 18 years made her a birthday cake or said a kind word....
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
February 13, 2024 21:06 - 25 minutes - 23.9 MBAre you looking for a novella to introduce your children to WWII? Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop fits the bill. Twenty French kids are living at a Catholic school during the German occupation of France. They agree to hide 10 Jewish orphans. This book was inspired by a true story. The kids are told by Sister Gabrielle that if they say yes they cannot tell about the Jewish children no matter what the Nazis do to them. It is a tale of kindness and integrity that needs to be told. Friends...
Bonus Bite-“Vain Glory” from Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung
February 09, 2024 01:43 - 10 minutes - 9.94 MBBonus Book Bite - Greetings! As Kate and I are reading through Rebecca DeYoung’s Glittering Vices, we pondered doing short podcasts on each of the seven deadly sins and their positive counterparts. Please join us as we break this valuable information into bite size pieces. What is a vice? Vices are corruptive and destructive habits while virtues help us to live and act well, to be solutions instead of instigate problems. C.S. Lewis wrote The Screwtape Letters in a backward format so we would...
The Refugee By Alan Gratz
February 06, 2024 19:19 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBCan readers follow families in 1939, 1994, and 2015 as each one seeks to survive unbelievable circumstances in uncertain times? Alan Gratz gives us the chance in Refugee. We meet Josef and his family as they escape their homeland, Germany, and board the MS St. Louis heading for Cuba. Next, Isabel and her family board a small homemade boat built by their neighbors to travel to America. Their passage would have been refused if not for Isabel’s fast-thinking. She sold her prized trumpet to buy g...
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
January 31, 2024 01:40 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBThe Tattooist of Auschwitz, the debut novel for the gifted author, Heather Morris, was written while building a three year relationship with Lale Sokolov. Readers are taken back to April of 1942. Lale took his married brother’s place to protect his family. The harrowing journey taken by this kind, caring and compassionate man is one of tragedy, hope, and perseverance. Lale and the others were herded into a cattle car. Some men were telling him to help them bust out of the cattle car but he ...
The Forest of the Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
January 23, 2024 20:59 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBYona’s mentor, Jerusza, left her with many skills to survive and even thrive in the unforgiving forest of eastern Europe, but she also left her with many unanswered questions. Why did she kidnap Yona from her German family? Why did she tell her their names just before she died? Why did she teach Yona how to kill a man? Jerusaza said the universe was about balance, for each method of death, she taught Yona a way to dispense healing, too. She taught her many languages and how to read, but Jeru...
Kizzy Ann Stamps by Jeri Watts
January 16, 2024 19:36 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBLet’s meet Kizzy Ann Stamps and her dog, Shag. Kizzy Ann is called Moon Child by her mama because when she was younger the neighbor boy accidentally let his scythe drop and her face was cut from just under her eye to her mouth in a crescent moon shape. She has never forgiven Frank Charles for her injury. Mrs. Warren, Kizzy’s old teacher, encouraged all her students to write to their new teacher at the white school. Miss Anderson learns a lot about the life of someone that has the most specia...
Memorizing Scripture by Glenna Marshall
January 10, 2024 21:17 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBMemorizing Scripture (The Basics, Blessings, and Benefits of Meditating on God’s Word) by Glenna Marshall enriched both Kate and Sheila views on the memorization of God’s word. Please join our recap on this inspiring book about, “...letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Col. 3:16 Sheila discovered this book from Kirk Cameron’s interview with the author on his podcast/youtube. If all worked out the link is below : ) https://youtu.be/v--YcSsL13w?si=SWb-oilsmm1_rRRd “I have stored up...
2023 Book Awards!
December 31, 2023 11:45 - 25 minutes - 24 MBGreetings Recap Bookchatters! It’s that time of the year when we reflect on the books we’ve read for the year and compare notes : ) Please join Kate and Sheila for this year’s Book Awards (drum roll please) Are you curious to see if we agree? Have a listen to discover which book gets: Most Whimsical Grittiest Most Unique Format Best Opening Line Most Unpredictable Most Intense Most Impactful in Society - Packs a Punch Most Creative Best Man & Leading Lady Award Best Ending Most Enriching - ...
