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The Fallacy Detective

Thirty-Six Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning ***** Two young fellows, brothers Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn wrote this book as a course in lo...

Book Reviews, Graphic novels

Sleuth Family Robinson: fighting evil around the world

Adult non-fiction, Book Reviews

On comforting suffering Christians

Christians are called to mourn with those who mourn. How can this be done well, when a comforter’s experiences differ vastly in type and degree from...

Articles, Book Reviews, Popular but problematic

Keeper of the Lost Cities takes a turn

For most of its run, Keeper of the Lost Cities has been a lightweight but generally "safe" book series – there's no language, minimal violence, no s...

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Adult non-fiction, Assorted, Book Reviews

Necessary Endings

Finding the courage to let go in business, church, and family ***** Why did my dad’s tomatoes and cucumbers always flourish? I used to think it may have something to do with the tobacco smoke from his pipe, which he puffed while tending to them. But the success carried on even when the days of the pipe ended. I got my answer some years ago when my dad checked out our greenhouse and noticed lanky cucumber bushes with little fruit. He showed me how to identify “suckers” and shoots that needed to be pinched off. For a new gardener, it seems strange, even shocking, to cut off healthy branches and flowers. But whether it is cucumbers, apple trees, or flowers, God designed many plants to produce more buds than they can sustain. Plants have limited energy, so without pruning, that energy goes towards growth that literally isn’t fruitful. I was looking for cucumbers, not huge cucumber plants without fruit. In other cases, sick branches or dead branches need to be removed, as they will hold back the plant or tree from flourishing. Contrary to popular thought, nature doesn’t do best when left alone. Through these plants, God is teaching us something about our own lives and the causes we invest in, including in business and the Church. We need deliberate pruning – we need to make endings happen. That is true for all stages of life, but especially as we feel the effects of age. Endings are necessary As much as we value beginnings and growth, God has made endings a natural and important aspect of life, even before the Fall into sin. There is day and night, and a season for planting, watering, harvesting, and cleaning up so that it can start over (Eccl. 3:1-2). Accepting endings, and making them happen at times, is the design that God wove in the very fabric of our lives. “In your business and perhaps your life, the tomorrow that you desire and envision may never come to pass if you do not end some things you are doing today.” That is how Christian psychologist and business coach Dr. Henry Cloud opened his book Necessary Endings. This book gave direction and encouragement when I had to make some hard endings a few years back. But the value of it keeps resurfacing as I notice how much we can struggle because we resist endings: • We hold onto possessions that have no more use to us; • Teens refuse to end their childhood, and continue doing little to help the family; • Young adults grow older but fail to launch, continuing to be cared for by their parents; • Seniors don’t deal with past hurts or ongoing sinful patterns because they have resigned themselves to who they are; • Spouses endure abuse because they think they have no choice. In some cases, endings seem to be even a bigger challenge for Christians: • Committees and societies continue longer than they should because the people involved are simply fulfilling their term, and don’t think it is their place to end something that others started; • Poor performance by people in positions of authority (pastors, elders, deacons, volunteers, school board members) can carry on perpetually because others feel that if they speak up, they will be seen as the problem, inviting unwanted conflict and stress into their lives; • A church member can take advantage of the kindness and care of their congregation year after year, without consequence; • Church leadership can struggle for years with following through on church discipline because of the desire that things will turn around. Dr. Cloud pulls no punches in response to scenarios like these. Endings are crucial and “your life and business must face them, stagnate, or die.” He explains that we prune our lives for the same reasons we prune plants. 1. “If an initiative is siphoning off resources that could go to something with more promise, it is pruned. 2. “If an endeavor is sick and is not going to get well, it is pruned. 3. “If it is clear that something is already dead, it is pruned.” Why aren’t we pruning? This is a proven formula for flourishing. So why do we sometimes have such a hard time doing it? An obvious reason is that endings often require confrontation and some pain. Cutting away an apple tree, or pulling flowers off a plant, doesn’t feel good. There are no immediate rewards. We convince ourselves that the status-quo is a better option than change. But the problem with this approach is that we are being led by our feelings rather than reality. It is wishful thinking. Dr. Cloud compares our reluctance to make necessary endings to getting an infected tooth pulled. It isn’t a pleasant experience. But it is so important to get done. “We all hurt sometimes in facing hard truths, but it makes us grow…. That is not harmful. Harm is when you damage someone. Facing reality is usually not a damaging experience, even though it can hurt.” Another reason why we may not be making necessary endings in our lives is because we don’t know what we are aiming for, or pruning towards. We are drifting with the current, reacting to whatever comes our way. This makes sense for our unbelieving world, which struggles to understand what it means to be a human being, man, woman, parent, or senior. The world isn’t interested in following God’s blueprint. It isn’t sure it even wants the cucumber plant to produce cucumbers. Unfortunately, it is also an issue for Christians, even though God gives very clear direction for our lives. We struggle with disciplining our children in response to behaviors that need to stop, even though the Bible makes it clear that God has entrusted parents with this task. We let teens have the responsibilities and expectations of children even though an entire Bible book was given to them to chart a path of responsible living (see Proverbs). And even church leadership can have a difficult time seeing through commands like 1 Corinthians 5:13 to “expel the wicked person from among you.” When we refuse to prune, not only are we making growth more difficult, we are also getting in the way of the beautiful plan that God has for our lives, the church, and society. Perhaps another reason why Christians may feel uncomfortable with this talk of pruning is that it seems to clash with our calling to love even our enemies, or to care for the vulnerable. As we read in Isaiah 42:3, the Lord sustains the weak: “A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.” This is where we need to realize that the pruning metaphor has its limitations. The point of this article, and Dr. Cloud’s book, is not at all to cut away people who have weaknesses. Caring for the vulnerable is one of the goals we are pruning towards and aiming for. We are pruning away what hurts the vulnerable. For example, a church committee that has long passed its expiration date will continue draining the time of its members, and cut into their capacity to help those who really need help. And a person or family who is taking advantage of the care of others in the congregation because they keep asking for help (when they could be taking care of themselves) is preventing the congregation from caring for those who really need it. If all of this sounds like it is based on worldly motivations for productivity, it may help to remember that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke strongly about this: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:1-2). He was also willing to leave an area and move on. For example, in Mark 1 we read how Jesus went to a solitary place to pray. When his disciples came they said “Everyone is looking for you!” To this, Jesus replied “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Proactive pruning I have written elsewhere how I learned the hard way (through burnout) that life produces too much to sustain. Unfortunately, I had to feel significant pain to pull the pruners out. The problem with waiting until something crosses a line is that it unnecessarily leads to lasting hurt for ourselves and others. My lack of pruning may have seemed to benefit my family (as I was fixing up our home and property) and employer in the short-term, as there was a lot of growth, but it ending up hurting them both. As we age, it is critical that we make pruning a normal and healthy practice of our day-to-day living. As with a cucumber plant or apple tree, this pruning should be done before there is obviously a problem. Proactive pruning also means that we have to let go of meaningful relationships that we once had, even though there is nothing wrong with them. Dr. Cloud points to brain research that shows we seem to have capacity to manage 140 to 150 relationships. As we grow older, our circle will grow quickly. Trying to juggle 300 relationships in a meaningful way is a recipe for doing a horrible job with all 300. So we will only be able to take on new ones if we are pruning old ones. Settling in a new community will mean having to let go of wonderful people from your old home that meant so much to you. Serving on the school board may mean having to give up that weekly visit you treasure so much. And yes, this also means that some people that we used to send a Christmas card to may no longer get it. It doesn’t mean that we no longer care for these people. Rather, it means we are investing in the relationships that God is calling us to in this time and place. Like a cucumber plant, we are directing the limited energy or “juice” we have to the fruit God wants to see. It also means pruning off parts of our lives that haven’t been fruitful, even if we really hoped they would be. A successful business like Starbucks will still regularly shut down hundreds of stores. Dr. Cloud notes that often “when that occurs, the stock prices go up.” That is because the business community understands that pruning isn’t a sign of weakness but of health and strength. The fact that a church plant isn’t growing to the point where it can sustain itself is a reason to consider working towards an ending, not to stop planting churches, but to try again somewhere better. More fertile ground may be waiting, but your next effort can’t start until the other has ended and sufficient resources are freed up. This is also why it was so important that Christian aid organizations have come to realize that simply giving more money, food, and supplies to people in need isn’t necessarily a blessing. In fact, it may be the very thing holding back people from making the changes necessary to succeed long-term. Sometimes the best way to help a person, family, or non-profit is to stop giving them what they are asking for. They won’t make necessary changes until you stop enabling them to carry on as they are. The wise, the foolish, and the evil Throughout his book, Dr. Cloud coaches the readers to figure out if endings are necessary and how to make them. He teaches the reader to get realistic, and even get hopeless if they expect change while carrying on the same way, so they’ll get motivated. But I found the most value in a chapter he devoted to figuring out how to discern whether the process of change is even worth it. For example, “how do you know when to invest the effort with someone to work on making things better and when should you tell them that you are done talking about it?” He does this by explaining that there are essentially only three categories when it comes to people’s character: the wise, the foolish, and the evil. Although his audience isn’t all Christian, he explains that these Scriptural categories are proven true in all fields of life, including business, psychology, and law. It is critical that we understand whether the person we are dealing with is wise, foolish, or evil, because it will determine the track we take and whether an ending is necessary. A wise person recognizes truth for what it is, takes it in, and adjusts themselves accordingly. When corrected, they listen and change their life. As a result, they improve every day again. They are motivated to change, and are willing to show genuine remorse when they need to. When dealing with a wise person, communication goes a long way. They are eager to be trained or coached. Talking helps. A fool doesn’t adjust to the truth. Rather, they adjust the truth so that they don’t have to change themselves. He or she isn’t the problem. Others are. They are defensive, they blame, and talking to them doesn’t help at all. Instead, it creates conflict and division. “At this point it is time to change the conversation from trying to get them to change to talking about the fact that no change is happening and that is the problem…. Roger, this team and the environment we want to have around here are important to me, so I can’t allow your abusive behavior to ruin it anymore.” Adding consequences is often required. “Dave, I want to live in a sober house, and since you have chosen to not do anything about your addiction, I won’t be living with you anymore until you get treatment and get sober.” The key with dealing with foolish people is to end the pattern. “You cannot control them or get them to change. What you can do is create an ending to the effects their refusal to take responsibility is having on you or others.” Although we would love to think otherwise, there are no shortage of fools in our lives. Apart from God’s grace and the working of His Holy Spirit, we are all fools. But we have been born again, and it is important that we act accordingly. Finally, there are evil people, who intentionally want to hurt you. An evil person is the “kind of person who likes to bring others down, is intentionally divisive, enjoys it when someone fails, and tries to create the downfall of others or of the company is to be protected against at all costs.” As Christians, we can be guilty of a living in a pretend world. We see numerous examples of evil people in the Bible, including among God’s covenant people (e.g., Old Testament Israel or the New Testament Church). But we act as if there are no evil people in our families, schools, or churches today, even when the evidence is clearly stacked against us. Untold pain has been caused by tolerating wicked abusers in our circles, simply because we foolishly assumed that if they came from another Reformed church, they must be trustworthy. Parents, elders, and school boards must have the courage to do whatever is necessary to protect God’s children from these wolves in sheep’s clothing (see Matt. 7, 1 Cor. 5). It's time for change Is God looking to you to make a necessary ending? Will you prayerfully consider this? It may be the beginning of a whole new life. A transition begins with an ending, not a new beginning. We don’t just become an adult. We first stop acting like a child. At this point I should add a caution. Some people are so motivated to see things change that they are too eager to prune. Pruning isn’t something to be done carelessly. It takes discernment. If you attack an apple tree with a chainsaw without knowing the right season or method (something I’m guilty of), your tree may die. The goal of this article, and Dr. Cloud’s book, is not to pursue endings for their own sake. Rather, it is to nurture flourishing lives. As such, if you are eager to see an ending, it would be good to first search your heart to discern what is motivating you. Dr. Cloud is a Christian, but the book is written for a broader audience. If we go to Scripture, we can find even more wisdom and perspective as it relates to the importance of endings. God makes it clear in His Word that our lives, and all history, are progressing towards an ending: our impending death and the judgement we will face before His throne. Whether it is through the pain of burnout, disease, or old age, God is reminding us that our lives on earth won’t carry on forever and we shouldn’t pretend they will. He has given us a blueprint to show us how He wants us to use the time He has given. And He also warns us to “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42). But Scriptures also show that God is not a harsh boss who is only interested in the bottom line. Our works aren’t going to satisfy Him. Thankfully, because of the good news of Jesus Christ’s victory over death in our place, death isn’t an ultimate ending. Rather, it is a door to a whole new life of joy. Once again, we see how endings are necessary and open the door to a new life. May our willingness to make endings here reflect the confidence we have in the new life that is waiting. ***** Necessary Endings: The employees, businesses, and relationships that all of us have to give up in order to move forward by Henry Cloud 2011 / 238 pages It is one thing to see the need for pruning, and another to know how to do it. The idea of ending an activity that has gone on for years, or cutting someone out of our lives, can be scary and needs to be managed carefully. Space doesn’t allow me to summarize all of Dr. Cloud’s advice so I’m going to instead encourage readers to get a copy of the book to discover the wealth of wisdom he shares. This includes topics like “having the conversation: strategies for ending things well.” And if you find it difficult to read a whole book on the topic, it is also available as an audio book. Perhaps you can listen to the book with someone else who would be blessed by it....

