The Legendary Library

I originally read this book when I was in the 4th grade, and I love it as much now as I did then. For a young adult book, I felt the subject matter was something that many kids could relate to: Family, and more specifically that families come in many forms, but are always there when you need them. I felt the characters were also very relatable. I know that some reviews I have read previously for this book have indicated that they feel the 'over' use of hyphens (-) and ellipses (…) are not needed. I do disagree with this, as the author was trying to utilize these to indicate the slow drawl that a Southern accent would have, including these characters who were from Texas. Anyone who is from the Southeastern US or spoken to someone from the Southeastern US, understands that we speak slowly and we have an accent that accommodates our drawn out speech patterns. The author is merely using these punctuation marks in the capacity to which they are afforded, in this instance, ...

I did receive this book at no charge for my unbiased, honest opinion. Let me start by saying this is part of a series, which I did not realize when I ordered the book. However, even though this is part of a series, it was easily read even without the context of the other books in the series. It is definitely a story in the same fantasy genre as LOTR, Narnia, or Harry Potter. Very well written with great detail, it easily allows you to imagine the journey on which the characters embark. There are only 2 real complaints I have: 1] that the story line jumped around a bit; I feel like the author could have made it a bit easier to realize when the story jumps to another character's leg of the journey as it was a little hard to follow from one jump in the story at times. And 2] while the story isn't numbered or if (like me) you miss the small note in the upper corner of the cover indicating that it is part of a series, as  the reader, you have no idea there are books before it; t...

Daily Encouragements For the SMART Stepfamily by Ron L. Deal with Dianne Neal Matthews As a mom and stepmom, I can absolutely see the value in this book for myself and my family. This daily devotional can be implemented at any time with the ability to pick up with whatever day you are starting. And although this devotional is geared toward stepfamilies and the prismatic dynamic of those relationships, many daily passages could easily apply to a nuclear family or other family group dynamic. It contains nuggets of thought perfect for individual reflection or family/couple reflection. While geared toward the parental units of the family, several of the passages are 'kid' friendly. The author encourages the reader to share these passages with their children, with consideration to the age appropriateness of each passage. Each page is a useful tool with insights for that days reflection and from page 1 gives the reader ways to look at things from more than just 1 persp...