Two From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes
December 26, 2023 23:05 - 37 minutes - 34.9 MBTwo From Galilee was our last book of 2023, which is ironic because it is a book of beginnings. Please join Kate and Sheila as they discuss the beauty of this behind the scene love story of Joseph and Mary. Marjorie Holmes slows the well-known epic event down so readers can get a glimpse of their customs that are so vastly different from those of today. Readers get to experience the emotions and struggles in the life of the young Jewish girl that was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. Y...
The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate Dicamlo
December 19, 2023 20:42 - 27 minutes - 25.9 MBThe Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate Dicamlo was an amazing read-aloud! Please join Kate, Sheila and their special guest, Titus, as they discuss this unusual story. An old seaman noticed a girl puppet in a toy store window. He tried to buy her, but the seller said the five puppets must be sold as a group because they have a story to tell. Reluctantly, the seaman bought all the puppets, but he shoved the king, the boy, the owl, and the wolf in his trunk. He propped the girl puppet up on a table a...
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
December 12, 2023 21:07 - 31 minutes - 29.6 MBAs a baby, Oswald T. Campbell was left on the steps of an orphanage with a can of Campbell’s soup in his basket. Readers meet him as he receives disheartening news from his doctor; he won’t live to see another Christmas if he doesn’t move to a better climate than the Windy City. Sadly, Oswald has no one to share his devastating news with… sounds like a bummer of a book, doesn’t it? But, somehow Fannie Flagg weaves a story of hope, evolving from less concern from self and more concern for othe...
Hamlet By William Shakespeare
December 05, 2023 19:03 - 35 minutes - 33.1 MBDo you know Shakespeare’s longest play? Here’s a clue, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Hamlet is the answer. This play has been translated into 75 languages, even Klingon! We discovered a plethora of quotes: “Brevity is the soul of wit.” “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” “The lady protests too much, methinks.” “…dog will have his day” “…sweets to the sweet” “…to thine own self be true” Shakespheare shows his wonderful wordsmithery as he weaves this timeless tale of b...
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
November 28, 2023 21:35 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MBPlease join Kate and Sheila as they meet a classic character, Hercule Poirot, in his first appearance as the Belgian detective in Agatha Christie’s, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The story is told from the viewpoint of Hastings, a soldier wounded in WW I who comes to his wealthy friend John Cavendish’s estate in need of a place to convalesce. During his visit, John’s stepmother, Emily Inglethorp is murdered with poison! Hastings seeks the help of Poirot, his acquaintance who is blessed...
Habits of the Household by Justin Earley
November 21, 2023 10:30 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBJoin Kate and Sheila as they recap one of the most impactful books they’ve read this year. Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley starts with a powerful rephrased Frederick Douglass quote, “It is easier to raise strong children than to repair broken men and women” and then he goes on from there to supply readers with the nuts and bolts (ideas) on how to raise strong kids. Favorite quotes abound! Here are just a few: “The heart always follows the habit.” “Nothing important is easy....
Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen
November 14, 2023 17:15 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MB“I’m not afraid of doing hard things. I’m afraid of a life where I do nothing.” Kara What do you know about WW I? We knew very little, but thanks to Jennifer Nielsen’s Lines of Courage we learned a lot in an unusual way. From the viewpoints of Kara (British), Felix (Austro-Hungarian), Elsa (German), Juliette (French) and Dimitri (Russian) Nielsen weaves a story that will enlighten and enrich any history buff’s mind. The assassination of the Archduke in Bosnia is said to have started WW I,...
GIST The Essence of Raising Life-Ready Kids by: Michael Anderson, LP & Timothy Johanson, MD
November 07, 2023 14:33 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBWho among us does not want to parent well? However, we must ask the question, “Am I equipping my kids to be ready for the challenges that life will throw at them?” Every chapter starts with a quote, here are two of our favorites: “Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament.” George Santayana “I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have denied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” Theodore Roosevelt This book was dedicated ...