Book Reviews, Teen non-fiction

Skip College: Launch your career without debt, distractions, or a degree

edited by Connor Boyack 2019 / 250 pages This is the case against college, but not because any of the 9 contributors here think education is unimportant. They just want to share what they believe is a shorter, cheaper, more enjoyable, and more productive way to get the education you actually want. Editor Connor Boyack shares in his introduction that a survey of 600 human resource leaders found “90 percent were open to hiring a candidate without a four-year degree.” If you’re going to be a nurse, doctor, or lawyer, you’ll need a degree, but in other fields, increasingly, it isn’t the requirement it once was. And with far more people getting degrees today than in our parents’ and grandparents’ time, a degree also isn’t the guarantee of high-paying employment it once was. Add to that the ever-increasing tuition costs, and what kind of return on investment are you going to get? Contributors Ian Morehouse and Brittany Hunter pile on by highlighting just how anti-intellectual many college campuses have become. Morehouse hits it from the student side: “Everybody cheers when class is canceled because they aren’t there for learning but for a piece of paper.” So, he asks, why not create your own piece of paper by building up a résumé of accomplishments? Since it is hard to get a job without experience and hard to get experience without a job, Morehouse pitches the idea of offering to do a project or two for free – maybe create a website for a company. Your low cost means they can take a chance on you and you can learn as you work. Getting paid nothing to work might sound like a sucker’s deal until you remember that in university your work actually costs you tens of thousands. Hunter’s chapter, “Indoctrination Factories,” focuses more on the professors and administration. She uses mostly US examples, but Canadian Jordan Peterson gets a mention for how his University of Toronto administration pressured him to use students’ “preferred” pronouns. He isn’t Christian, but wouldn’t submit to compelled speech. The fact that they came after him as a professor highlights just how hard it’d be for students to take the same stand. Next up is Kerry McDonald, on learning through living. She shares this quote: “…very little of what is taught in school is learned, very little of what is learned is remembered, and very little of what is remembered is used.” Sometimes that’s intentional: I took an education course that covered the evolutionary origins of play, and I crammed what I needed into my short-term memory so I could pass that test and the course, but I sure didn’t want to remember any of this nonsense afterward. The material we actually retain is what we value and what we use. Remember all those young men who weren’t great students, but became great learners after they left school? That's because now they're studying something that has a clear application to what they're doing. In this chapter McDonald offers tips on how you can best plot out your own self-directed educational path. Mentors and digestible, do-able, micro-goals are important, but the key might simply be that there’s no better way to learn than doing. And if you start doing right out of high school, imagine how good you might become in four years time! Now compare that to where you’d be if you got a degree and only started doing after graduating. The editor of Skip College is Mormon, and I suspect the rest of the contributors run the gamut from godless to Christian. But what makes this book valuable to Christians is the one principle we’d agree with and which every contributor supports: young people need to consider how to best steward the skills, money, and time they’ve been given. This would be a great one for any high school student to contend with, whether they are thinking of university, or planning for something else. And it’d be particularly needed if a student has no plans at all, as this gives them no excuse but to start building up their résumé, whether it’s academically or otherwise. This is certainly a book all my kids are going to read. While Skip College is a little difficult to find in Canada in paperback, the American publisher, LibertasPress.com, will ship north of the border. And it can be readily found as a Kindle e-book on Amazon.ca....

