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 08-12. 2 Stars. Sara Louise Bradshaw is an awkward, pretentious young woman consumed with envy and bitterness against her twin sister Caroline… This book… has been enjoyed by many readers because of its masterful writing and the genuine pathos of its protagonist. But Louise’s faults unfortunately permeate this compelling story. I’m willing to be challenged, but I believe that while Paterson has done a great job of describing adolescent struggles, her protagonist is never allowed to fully transcend them. This, combined with the truly poisonous nature of Sara Louise’s family, makes this a story that may do more harm than good.

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 08-12. 5 Stars. Travis Coates is a 14-year-old boy, left alone to protect his mother and younger brother on his family’s 19th-century Texas homestead…. [He performs] an extraordinary act of moral courage, but it comes at the end of a story filled with ordinary acts of responsibility. In this outstanding coming-of-age story, Travis’s manhood is achieved at great cost, and in this cost he proves his worth as a man.

Age 08-12. 4 Stars. Mafatu, the ten-year-old son of a Polynesian chieftan, has always feared the sea…. As he approaches the edge of manhood, his fear prevents him from winning a place in his community. Realizing their indifference to him, he sets out to sea alone in his canoe, taking only his dog and a few tools…. At the end of his journey he returns to his village having proved himself a man…. No one having read this book should believe they have learned anything about the real Polynesia… [but] if a reader can accept that Call it Courage is a lesson not in history but in moral courage, they may benefit from the moral example this hero represents.

Age 04-08. 5 Stars. A book for boys by the author of The Princess and the Kiss, this one follows the story of a kingdom whose treasure is “The Lantern of Purest Light.”… The book is a compelling parable about the importance of God’s Word, the Bible. It tells a story of a quest worth winning, a young man proving himself in the company of his elders, and dangers on every side that seek to destroy him. He holds on to courage and moral purity only by means of the scroll, to which he submits every decision, and by which he achieves victory against great odds. This is a powerfully winning story that will influence a boy’s imagination in the best possible way.

Age 10+. 4 Stars. The Yearling is a masterfully written, Pulitzer prize-winning novel about a backwoods family in post-Civil War Florida…. Unfortunately, the novel reflects an unbiblical view of childhood that consists of innocent play and the pursuit of natural impulses. Implicit in this view is the sentiment that adult responsibility is an unpleasant necessity to be resisted as long as possible, rather than a good to be pursued… For discerning older readers it ought to be useful as a discussion of worldview, but parents ought to be aware that the best-told stories are the most convincing, and if introduced too early it may appeal to all the wrong instincts.