Age 04-08. 2 Stars. This story is one of several Swedish legends explaining why the Christmas Rose blooms in winter…. The story hinges on whether Robber Father can be forgiven, and in the end he is pardoned on the basis of the miracle, with no expression of contrition for his theft. The lay brother, in contrast, having realized his error in judging Robber Father, spends the rest of his life in penitence. Robber Father is met with warm acceptance, the lay brother with clinging guilt. This leads me to conclude that this is not so much a story about forgiveness, but is more of a moralistic story about religious self-righteousness.

Age 04-08. 1 Star. In Marcella’s Guardian Angel, a bad little girl improves her behavior with the help of an unseen angel who speaks into her ear. The story is nicely illustrated and well written, and might produce a temporary change in a reader’s behavior, but its lesson does not line up with a biblical view of virtue….. This story supports self-powered moralism, which could feed the self-righteousness and people-pleasing tendency that lives in all sinful hearts. It advocates good behavior for all the wrong reasons.

Age 08-12. 1 Star. Martin is a deeply lonely preadolescent boy who earns a reputation for picking on children smaller than himself…. This book follows his muted coming-of-age, as he turns from his destructive behavior and attempts to live down his reputation…. While this story might be valuable for helping children cultivate compassion for the local playground bully, the poisonous character of Martin’s family, and the wishy-washy way in which Martin’s sinful behavior is explained, makes it an unsuitable choice for our family library.

Age 09-12. 1 Star. In this modern-to-medievel time-travel fantasy, a family of three children and their father go to live in Wales for the winter, grieving the loss of their wife and mother. Twelve-year-old Peter finds a key which opens a portal into ancient Wales — and he and his sisters must resist a rising threat when knowledge of the key spreads to those who wish to misuse it. The book is recommended by several good sources and is entertainingly well written, with good character development and a sustained sense of magic lurking at the edges of the children’s dreary lives. Unfortunately, the dreariness of their lives seems to originate in their relationship with their father…. Although skilfully written, the bitter, secretive protagonist in this story is anything but admirable, and his father is worse. The biblical ideal of a family in which parents love, lead and train their children, is entirely absent. The magic in the story is enticing, and the interweaving of modern and historical Wales is masterful, but the detached, egalitarian family dynamic is quite poisonous.

Age 04-08. 1 Star. While the book is written in typically lighthearted Seussical style, with wordplay and plenty of visual humor, this story is unsatisfying for young readers because of its cliffhanger ending, which they will not understand. Even for those who accept the premise that the Cold War was a bit of ridiculous posturing over cultural differences ought to concede that this is not the venue in which to make such an argument. It’s a dirty trick for Seuss to use his reputation as a basically harmless fun writer as a soapbox for a political agenda, and then attempt to disguise it as a real story.