Articles, Book Reviews, People we should know

Get to know John Calvin

How can we get to know this beloved father in faith a little bit better? If you are Reformed you have heard the name of John Calvin and you know the basics of what he taught, but you might not know much about the man himself. So what’s the best way to learn about anyone? Well, you can read words written by the man himself, or read about him in books by others. What follows are articles or reviews written about John Calvin and his work. Reading Calvin You can click on the titles to go the linked articles. 1. What sort of man was John Calvin? We can get a feel for him from his letters A stereotype of Calvin is that he must have been a very hard man, but his letters display a very different sort of person. This article by Rene Vermeulen has several quotes from Calvin’s letters that show Calvin’s humble, caring side, and directs readers to more sources where you can read more of them! 2. Calvin’s Magnum Opus: a review of “Institutes of the Christian Religion” Calvin’s most famous work is his Institutes of the Christian Religion, but few of us have read it. Should we? Wes Bredenhof took the time to read it from beginning to end, and he gives some guidance on how to approach this large and useful work. A read-through will remind Christians that while Calvin is influential, he is not the gold standard for Christian doctrine (we don’t agree with him on every point). It’s quite the weighty book, yet, those who persevere and read his most famous work will glean valuable and beautiful insights. 3. Calvin’s Institutes: which edition should you read? If you decide to take the plunge and read Calvin’s Institutes (or at least some parts of it), what edition should you read? Here’s some guidance! Ultimately layout is highly important for such a long work – since you’ll be reading for quite a while. Reading about Calvin If reading Calvin himself is a bit daunting, you can try reading books about Calvin instead. We’ve reviewed a novel and three biographies about him. You can click on the book title for a longer review. The Betrayal: a novel on John Calvin by Douglas Bond 2009 / 383 pages Novels can immerse you into a world in a way a nonfiction book can’t, placing you right in the heads of people who lived in that world. Rather than taking the perspective of well-known John Calvin, this novel takes the perspective of an ordinary person. Jean-Louis lives through some of the hardships common in life at the time, and interacts with Calvin through the course of his life. Because this book includes some heavier theological dialogues, this book is best suited for adult fans of Calvin – but it is a fascinating read for those interested in his life. The Life of John Calvin: a modern translation of the classic by Theodore Beza 1997 / 148 pages Theodore Beza wrote this classic biography of Calvin, and a modern translation makes it accessible to us. Its short length makes it more inviting to readers, and its biggest recommendation is that it is an eyewitness account by one of Calvin’s friends and disciples. This Was John Calvin by Thea B. Van Halsema 1959 / 224 pages This is also a shorter biography of Calvin, but despite its length it contains extra details that make his life come alive. It also includes a helpful background on Calvin’s interactions with Michael Servetus. Overall, this is a great, readable biography. The Legacy of Sovereign Joy by John Piper 2000 / 160 pages This book is a bit different, because it’s not just about John Calvin but rather about three giants of the faith: Augustine, Martin Luther and John Calvin. It’s also by well known author and pastor John Piper. He tackles the flaws and shortcomings of each of these men, and how God used them in spite of their struggles. Since this book is short, it is primarily focused on encouraging the believer rather than being detailed biographies of these men. It might even inspire you to take a look at some of their original writings! Conclusion We hope these articles and reviews can guide you in learning more about Calvin! Looking to the fathers of faith who have gone before us can help us see through the assumptions and blind spots of our own age. We may find we think very similarly to them, or very differently, and this can prompt us to think about what has changed and why. Have you read any great books on Calvin lately? What are the best ones you’ve read? Let us know by sending us a note....

Articles, Book Reviews, Graphic novels

The best of TOON Books for young readers

TOON Books don't have much in common with each other besides their younger target audience. As the story is told, the founding publisher, Françoise Mouly, was looking for good readers for her own son and found that what was available was boring. She was already a comic publisher, so she decided to start publishing an imprint of comic books aimed at children ages 4 through 9 to help them learn to read. Based on some of the titles she's published for adults, there'd be no reason to think Mouly is Christian or her selection of children's titles would be "safe" for our kids. But a lot of them are, simply because the target demographic is so young. I think even the world recognizes that children this young should be protected, or maybe Mouly is simply bowing to market forces. Still, these are not all worth reading – the single biggest problem would probably be bratiness – the "hero" of too many of these stories isn't all that admirable. But when they are good, they are quite good. What follows are the bulk of TOON Book comics organized into three categories: Recommended Take It or Leave It Don’t Bother Recommended (18) These could all be solid additions to a school library. I've ordered them roughly from best to more middling. Little Mouse gets ready by Jeff Smith 2009 / 32 pages When mom calls on Little Mouse to get ready to go, he struggles to quickly put on socks, underwar, shirt, pants, and shoes, only to have his surprised mother declare, “Why Little Mouse! What are you doing? Mice don’t wear clothes!” A silly bit of fun for Grade 1. 3x4 (2) by Ivan Brunetti 2018 / 38 pages The class is assigned a task of drawing 12 things, but in sets. That could be 2 sets of 6, or 4 sets of 3, or even, as the book title puts it, 3 sets of 4 – it is up to the students. As the students go home, they all talk about what they will draw and in how many sets. This is quite the creative way to introduce this early math concept. He also has an equally clever one about compound words called Wordplay, where a girl pictures a housefly as a flying house, and a mailman as a man made out of mail, and so on. A goofy guide to penguins by Jean-Luc Coudray & Philippe Coudray 2016 / 36 pages This is page after page of fascinating facts – and a few of them might even be true! – all about penguins. Children can turn here to find out why penguins don't grow flowers, and why they need diving boards. For kids who want just the facts, pages in the back note nuggets like this: the deepest recorded dive for a penguin is 1,853 feet, and a male Emperor Penguin egg-sit for an average of 64 days, all the while without eating. This is quite the quietly charming title. Wildflowers (3) by Liniers 2021 / 40 pages We’re taken into the imaginative world of three girls exploring the island their plane has crash landed on, which is inhabited by a dragon, talking flowers, and a miniature gorilla. Only at the end do we see things as they really are – this being the forest behind their house. This is just one of the three comics the author has based on his three daughters. The Big Wet Balloon is about a big sister showing her toddler little sister the delights of the rain. The third, Good Night, Planet might sound like something with a climate change agenda but is instead about a girl’s stuffed bunny, named Planet, and what she gets up to when the little girl is asleep. Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking (3) by Philippe Coudray 2011 / 30 pages A bear and his friends have a series of one-page adventures. It feels a lot like what you get in the daily newspaper comics, but with a few more panels to explore and set up the gag. These are just fluff, but gentle fluff. Two sequels, Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas (2013) and Benjamin Bear in Brain Storms! (2015) continue the fun. If you look up the author you’ll discover he also has a series of “Bigby Bear” comics that look remarkably similar. That’s because they are similar, two different companies translating his French comics and giving the bear two different names. The notable difference is that the larger Bigby collections have occasional references to evolution while the Benjanim collections do not. We dig worms! (4) by Kevin McCloskey 2015 / 30 pages This is as boy a book as you'll find – a book about all sorts of worms, from small to one that is ten feet long (and there's even a bit on the gummy sort). We learn that worms have no eyes or nose, and that they have cold blood. We learn they do important work, eating, leaves and bugs and bringing air to plant roots. We even get a peak inside worms and see they have 5 hearts! And there are oodles of other facts about worms. It's a book any little boy would find fascinating all the way up through Grade 2. This is a part of author Kevin McCloskey's "Giggle and Learn" series, and three others worth getting include Something's Fishy, Caterpillars: What Will I Be When I Get to Be Me? and Ants Don't Wear Pants. But not everything in this series is worth getting - see the "Don't Bother" category down below. Tippy and the Night Parade by Lilli Carré 2014 / 32 pages This is a nice one for girls. The story begins with Tippy's room in a big mess. Her mom wants to know how it happened, but there's a problem: even Tippy doesn't know. There's a snake under the bed, a pig in the sheets, a turtle on the carpet, and bats flying overhead. How'd they all get there? Tippy and mom get to tidying up, and Tippy heads to bed, still wondering how her room got so messy. That's when we see how it happened - Tippy, it seems, is a sleepwalker, and so off she goes, on a trip through the woods, picking up friends here and there, before they all head back and she tucks herself back into bed with a zoo's worth of animals to keep her company. It is a quiet little story, that might be perfect as a bed time story to girls from 3 to 8. Written and Drawn by Henrietta by Liniers 2015 / 60 pages This one is a bit scary, but quite imaginative too – Henrietta is a little girl with a new box of colored pencils, and she has decided to create her own comic adventure... about "The Monster with Three Heads and Two Hats." The funnest part is that she doesn't know how the story is going to end, and so has to draw quickly to find out! A trip to the bottom of the world by Frank Viva 2012 / 36 pages A mouse and his human friend make a trip to the Antarctic and the little mouse would rather go home. But his boy first wants to see some sights like waves, and penguins, and whales. This is only middling as far as story and artwork, but it is safe and an accessible read for Grade 1. A companion title, A Trip to the Top of the Volcano, is also gentle and approachable. Take it or leave it (9) These aren't the sort you'd ever buy, but if your local library has them, you might want to borrow them once. I've also ordered these by preference, with the ones higher up better than the ones lower down. Adele in Sand Land by Claude Ponti 2017 / 44 pages Little Adele's mother takes her to the playground sandbox where Adele has an imaginative, and quite bizarre, adventure. This might have made the recommended list if some of the creatures Adele meets weren't so ugly – they aren't so much scary as weird, and I suspect off-putting for some kids. Otto's Backwards Day (2) by Frank Cammuso 2013 / 28 pages This is a clever story about palindromes - words that are the same backwards as forwards, like the name "Otto." It's also about a little self-absorbed boy named Otto, who thinks birthdays are all about the presents (and who cares about the people!?). In other words, this bratty little boy has it all backwards! When Otto is told by his Dad that he has it all backwards, he ends up in a backwards world, where everything is "topsy turvy." It's fun to visit a world where you get in trouble for picking up trash, and where Otto has to ask the Ogopogo's three questions and if he gets them right Otto will face his wrath. It's all mixed up, with backward spelling, and a robot friend who can turn into just about anything, so long as it is a palindrome...like a "kayak" or a "race car." By the end, Otto learns his lesson and realizes that the best part of any birthday is the people you get to spend it with. There is an instance of "pottyesque" humor - in the backward world everyone wears their underpants on the outside, so Otto has to as well. There is nothing immodest about it - only silly in a way that might not be the sort of thing we want to encourage among some more rambunctious boys. Otto has another adventure, in Otto's Orange Day. It's fun too, but features a genie, and I don't quite know what I think of genies – an all powerful, supernatural being – for this preschool to Grade One level. Hmmm...what do you figure? Otto uses his wish to turn everything his favorite color, orange. He likes the orange world at first, but it turns out orange lamb chops are not that good, and when he wants to change things back he realizes there is a problem: the genie only gave him one wish! Cast Away on the Letter A by Frédéric Othon Aristidès 2013 / 48 pages When you look at a world map, and then focus in on the waters between Europe and the Americas you'll find the words "Atlantic Ocean" there somewhere in big and bold letters. What if those weren't just letters? What if, in some crazy mixed up alternate but parallel Earth, those were actually letter-shaped islands in the middle of the ocean? That there is the premise of this little story. Philemon, a French farm boy, falls into a well, and the currents in the well sweep him past fish and sharks and , and eventually deposit him on the sandy shores of the first letter A in the "Atlantic." That is a crazy beginning, and as you might imagine, this is a crazy island, with two suns, and exploding clocks that grow out of the ground, and a centaur butler. Philemon eventually finds another human on the island, Bartholomew the well digger, who fell through a well he was digging and end up stranded on the island, looking for a way back for the last 40 years. This is surreal, crazy, Alice-in-Wonderland, type of fun. And as you might expect from a story that takes place on the A in Atlantic, there are lots of surreal jokes throughout, like full-size ship in a bottle sailing through these waters. The only caution is a minor one - a few characters express anger using made up curse symbols like these: "#@?!!" Philemon's father, who is only a minor character is this first story, is an ill-tempered sort, and makes use of these symbols a few times. Two more of Philemon's tales, The Wild Piano, and The Suspended Castle, have also been translated from the original French. They are even stranger, and the stories take seemingly random turns – they border on being nonsense. I like a little absurdity every now and again, and so quite enjoyed the first, but the next two were simply too weird for me. Jack and the Box by Art Spigelmen 2008 / 32 pages A little boy bunny named Jack, gets a Jack-in-the-box – or rather a Zack-in-the-box – toy from his parents, and the two become zany friends. Kind of fun, but very short. Luke on the Loose by Harry Bliss 2009 / 32 pages A frenetic little kid runs after a flock of pigeons all over the city as his dad, and the police, try to find him again. Might not be the greatest example for kids (see many more of those below) but that Luke is on a leash in the last frame is dramatic enough every kid will understand this is behavior to laugh at, not imitate. Barry's Best Buddy by Renée French 2012 / 36 pages A bird's pushy friend gets him out of the house on his birthday only to take him on a circular route right back to his house. But while they were away, ants have painted his house as a wonderful surprise! An ugly style of art, and the pushiness of the friend, are why this is here and not among the recommended. Don't bother There are quite a lot of TOON Books – too many for me to highlight all of the ones that weren't recommended. But I figured I'd share the titles of a the dozen or so I thought might be good, but which ended up not cutting it. Brattiness is the main concern with most of the books below. Kids' stories can have bratty characters, so long as the young reader is shown that this is the wrong behavior – the brat either has to reform his ways by story's end, or his behavior has to be denounced in some form or fashion. In what follows the brat is generally somewhat repentant by the final page, but the proportion of name-calling to niceness is tipped way too much in the wrong direction, leaving young readers with all sorts of examples of how to be creatively nasty, and just a brief illustration of how to do better. So, not the sort of story our kids need to chow down on. Some of Kevin McCloskey's "Giggle and Learn" series is recommended above and Snails Are Just My Speed! would've been included if it didn't touch on how "snails shoot arrows at each other before they make babies." Kids will be left mystified as to what that means, and equally mystified adults are not going to want to answer questions about baby-making to the Grade 1 age group this is intended for. Another title in this series, The Real Poop on Pigeons, is just too poopy. Geoffrey Hayes has a series of books and I don't like any of them. In Benny and Penny in Just Pretend, Benny and Penny in the Big No-No, Benny and Penning in Lights Out, and Benny and Penny and the Toy Breaker, Benny is a jerk to his sister for much of the book. Benny and Penny in How to Say Goodbye is supposed to teach children how to deal with death, but does so with brattiness once again, and without God. Hayes also has a second series that hits the right notes more often but brattiness pops up in Partick Eats His Peas, and little Patrick gets naked outdoors in Patrick and a Teddy Bear's Picnic. In Silly Lilly in What Shall I Be Today, one of the things Lilly decides to be is a vampire, and the sequel, Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons, is simply boring. Zik and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework uses the word "bugger" in reference to a pesky fly, but as the term is more commonly used for "sodomite" this isn't a term our kids need to learn right now. A sequel, Zikki and Wikki in the The Cow, is fixated on poop, and doesn't entirely make sense if you haven't read the original. Nina in That Makes Me Mad is about a bratty girl justifying her brattiness. Meanswhile Mo and Jo: Fighting Together Forever puts a super spin on sibling brattiness, and in Maya Makes a Mess, a rude girl presumes to teach her parents manners. Finally, Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World is about two friends plotting to do as the title suggests - more dumb than bad. And Chick & Chickie Play All Day! is simply boring....