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
October 31, 2023 14:24 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MB“If only patience were contagious like mumps!” Join Kate and Sheila as they meet an impatient 17 year old, Kit Tyler, who was transplanted from her native land of Barbados to a strict Puritan community in Connecticut. She landed unexpectedly on her aunt and uncle’s doorstep with 7 trunks! After the death of her grandfather Kit had nowhere else to go but she’d neglected to give her relatives a heads up. The Witch of Blackbird Pond was Elizabeth George Speare’s first Newbery award and it does n...
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
October 24, 2023 19:25 - 22 minutes - 21.3 MB“Grown-up people find it very difficult to believe really wonderful things, unless they have what they call proof.” We join Cyril, Anthea, Jane, Robert (aka Bob), and the baby (aka the Lamb) as they explore and discover a wish granting Psammed (aka ancient sand fairy). However, every wish backfires on the fivesome in many humorous and unusual ways. The kids work together to solve the problems created by each wish. Our guests, Jonah and Titus, thought the theme of the story was greed and t...
In His Steps
October 17, 2023 10:23 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MB“No young man can live in such an atmosphere of unpunished dishonesty and lawlessness without wrecking his character.” This quote connects hauntingly well with our society today just as it did back in 1897. What guides your decision making? Where is your focus? Join Kate and Sheila as they discuss an 1890s instant classic, In His Steps. Charles Sheldon’s best seller tells the story of Henry Maxwell’s challenge to his congregation, prompted by a tramp who wandered into his church, spoke b...
Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green
October 04, 2023 17:59 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBThings We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green was a book out of the ordinary. She weaves a tale using only letters, telegraphs, and notes. This piece of history was unknown to us, German POWs were brought to America to work with farmers. We were taken back in time to January 1944 to Ironside Lake, Minnesota. We met Johanna Berglund, a determined linguistic student that was coerced into returning to her hometown to work as a translator at the nearby POW camp. She couldn’t wait to leave her hometown ...
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
September 26, 2023 23:08 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBThe Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill is a remarkable story of an amazing family’s dedication to serving God wholeheartedly. Join Kate and I as we discuss the impactfulness of Casper ten Boom and his family while they operate their watch shop in Holland. The family is always on the alert for ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” The ten Booms were unwaveringly solid...
The Road Home by Richard Paul Evans
September 19, 2023 23:48 - 34 minutes - 32 MBTravel the last half of Route 66 with Charles James, the famous Chicago pitchman that everyone believes was killed in a plane crash. Dying, for Charles, was an eye-opener. He decides to walk from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA, In The Road Home by Richard Paul Evans, readers join Charles about two hours from Amarillo, TX. Each chapter begins with a quote from the protagonist. The quotes are like chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven. I savored the flavors of wisdom, humor, insight, co...
David Cooperfield by Charles Dickens
September 12, 2023 20:03 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBThe same author that gave us Ebenezer Scrooge and Oliver Twist also gifted readers with a kind, loyal, misfortunate, and somewhat naïve, David Copperfield. After reading this novel from the genre, bildungsroman (dealing with the protagonist maturing) we agree with the famous praise of Thackery, ‘Bravo Dickens’. Let’s share a few quotes from these classic characters: “My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I h...
Do More Better by Tim Challies
September 05, 2023 21:02 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBHave you ever noticed how some folks seem to get a lot done with little effort while other folks g barely get the bare essentials done? One camp seems to swim effortlessly while the camp I’m in dog paddles with our heads barely above water. Why is this? We all are blessed with 168 hours in a week but that is where the similarity between these two camps ends, my friend. Tim Challies helps those of us that are organizationally challenged. Step by step he helps us develop a plan with routi...
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
August 29, 2023 16:41 - 36 minutes - 34.1 MBIs your life so busy you barely take time to breathe let alone pray without ceasing? We think this nugget of truths can help us to focus on God no matter what we’re doing. Brother Lawrence was not a monk. He was a wounded soldier, failed footman, and finally a cook and dishwasher and cobbler who lived centuries ago. How can he help us today? Brother Lawrence was known to be ‘sensible of his faults but not discouraged by them.’ People wrote him letters seeking his advice. His responses wer...
