Age 04-08. 5 Stars. Everyone should have at least one Noah’s Ark story, and Peter Spier’s version is one of the best available. It is especially well suited to children, with its wordless format and careful attention to visual detail.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. The story isn’t quite as good as A Toad for Tuesday, but it is lighthearted, funny, and suspenseful enough to hold the attention of a child transitioning into chapter books… This is not a must-read, but it’s an enjoyable fantasy adventure, rooted in positive values of friendship, kindness, and courage.

Age 08-12. 4 Stars. There is a genre of 1950’s British children’s literature, usually populated with animal characters, that is charming and enjoyable for both children and adults. This is well written, with high action and suspense, appealing characters, and quite a bit of understated humor.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. This delightful story situates itself somewhere between Frog and Toad and The Wind in the Willows in reading level. It has a wider vocabulary than most picture books or easy readers, and makes an excellent read-aloud for young listeners just transitioning into chapter books.

Age 04-08. 5 Stars. De Angeli captures a little of the flavor of Pennsylvania Dutch language along with many details of everyday life. Her characters are appealing, the family is warmly loving, and the story itself is full of excitement and danger. It will appeal to both boys and girls, but especially boys. It contains more prose than most picture books and is a perfect fit for children who are just transitioning into chapter books.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. This brief book is masterfully crafted, and through Dalgiesh’s easy-to-read prose the young reader gets a picture of Jonathan’s close-knit, loyal, and sometimes overwhelming colonial family. In one day Jonathan experiences the pleasures of the outdoors, the comforts of the hearth, and the terror of a small child alone at night… Sensitive children might be troubled by the scene in which Jonathan meets the bears, but his quick rescue provides a comforting end to this suspenseful story. This is a great early chapter book, either for young listeners or young readers.

Age 12-16. The Harry Potter series is entertaining and well written, and follows a good-against-evil motif that is in some harmony with a Christian worldview. The magic in the early books seems for the most part fantastical, although the later books move into darker, more occultic territory. More problematic is Harry’s isolationism, as well as the absence of trustworthy, competent adults in his life…. I would recommend that if the books are approved, their introduction should be delayed until the early teen years, when readers are old enough to engage the problematic elements with the help of a discerning adult.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. Stanley is an ordinary boy whose life changes when a large bulletin board falls on him during the night, flattening him to a thickness of a half-inch…. This whimsical fantasy is entirely enjoyable, and what it lacks in depth of plot and character development (no pun intended), it makes up for in imagination.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. Pinkney’s adaptation uses modern language, retaining almost none of Kipling’s masterful language, but telling the story very well. What really makes this book are his lavish, exuberant watercolor paintings which draw the reader in and dramatize the story in a very vivid way.

Age 04-08. 4 Stars. This story rounds out the trilogy begun with My Father’s Dragon… This is more of the same fun fare that characterized the first two books, capitalizing on the mystique of dragons which makes Elmer’s participation in their lives quite a romantic adventure. Again, Elmer would set a better example by confiding in his parents, but the lighthearted and fanciful nature of this adventure may help young readers interpret his behavior without emulating his secrecy.