Book Reviews, Graphic novels

Marley's Ghost

by Charles Dickens adapted by Harvey Kurtzman, Josh O'Neill, and Shannon Wheeler illustrated by Gideon Kendall 2017 / 129 pages This is a fantastic and faithful graphic novel adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol using much of the story's original dialogue, with only the lightest (and very helpful) bit of modernization. The revisions are limited, with the biggest probably being a change of the Ghost of Christmas Past from an old, child-like, man, to now being a waif-like girl. Not sure why the change was made, but it doesn't impact the story. Then there is also the general abridgment, with the comic coming in at probably half the text of the original story. The original has some problematic spiritual content – ghosts of various sorts, including those of Christmas Past, Present, and Future – and this adaptation shares the same. So if you disliked the original for that reason, you won't like this one either. But I'd argue that is a mistake, as this story isn't meant to teach anything about ghosts or the afterlife. Dickens lesson is entirely about the here and now – he wants us to understand that money brings cold comfort – Scrooge treats gold as his god, and this deity only brings him misery. What's actually problematic is the alternative "god" Dickens proposes. While the God of the Bible is made mention of (less in the comic than in the original) He is not the source of happiness in this story. The god here – in both original and adaptation – is generosity. If you are generous, then you will be happy and your life will have meaning. Oh, Dickens, so near and yet so far! Still, with that shortcoming understood, this classic can be appreciated – Christmas is made much of, and if we remember what this day commemorates, then we can see Scrooge's transformation as a small reflection of the generosity and humility Christ showed in coming down to earth. Cautions This book has a loose connection to Harvey Kurtzman, a cartoonist most famous for his work with Playboy and Mad magazines. However, the comic is not written or drawn by him but is only based in part on a treatment he produced, so this connection is really rather irrelevant. I only mention it to note that as good as this book is, his other work isn't. Other cautions would be limited to the unnecessary additions of two words – "bugger" and "bloody" – to Dickens' original text. Would that this bit of "modernization" had been forgone! Conclusion This is a loyal and inventive rendition that will be more enjoyable to read than the original for most of today’s readership. And they may get more out of it than they would, struggling through the original....

Book Reviews, Children’s fiction

The Great Brain

by John D. Fitzgerald 1972 / 175 pages The Great Brain is the story of Tom Fitzgerald, a ten-year-old boy living in frontier Utah in a time so long ago that indoor toilets were considered a novelty. His hometown of Adenville is, like most Utah towns, populated mainly by Mormons who live beside a handful of Catholics and Protestants. For Tom that doesn’t matter since he can out think them all. The all consuming love of Tom’s life is money. If there’s a way to get it, Tom puts his great brain to work so that the money can be his. Not surprisingly, Tom’s great brain finds other things to work on, including finding kids lost in a cave, and getting even with his teacher. This book is fun to read as the schemes dreamed up by the “Great Brain” are often hilarious and crazy and almost always successful. Yet, though Tom’s fascinating schemes are not always something to admire, there’s a wonderful sense of morality that runs through the book. The whole tale is told by Tom’s younger brother, John. He is often taken in by Tom’s smooth justifications of his actions, but John always lets you know that he’s still left with nagging doubts. Part of John knows, however silky the Great Brain’s explanations might be, that his schemes still aren’t quite right. Tom also has great parents who are almost always on the ball. They catch onto his antics, punish him, and force him to make restitution to those he’s swindled. In the end, though, the Great Brain sees that there’s more than money. While there isn’t an overt religious message in the book, Tom actually saves a friend’s life and passes up a great money making opportunity that went with it. It makes him feel “extra good inside. Sort of clean and warm and Christmasy.” This is a fun book, good for anyone 9 and over. I absolutely loved it when I first read it as a kid. While it tells the story of an entertaining and sometimes shady child, it doesn’t glorify his antics. Ultimately Tom’s activities are clever, entertaining, confounding and successful, but you still are left with a clear sense that they’re wrong. It’s a fascinating tale with an “old fashioned” sense of morality; good must ultimately win out. The best part is that not only is this a great book, but if you love it as much as I did, there’s are sequels!...