Books That Schooled Us
August 22, 2023 15:17 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBIt’s time to head back to school and find a learning routine groove. What books have caused you to change your life? Join us as we discuss books that schooled us and caused a significant shift in our lives. “It strengthens thy heart to do a hard thing” is a powerful quote from A Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli. A cripple boy learns how to survive despite his hardships in this unique novel, includes lessons for kids and adults alike! Jennifer L. Scott’s books: Lessons from Madame C...
My Brain's Not Broken by Tamara Rosier
August 15, 2023 18:45 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBMy Brain’s Not Broken (Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD) By: Tamara Rosier, PhD “Where’s my phone?” “ What did I do with my keys?” “Was that due today?” “ Wow! That took a lot longer than I thought it would!” “Where did the time go?” “I am sooooooo tired.” This author has ADHD along with 3 of her 4 kids and her husband, so the girl knows well the crazy unpredictable journey that many of us fellow- strugglers are on which may be a bit of a challenge for our n...
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
August 08, 2023 22:15 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBLet’s meet Henry (14), Jessie(12), Violet(10), and Benny(6) Alden, a.k.a. The Boxcar Children! Henry is hard-working, responsible, and protective. Jessie is brave, a talented cook and a great problem solver. Violet is the quiet and shy Alden. She has sewing skills beyond her years. Benny has the ability to boldly say what is on his mind, often in a funny way. He loves a cracked pink cup he found at the dump and Jessie’s dog, who he tried to label by cutting a J out of Watch's fur. The...
The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson
August 02, 2023 19:38 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBIt’s me again, Hank, the Cowdog…is the opening line in every Hank book by John R. Erickson. This entertaining series about a comical canine who boastfully touts himself to be the Head of Ranch Security has become a favorite for all ages. Readers join Hank and his sidekick, Dover, while they relentlessly tease Bruno, the boxer, on their uninvited trip into town. When Bruno calls Hank a 2 bit cowdog, Hank replies, “Do you mean that as an insult or a compliment?” Back on the ranch, Han...
Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
July 25, 2023 23:39 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MB“That’s one more thing I detest about war. It’s not over when it ends.” Lady Rowan Join Maisie Dobbs as she takes on a challenging case when she is hired by Mr. Waite, an august person who strives to control everything and everyone in his circle. He has met his match with Maisie who works in her own time and in her own way. She knows the value of letting fact, thoughts, observations, and feelings simmer whereas ‘Mr. Gungho’ is full steam ahead. Jacqueline Winspear masterfully weaves mystery...
The Hungry Place by Jessie Haas
July 18, 2023 20:08 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBRecipe for The Hungry Place Recap Ingredients: 1 horse lovin’ girl without a mom aka Rae 1 hard working creative dad 1 wise grandma aka Gammer 1 beautiful pony - Princess 1 kind hearted sickly owner - Roland 2 unsavory hired hands - Charlie, the trainer & his wife, Darlene 2 encouraging friends - Tully & Sam 1 concerned owner of pony camp - Tish Mix together a girl who yearns for a pony and Princess, the pony who loses the charmed life she’s always known for an enduring story of...
Little Pilgrims Progress by Helen L. Taylor
July 11, 2023 15:41 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBJoin us as we discuss Little Pilgrim on his arduous trip to the Celestial City. Will he be able to navigate through the many dangers that thwart his forward progress? This beautifully illustrated allegory was derived from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, but Helen L. Taylor’s use of anthropomorphism makes Bunyan’s amazing story easily understood by children. Animals that are characters make the book not only interesting to kids but also add a degree of emotional distance for young read...
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
July 04, 2023 10:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBTravel back in time with us as we discuss Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. This book has more plot twists than a roller coaster. It begins in the year 1961 as 16 year old Laurel is watching from her treehouse not wanting to join the family in her little brother’s birthday picnic. Her mother returns to the house with the birthday boy on her hip to get the special birthday knife to cut Gerry’s cake. Laurel is in a ‘woe is me’ mood as many teenagers go through, when adulthood is just beyond their...