Articles, Book Reviews, Children’s picture books

Amy Krouse Rosenthal: the Ginger Rogers of children's lit

Amy Krouse Rosenthal (1965-2017) was a prolific children's picture book author, crafting more than 30 in just a dozen years. Together with illustrator Tom Lichtenheld, who worked with her at least a dozen times, they were called the “Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire of children’s literature.” But that wasn't Rosenthal's only outlet: she made quirky videos, adult books, and, after getting diagnosed with terminal cancer, tried to get her husband a new wife, by publishing an essay, "You May Want to Marry My Husband," in the New York Times just ten days before she died. While she might be best known for her series of unicorn books, I was impressed by what else she had to offer. I've ordered them below from my most to least favorite. RECOMMENDED (19) I Scream! Ice Cream!: A Book of Wordles 2014 /40 pages What are wordles, you might ask? They are, as this book explains, "groups of words that sound exactly the same but mean different things," like "I scream" and "Ice cream." In each instance that follows the first wordle is presented, and then the reader can guess what the soundalike will be, before turning the page to find out. Super fun! Little Miss Big Sis 2015 / 40 pages With just a half dozen words each page, but loads of rhymes, this is a wonderful early reader about the arrival of a new baby in the family, and how his (or her?) Big Sis is ready to step up. Could be a good one to read to prep a Big Sis-to-be. Little Pea (3) 2005 / 30 pages This is the one that started it all, about a little pea that loved to roll, and play with his dad, and hear stories from his mama about what it was like when she was a little pea. But there was one thing he hated: candy. He absolutely hated eating it, but, in a fun, silly twist, if you want to grow up to be a big strong pea, you have to finish all your candy. And his stern parents won't let him have any dessert until he has at least five pieces of candy first. What's for dessert? Pea's favorite: spinach! What a great joke for a pint-sized audience! A sequel, Little Hoot (2009 / 32 pages) plays on this same reversal theme, with a young owl desperately wishing he could go to bed early. But in his house, the rule is, you have to stay up late, because that's what owls do! The third and last in the series, Little Oink (2009 / 32 pages) has a piglet just wishing he could clean up his room, but his parents need him to keep it messy because, after all, they are pigs! All three are available as picture books and also as a board book set. Spoon (3) 2009 / 40 pages Little Spoon is a part of a very big spoon family, and at bedtime he likes nothing better than to hear "the story about his adventurous great-grandmother, who fell in love with a dish and ran off to a distant land." But Spoon is a bit jealous of his friends, Knife and Fork, who seem to live more exciting lives. "Knife is so lucky! He gets to cut, he gets to spread. I never get to cut or spread." Mom Spoon agrees Knife is pretty "spiffy" that way, and Fork, and the Chopsticks too, all "are something else, aren't they?" But it turns out his friends think Spoon is pretty lucky too, for the fun he can have banging on pots, measuring stuff, and diving headfirst into a bowl of ice cream. It's a wonderful, creative lesson, in appreciating both your friends, and all they can do, but appreciating the abilities and opportunities you've been blessed with too. Two sequels are also fun. Chopsticks (2012 / 40 pages) is an inventive tale about how the two of them always work in tandem, until the day one of them breaks and, after a quick surgical intervention by the Glue Bottle, Chopstick #2 has to take some time off to recover. Then Chopstick #1 has to figure out how to contribute on his own. Then, in Straw (2020 / 48 pages), a bendy straw learns that being first isn't always the most important thing. Sometimes, instead of slurping things right up, it's nice to take it slow and savor. This Plus That 2011 / 40 pages Some great math problems in this one, with equations like "1 + 1 = us" and "somersaults + somersaults + somersaults = dizzy." There's also some fun pairs, like, "chalk + sitting = school" versus "chalk + jumping = hopscotch." I read this to my kids as a guessing game: I didn't show them the pictures, but just read the equations and paused on some of them to give them a chance to provide the answer. I'll sometimes make additions to stories as I read them (just to mix things up and keep myself engaged) so when I read "blaming + eye rolling ≠ sincere apology" one daughter asked if I had made an insertion. But nope, it's in the book! Very fun! Duck! Rabbit! 2009 / 32 pages Is it a duck, or is it a rabbit? A back and forth debate is more entertaining than I thought it could be, with the two sides each making a series of pretty compelling points. I wonder if this might be something to inspire a kid to take up drawing, as they see that a picture doesn't even have to be clearly one thing or the other to make it into a picture book! Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons (3) 2005 / 40 pages This is part dictionary, part cookbook, and part lessons for life. Each page begins with a picture of a child taking on some baking task, often helped by a fully-dressed dog, rabbit, frog, or kitten. I'm guessing those might be their stuffies, come to life to give an assist. Each page also starts with a word, and the definition is then the lesson. For example: "Modest means you don't run around telling everyone you make the best cookies, even if you know it to be true." And: "Greedy means taking all the cookies for myself." Each page is worth a pause to consider. And the book ends (of course!) with a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Two sequels, Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love (2010 / 40 pages) and One Smart Cookie: Bite-Size Life Lessons for the School Years and Beyond (2010 / 40 pages), are every bit as nice, though there is a bit of repetition from one book to the next. Exclamation Mark! 2013 / 56 pages An exclamation mark doesn't fit in with all the periods around him. But when he meets a question mark, he realizes that standing out isn't a bad thing. And he has a special talent for making things exciting! A great book to get kids excited about punctuation! Choo-Choo School 2020 / 34 pages What kind of puns can you come up with if you pretend a train full of cars were actually kids heading to school? Well, the Conductor would lead music class, of course. And the Diner car would make a joke during lunch about how they were now a "chew-chew choo-choo train." Lots more humor that First Graders will appreciate. Friendshape 2015 / 40 pages A square, circle, triangle, and rectangle share lessons about getting along with folks who are a bit different from us. I Wish You More 2015/ 40 pages This is a book of wishes: "I wish you more ups than downs," "I wish you more give than take," and "I wish you more will than hill." The weakness of the book is that it is secular so these wishes, however well-meant, are just sent out into the air. But that doesn't mean the book can't serve as some good inspiration for Christians on what we can bring to our God regarding our friends and neighbors. the OK book 2007 / 36 pages The gimmick here is that if you turn the world "OK" sideways it can look like a stick person. From page to page we see this "okay" person (boy? girl? it's not clear, and doesn't really matter) explaining how, while they like to try a lot of different things, "I'm not great at all of them, but I enjoy them just the same." It's an encouragement to enjoy doing, even when you aren't all that good, just because that's fun, and in part because that's how you'll find out what you are good at. On the Spot 2017 / 32 pages Reusable stickers can be placed in specific spots throughout the book to change the story. So, for example, a child could place a pig in a certain spot so an old favorite nursery rhyme now goes, "Twinkle, twinkle, little pig..." As my daughter put it, it's kind of a reusable Mad-Lib. So, a fun book, but those reusable stickers would get quickly lost in a school library setting. That means this could make for a good gift, but not a good school purchase. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons 2008 / 40 pages A sequel to her Cookies: Bite-Size Lessons for Life, recommended above, this is more of the same, with a Christmas cookie recipe in the back instead. The reason it got bumped down to "Take It or Leave It" is its handling of Santa. The definition reads, "Believe means I might never see it happen, but he will come and eat . I just know it." I'm not a big fan of encouraging our kids to believe in a never-seen, amazingly powerful entity that knows when you've been bad or good, but who is not God, but made up. I think that would quite logically breed distrust when we would later reveal that, no, Santa isn't actually real... but God still is. It's only one of the 40 pages (or sort of two) so it's not a big deal, especially if your kids already know Santa isn't real. Yes Day! 2009 / 40 pages On one day of the year, this boy's parents have agreed to say yes to whatever he ask. Pizza for breakfast? Yes. Can I clean my room tomorrow instead? Yes. Can we get ice cream? Yes indeed. Even when the boy asks if they can have a food fight, his parents say yes (though they take it outside). Aside from the food fight, the requests here are of a modest sort (staying up late, piggyback, etc.) so the only reason this got bumped down here is that this could inspire some kids to think they should have a yes day too, but with less reasonable requests. It's still a fun read, and I think parents might be inspired to, every now and again (and maybe without even telling your kids) set aside a day in which you and your spouse agree to grant every reasonable request your kids ask. Could be interesting! The Wonder Book 2010 / 80 pages All sorts of amazing poems, palindromes, and short stories fill page after page. The only reason it got bumped down here is that there is an instance of potty humor ("Tinkle, Tinkle, in the sea. Don't look under while I pee.") and a weird Dracula-looking kid shows up a couple of times. A couple more reasons to check it out include a great poem about brats, and all those palindromes. Moo-Moo, I Love You! 2020 /40 pages A cow explains that her love for you is as big as a "moo-se." A couple dozen more moo jokes fill out the book. It is funny, but the humor is repetitive, making it one of those books that I sure wouldn't want to have to read again and again. Plant a Kiss 2011 / 36 pages A girl plants a kiss and when a strange and wonderful tree-like thing sprouts, she is willing to share its fruit with everyone. You might think that sharing the fruit of a kissing tree might involve some actual kissing. But nope. Only one kiss in this book. An odd one, that I don't really get (other than the overall message that sharing is caring). One of Those Days 2006 / 32 pages If your kid is having "one of those days" days, this might be a book you could read with them. It highlights how all sorts of days are those sorts of days including "your best friend acting like your beast friend day," "favorite pants too short day" and "annoying sibling day." With a parent along for the ride, this could be a lesson in empathy and sympathy. Without a parent, reading about all this bad stuff happening might not help, fostering whining rather than seeing difficulties for the small problems they actually are. Dear Girl 2017 / 40 pages This a book of encouragements, perhaps intended to be given by a mother to her daughter. Overall, it is pretty good, with insightful thoughts like, ""Find people like you. Find people unlike you." and "You know what's really boring? When people say how bored they are." But one of the encouragements is something I would discourage: "there are no rules about what to wear, or how to cut your hair." So, one to read with your kid and discuss. DON'T BOTHER Bedtime for Mommy takes the same sort of reversal idea we saw in Little Oink, Little Hoot, and Little Pea, but now has a little girl putting her mommy to bed, including getting her bathed. For me, that crosses the line from funny to weird. Uni the Unicorn knows that little girls are real, no matter what anyone else says. In an age when people really do think that believing can make something so, this idea of a unicorn believing in a girl, and a girl believing in a unicorn, and them being right because they believed so strong, just isn't an idea I want to pitch to my kids. This original story spawned a whole series (10 more so far) of Uni books, and while the original was at least clever, these others are not. Al Pha's Bet is an alphabet book, and while a little less boring than most such books, is boring still. It also has "Al Pha" repeatedly saying "Gee" as he names the seventh letter in the alphabet. Awake Beautiful Child is sort of an alphabet book too, though it focuses on only the first three letters. The three words on each page begin with A, then B, and finally C, as in "All begins cheerily" and "Amusing breakfast chatter." An odd artistic style doesn't improve things. Page after page of lame moo jokes aren't reason enough to overlook the problematic title of Holy Cow, I Sure Do Love You! And a staring contest with an owl isn't reason enough to overlook minced oaths like "Dang" and "Jeepers" in Don’t Blink! There is no "d9" it, Wumbers is very clever, with words "cre8ed" with numbers. But two pages of clueless angels, sitting on clouds wondering where they are ("I think it is 7" says one, to which the other replies, "I suppose it is our f8") pitches the popular and wrong notion that people become angels when we die. That's Me Loving You promises something to a child that isn't true: that their loved ones will never really be far from them. "That shimmering star? That's me winking at you." "That inviting ocean? That's me waving at you." This notion directs kids to look to their imagination for what only God can give them. God actually is everywhere they go, and He can always be right nearby. So this book misdirects kids. It's Not Fair is just one whine after another. Some of them are funny whines – "Why can't books go on and on? No more endings, only Once Upons..." – but these whines end with "It's not fair." There aren't many kids who'd benefit from hearing or reading "It's not fair" a dozen times....

Articles, Book Reviews

100 books to buy: A family library is a fantastic long-term investment

My parents never made me read. But my mom read to me. And my dad surrounded me with great books, both on his own shelves, and on my own. I sometimes got books for my birthday, and when we went to the Dutch deli on a Saturday, if the Christian bookstore next door had a newly translated Piet Prins Scout book, he’d get it for me. My dad’s books weren’t kids’ stuff. They were all about economics, evolution, church history, the environment and more, and I didn’t get to them for a long time. But they were there, waiting for me. Sometimes books can get tucked away in a spare room or even boxed up and stored in the garage, but my dad had his books on shelves in the family room, right across from the foosball table. That’s where my friends would gather to battle it out. And while others played and we were waiting our turn, then maybe we’d scan the shelves and just happen upon an interesting title. That’s how both my brothers and I became readers, just by being around great books. Fostering a love for reading does come with a cost, because books aren’t free. But parents make baptismal vows, and educating our children in the knowledge and love of the Lord will take both time and money. Whether you’re homeschooling or sending your kids to a Christian school, that’s thousands of dollars a year. And if you’re at it for 15 years or more, that might amount to $50,000 or even two, three, or four times that amount. So what if, early on, you spent just one or two thousand more on books your whole family could benefit from in the two decades that followed? It’s a very different sort of long-term investment, but with a better return than most anything else you could put your money into. What follows is a list of books that are intended to give families the biggest bang for their buck. These are books that will either be read repeatedly, or, hopefully will be read at least once by everyone in the household. While they are not all Christian books, they are all, in some sense, books that should be read – I’ve narrowed this down to a select few that have something especially creative, beautiful, educational, upbuilding, or just generally praiseworthy about them. Now, if you don’t have a room in your budget for book purchases – a young family rarely has a big budget – perhaps your relatives do. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, and family friends are often looking for present ideas, so if you like some of the suggestions that follow, you could photocopy this article (or print these pages from the pdf) and highlight the titles you’d like, then split the list between any interested relations. And if you make it clear you’d be happy with good used copies, so often readily available online, you may find that both you and your family can afford a few more of these than you might have thought. These are loosely ordered by age, going from youngest to oldest, and all the titles in red can be clicked to go to a longer review. **** Board books to chew on Every family should have their own set of board books, the better to ensure that shared slobber stays inhouse. Reading board books with your kids is primarily about bonding time. This is how baby brains grow – safely on mom or dad’s lap hearing those familiar tones saying familiar words over and over again until something clicks. Another important factor in a board book is that it isn’t so annoying that dad goes batty reading it the one hundredth time. With that in mind, here’s a handful that might amuse parentals, and tempt the tastebuds of little Timmy or Janey. **** On the first two-page spread of Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s Peak-a-boo! (32 pages) we see a baby in her crib on the left-hand side, and the right page is all white, but with a large round hole cut through it so that we (and the baby) can “peek” to see what is on the next page. We get to play peek-a-boo five times in all, and there is so much detail, dad won’t mind looking through it again and again. Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar (22 pages) is over 50 years old and as popular as ever. The title character eats through one food after another, and different page sizes make this a fun one for children to handle. Sandra Boynton has a boatload of board books on offer, and almost all of them are good. The best two are But Not the Hippopotamus (14 pages) about a shy Hippo looking for friendship, and finally being included, and Personal Penguin (21 pages) about everyone’s favorite Antarctic bird and his love for his Hippo friend. It also comes with a free downloaded ditty by Davy Jones of The Monkees. In Peggy Rathmann’s Good Night Gorilla (36 pages) the zookeeper says “good night” to each animal, starting with the gorillas. But as he visits each animal in turn, there is a little gorilla and his mouse friend trailing behind and unlocking all the cages! Kate Coombs’ Goodnight Mr. Darcy (20 pages) is a gag aimed at adult Jane Austen fans, but the rhythm and rhyme will grab your children’s interest too. **** Picture books you’ll wear out There’s no shortage of picture books available at your local library, and we have hundreds of recommendations up on ReformedPerspective.ca/books. But there are a few extra special titles worth always having on hand. Here’s a baker’s dozen your kids will read and reread. **** Wordless books are a treat for preschoolers since they can “read” them on their own. I did have to go through Jennifer Armstrong’s Once Upon a Banana (48 pages) a couple of times before my daughter could follow the monkey getting chased from page to page, but after that she loved doing it on her own. Another great wordless wonder: Aaron Becker’s Journey (40 pages) is about a girl discovering another world where she can create boats and balloons simply by drawing them. My kids have pored over the original and two sequels. “Pioneer Woman” Ree Drummond is better known for her TV show and cookbooks, but Charlie the Ranch Dog (40 pages) is her best work. The story, about how her pet basset hound thinks he runs the ranch, has 4 sequels, but none better than the original. In David Wiesner’s Art & Max (40 pages) two lizards have a paint mishap. When Max tries cleaning the paint off of Art, he cleans all the color off him, and now Art is see-through! It gets extra wacky when Art’s lines begin to unravel. This might be my favorite picture book for how much energy it has on each page. Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who (72 pages) and Sam Lloyd’s Mr. Pusskins: A Love Story (32 pages) both have a moral to the story. No matter how unintentional, Seuss’s story is a wonderful pro-life tale preaching the biblical truth that “a person is a person no matter how small.” And Mr. Pusskins is a furry, cuter version of the Prodigal Son looking down his nose at all his loving master provides him… until he has to live without it. Also educational: Julie Borowski’s Nobody Knows How to Make a Pizza (30 pages) illustrates the problem with big government by showing kids that no one person, or even a team of geniuses, knows how to produce all that goes into just a single cheese pizza. How, then, could government ever be smart enough to manage the entire economy? If that sounds too weighty for kids, it really isn’t, but they may need help from mom or dad to get the whole point. To be educated your kids need to know their fairy and folktales, and Trina Schart Hyman’s Little Red Riding Hood (28 pages) is among the best, with a black cat hidden and waiting to be discovered on every two-page spread. Jerry Pinkney has a wonderful version of Red Riding too, but his best book is a mostly wordless retelling of Aesop’s The Lion and the Mouse. Shirley Hughes’ Ella’s Big Chance (48 pages) is Cinderella recast for the 1920s, and with a twist that’s better than the original. Jan Brett loved telling the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears (40 pages) so much that she did it two more times in The Three Snow Bears and The Mermaid… but her first is best. Larry V.’s Larry Bendeco Johannes Von Sloop (32 pages) brings a bakery twist on Tikki Tikki Tembo, both of which are about how a sibling’s long name caused him trouble. In Cynthia Rylant’s Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea (44 pages), we learn how the title characters – a retired gentleman and his pet cat – first meet. This kind, gentle tale is followed by 24 others, equally charming. **** Treasuries for the grandparents to buy If the grandparents want to make a big splash for a birthday or Christmas, then a big treasury is a good way to go with so many more stories to love. **** James Herriot’s Children’s Treasury (272 pages) tells 8 beautiful, sweet tales about animals in the English countryside. And the artwork is gorgeous. The art in Mo Willems’ An Elephant & Piggie Biggie! (320 pages) is a lot simpler, but the 5 stories are hilarious – the earnest Elephant and adventurous Piggie are a comedic duo in the model of a kinder, gentler Abbot and Costello (and four other Biggie collections are available). Be sure to get a hardcover, “deluxe” edition of A.A. Milne’s The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh (368 pages) to stand up to repeated reads. Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever (288 pages) was my favorite treasury 50 years ago, and it’s still in print. With its 80 short stories filling pages with animal police officers and mailmen and doctors running here, there, and everywhere, this is a busy, busy book! Shirley Hughes’ The Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook (64 pages) tells stories from preschooler Alfie’s perspective. Some of his big adventures involve getting a fedora hat from a neighbor, being in a wedding party, playing chase with dad, and looking through grandma’s pictures. Virginia Lee Burton’s Mike Mulligan and More (208 pages) has four stories, three of them about vehicles with some personality – a steam shovel, a snow removal tractor, and a cable car – which might make it a boy book. Jill Barklem’s The Complete Brambly Hedge (248 pages) is about mice having adventures in their tree towns, with their rooms and activities drawn in great detail, and is most certainly a girl book. **** Great Bible guides for preschoolers There are all sorts of “Bible story books” but many of them take creative license, either by providing details that aren’t in God’s Word, or by depicting Jesus as He may or may not have looked. So it’s good to get our kids used to God’s Word straight from God’s Bible, unfiltered. That said, when they are very young some paraphrasing or explanation is both inevitable and necessary. So here are four resources for parents and their preschoolers that teach the Bible carefully and respectfully. **** In Discovering Jesus in Genesis (176 pages) mom and son team Susan and Richie Hunt tell a fictional story about siblings Cassie and Caleb doing a Bible study with their neighbor Sir John. Parents can use the questions at the end of the 36 chapters to lead our own great discussions. Cassie and Caleb show up again in Discovering Jesus in Exodus (156 pages). Kevin DeYoung’s The Biggest Story (120 pages) takes just 10 chapters to summarize the whole Bible, and while I read it over three nights, my kids would have loved to do it all in just one. Amanda DeBoer’s Teach Them Your Way, O Lord (183 pages) is intended for two and up, telling just over 200 Bible stories with all sorts of questions peppered throughout to get kids thinking and talking. **** Chapter books for bedtime A bedtime story can be a great way to settle kids down, and, if the day has been busy, it can also be an opportunity to check in with your kids. While girls will give boy books a try, the reverse isn’t usually true, so I’ve divvied these up in boy, girl, and crossover groupings. **** Among the girl books, our family read both the unabridged and abridged Classic Starts versions of Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna (200 or 150 pages) and liked both. It’s the story of an orphan whose father taught her to always look for the bright side of any trouble, which she does to often comical extremes. But it’s something the rest of us don’t do nearly enough, making this a very important read. In Cynthia Rylant’s In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen (56 pages) three 9-year-old girl cousins are staying with their Aunt Lucy, and wondering what sort of fun they can cook up. There are five others in this “Cobble Street Cousins” series. In every chapter of Arleta Richardson’s In Grandma’s Attic (144 pages) a grandma tells her granddaughter stories from when she was that girl’s age. Your daughters are sure to love it, along with the three sequels. Sarah, Plain, and Tall (112 pages) is a Newbery Award winner by Patricia MacLachlan about a brave woman who leaves the ocean she loves to head west to Maine to answer an advertisement for a wife and mother. Can she help a widower and his children? And might she even find love? Among the boy books, Brandon Hale’s Prince Martin Wins His Sword (52 pages) tells a pretty involved tale, and all in rhyme. Donald Sobol’s Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (98 pages) is the son of the local police chief, and he takes on kids’ cases for 25 cents. All of the mysteries are solvable if you are paying attention, and there are 28 sequels. A few more have broad appeal. Alexander McCall Smith’s The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case (82 pages) has a young girl in Botswana solving who, or perhaps what, took the missing cake. Joe Sutphin’s The Little Pilgrim’s Progress (320 pages) takes John Bunyan’s classic, updates it into modern, kid-friendly language, and replaces the people with animals. The pictures are impressive but the dialogue is enough to keep kids’ attention. In Jim Payne’s Princess Navina Visits Malvolia (54 pages) a young royal visits a country where the ruler tries to make his people suffer. The lesson here is that the malevolent ruler’s laws are uncannily familiar with the well-meant ones we know. Two sequels are good, but the fourth book takes small government notions to a naive extreme. **** Non-fiction is for kids too Stories are important food for kids, but so too is a good encyclopedic source of information on this topic or that. Here are a handful of resources kids can just page through and explore. **** Ray Comfort’s Made in Heaven (82 pages) highlights all sorts of animals and plants that engineers are looking to copy because of the brilliant engineering evident in their design. Orti Kashtan’s God’s Big Book of Animals (250 pages) is, as the title explains, a really tall and wide book full of huge pictures and fun facts about amazing animals. David Macaulay has two books called Castle, one short at 30 pages and the other at 80 pages. Get the longer one. **** Comics that’ll hit ya At their very best graphic novels are more than the sum of their text and picture parts. That can make learning easier, and humor funnier. **** In Eric Heuval’s A Family Secret (62 pages) a young Dutch boy, searching through his grandma’s attic, discovers that his family fought on both sides of World War II. A sequel, The Search, is almost as good. Paul Keery’s Canada at War (176 pages) taught me about Canada’s early involvement in World War II, including tough battles in Hong Kong and Italy. Not all that gory, but this isn’t for all ages. John Hendrix’s The Faithful Spy (176 pages) tells the true story of how pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer joined in a plot to blow up Hitler. We learn about more brave Germans – this time a student group that spread illegal leaflets – in Andrea Grosso Ciponte’s Freiheit!: The White Rose Graphic Novel (112 pages). The whole family will learn some important church history in Rich Melheim’s gorgeous Luther: the Graphic Novel (72 pages). A different chapter of history is told in Shaun Tan’s The Arrival (128 pages), a wordless look at how odd a new country looks to a new immigrant. One of the biggest battles in academia involves evolution, and Robert C. Newman and John L. Wiester’s What’s Darwin Got to Do With it? (146 pages) is an easy engaging overview of the theory’s biggest overreaches. In John Patrick Green’s Hippopotamister (88 pages) Red Panda leaves his crumbling zoo to get a job in the city. When he recruits Hippo to try it too, we find out how hilariously bad Red Panda is at keeping a job. Nothing important here, just comic genius. **** Rip-roaring stories for tweens A well-spun story is a delight indeed. **** We get a medieval-ish world in both Gerald Morris’s comical take on King Arthur’s court in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great (96 pages), and Jennifer Trafton’s The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic (350 pages) about a castle built on a mountain that rises and falls once a day. S.D. Smith gets downright ridiculous in his short story collection Mooses with Bazookas: And Other Stories Children Should Never Read (160 pages) and Babylon Bee contributor Ethan Nicolle tells an even crazier story in Brave Ollie Possum (373 pages) about a boy who thinks there are monsters outside his window… and he’s right! Four brilliant but lonely kids join forces to take on an evil super genius in Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society (512 pages). Fifth grader Nick Allen wants to get a word into the dictionary in Andrew Clements’ Frindle (112 pages) and his teacher seems dead-set against it. **** Super series It’s a joy to discover that the great book you’ve just read in only the first of a whole bunch. I’ve again divvied this up by gender, with the first couple for girls, and the rest for everyone. **** Enid Blyton's First Term at Malory Towers (176 pages) and its 5 sequels are about girls at a British boarding school in the 1940s. They are the only entries on this list I haven’t read, but my wife and three girls all insisted they had to be included. Be sure to get the new covers (we do judge books that way). Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiographical Little House on the Prairie (352 pages), about settling the West, has been a favorite for generations, as have the other 8 in the series. Andrew Peterson’s 5-book Wingfeather Saga (1520 pages total) and Jonathan Rogers’ Wilderking Trilogy (760 pages total) are epic Christian fantasy on par with C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series. They differ in that those series are all just one story, split over a number of books, while you can read Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew (221 pages) and have a complete story. Peterson and Roger also resolve their stories better, as Lewis’s epilogue, The Last Battle, has some theological weirdness. **** Teen fiction they’ll share with their kids Your parents might have read two of the entries here to you. The other two are so good they might end up being read by your children to their children. **** Sigmund Brouwer’s Innocent Heroes: Stories of Animals in the First World War (186 pages) are all true tales, but lightly fictionalized in that they now all take place in just one Canadian battalion. Douglas Bond takes us back to the trenches in War in the Wastelands (273 pages), a fictionalized account of the then-atheist C.S. Lewis’s stint on the front lines. We get to hear Lewis raising some of the very same theological objections he answers years later. While J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is too weighty for some, The Hobbit (320 pages) is a more approachable introduction to Middle Earth. I never continued past Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (312 pages) to the other 7 in the set but, like me, many guys could enjoy this first one. **** Truth for teens As our children age they might need to be introduced to non-fiction. Teens don’t always realize the breadth of helpful educational books that are available to answer the many questions they have. **** Our kids are sure to get hit with evolution in university, so they should know about Ken Ham’s The New Answers Book: Over 25 Questions on Creation/Evolution (384 pages) and its 3 sequels. Identity is another big challenge for teens, and ably addressed in Rachel Jankovic’s You Who? Why You Matter & How to Deal With It (246 pages). Alex and Brett Harris challenge teens to raise the bar on what they expect of themselves, in their Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations (320 pages). **** Ain’t no better biographies If the only life you learn from is your own, you’ll live a small life, and you may even make the mistake of thinking you serve a small God. But take a gander at these biographies, and marvel at what God has done. **** Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place (272 pages) shares “ordinary” miracles that preserved her life in the Nazi concentration camps, even as her sister and father died. In Unbroken (528 pages) Laura Hillenbrand tells the harrowing true story of World War II bombardier Louis Zamperini’s survival on the open ocean, and torture in Japanese captivity, and how God preserved and encouraged Zamperini even before he turned to God. In God’s Smuggler (288 pages), Brother Andrew prayed for seeing eyes to be blind when he brought Bibles into the Soviet Union. And God gave him what he asked for. Nabeel Qureshi’s Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (384 pages) shares his conversion story from Islam, and Rosaria Butterfield shares her own conversion story from lesbian liberalism in The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (154 pages). **** Super accessible theology These are tiny – they can be read in an evening – but their impact is large. **** In How Do You Kill 11 Million People? (96 pages) Andy Andrews asks how the Nazis got millions to, mostly without protest, walk to their deaths. The terrifying answer may change how you vote next election. In The Grace and Truth Paradox (96 pages) Randy Alcorn explores how even as Jesus came to Earth full of both grace and truth, His followers too often manage just one or the other. Not sure what God wants you to do with your life? Kevin DeYoung has a helpful answer in his Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will (144 pages). John Piper approaches the same topic from a different direction in his Risk is Right: Better to Lose Your Life Than Waste It (64 pages). John Byl and Tom Goss give a great primer in their How Should Christians Approach Origins? (44 pages). It can be downloaded for free at ReformedPerspective.ca/freebooks. And Douglas Wilson tackles another big issue of our day in Devoured by Cannabis (99 pages). **** Cream of Christian novels Maybe it was after the one thousandth Amish novel was published, but somewhere along the line, Christian novels got a bad reputation. But these are all fantastic. **** The oldest entry here, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (480 pages), should be read by everyone, including the guys, to get a look back at a culture that certainly had its own problems, but didn’t have our confusions about gender. Pay the extra money to get one with an attractive cover – it’ll make it so much easier for your kids to want to pick it up. Joel C. Rosenberg is a great writer, but with a dispensationalist theology that bleeds into most of his books. His World War II thriller, The Auschwitz Escape (480 pages) is a wonderful exception. Patti Callahan’s Once Upon a Wardrobe (320 pages) is a quick read. A young, sick boy recognizes there is something true about Lewis’ literary creation, and enlists his Oxford-attending older sister to go ask the author, “Where did Narnia come from?” For a couple of more modern tales, consider Rule of Law (460 pages), Randy Singer’s best, a courtroom drama in which the client is Christian, but none of the lawyers we follow. Douglas Wilson’s Flags Out Front (206 pages) is about a quiet Christian college president who isn’t looking for trouble but who discovers, when trouble comes looking for him, that he has a spine. **** Educational fiction While most of these are only middling stories, they are all fantastic textbooks on incredibly important subject matter. And this fiction format helps make learning pain-free. **** In Jay Adams’ Greg Dawson and the Psychology Class, a pastor explains the difference between Christian counseling that starts with the Bible and Christian counseling that starts with Freud. Douglas Wilson’s Persuasion: A Dream of Reason Meeting Unbelief (96 pages) riffs off of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, but this time we stick with Evangelist, and the people he meets. Socrates shows up in our modern day to debate an abortionist in Peter Kreeft’s The Unaborted Socrates (156 pages) while Guillermo Gonzalez and Jonathan Witt tackle evolution’s unscientific foundation in their highly readable The Farm at the Center of the Universe (167 pages). C.S. Lewis uncovers some devilish correspondence in his classic The Screwtape Letters, with a senior devil writing to a younger demon to teach him how best to tempt Man. Henry Hazlitt’s Time Will Run Back (368 pages) is a dystopian tale about when communism so completely took over the world that no one left remembered what capitalism was. When the world dictator’s son wants to make improvements, guess what he invents? Worth having in print, you can download an e-book version at the longer review above. George Orwell’s Animal Farm slogan that “some are more equal than others” is a perfect descriptor for today’s “tolerance.” Odyr’s graphic novel version (176 pages) might be the best bet. **** Commentaries you’ll read I’ve often found that when I turn to a commentary the one verse it skips over is the very verse I’m looking for help with. Not so with these. **** R.C. Sproul’s John: An Expositional Commentary (381 pages) is the first commentary I ever read front to back, and can easily be used as a devotional. Jay Adams’ Proverbs (240 pages) is intended as a resource for Christian counselors, but is quite the dinner devotions resource too, giving dad quick help on what each verse means. Both Dale Ralph Davis’s Joshua: No Falling Words (224 pages) and Douglas Wilson’s Joy at the End of the Tether: The Inscrutable Wisdom of Ecclesiastes (126 pages) are sure to give you new insights into these two books. **** Answers for adults I’ll finish up with a potpourri of non-fiction books that each address an important issue. **** If you think your devices are controlling you, then there’s no better book than Andy Crouch’s The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology In Its Place (224 pages). R.C. Sproul’s Everyone’s a Theologian (357 pages) has answers for theological questions you might not have known how to ask, but really did want answered. You might have thought that you already knew How to Read a Book (205 pages) but Andrew David Naselli helps make it so much easier. This is really a must-read for every single Christian, and should be required reading in our Christian high schools. Randy Alcorn’s Heaven (560 pages) is an encouraging book for old and young. If you ever thought you’d be bored in heaven, you need to read this. It is, at times, speculative, but Alcorn is always clear about when he’s just guessing, and when he’s got a firm biblical foundation. And if you’ve ever thought poetry was boring, then Sharon Creech’s children’s book Love That Dog (128 pages) will change your mind. The environmental movement is primarily paganism, so how should Christians do environmentalism differently? Gordon Wilson gives the beginnings of an answer in A Different Shade of Green (204 pages). Finally, Greg Koukl presents a much easier way to defend your faith in his Tactics (288 pages). **** Conclusion This is the list I’m hoping my own girls make it through before they head out the door. I’m not going to be disappointed if they don’t get to every last one. They might have different interests, and find other equally important topics that they’ve needed to focus on instead. But I will be disappointed if they know all the Pixar movies but don’t know how to defend their faith. And I’ll be disappointed if their jumpshot is fantastic, but they think socialism is credible. God has entrusted their education to me and to my wife, and we’ve only got 18 or so years with them. And as I’m starting to learn, that goes by in a blink. So my hope is that this list will help young families get off to a quick start. 300+ to Borrow While my main article is about quality – books so fantastic they are better bought than borrowed – there is something to be said for quantity too. Not every book is among the all-time greats, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t really good too. And to that end, a library card can be a wonderful way to feed your kids oodles of new adventures, and keep your coffee table full of books you’d want to peruse too. However, perusing your local library shelves, even in the picture book section, is now a PG-rated activity. It only gets worse in the teen section where the books on display are gender-questioning, sex-obsessed, and God-hating. So, rather than spend time in the library searching for the diamonds among this dunghill, check out RP’s suggestions instead. Then, figure out your library’s online reserve system to have the librarians set aside your picks, so you can just walk in and walk out. The three lists below skew towards a younger age group, because that’s where RP has the largest number of reviews. We’d like to do better for teens and adults, so if you have recommendations of books that Christians really need to know about, send them to me. 100+ WORDLESS WONDERS There’s no better way to get preschoolers hooked on reading than books they can read even before they can read. 100+ CALDECOTT WINNERS The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the best illustrated American picture books, and while the world’s idea of “best” needs a bit of sifting, I’ve got a list of the very best of their best. 100+ GREAT GRAPHIC NOVELS Comics aren’t just for kids, so whether it’s your teens, or your spouse, there will be something here to intrigue you and them....

Book Reviews, Teen fiction

Team Burger Shed

by Tavin Dillard 2024 / 188 pages Tavin Dillard is of an indeterminate age (he looks mid-30s, but gets around on a bike, which he also uses to pull the mower for his landscaping business so is he in his teens?), and lives in a small, indeterminate town, probably in Arkansas. What we do know for sure is that he likes softball. So when his buddy Myron Curtis invites him onto a team, Tavin is quick to say yup and hand over his twenty bucks for a team shirt. But then Myron got hisself all distracted after asking out Mary Beth, and never got around to ordering the uniforms. That means that for their first two games, everyone has to play "skins' versus their fully-decked out opponents who get to play "shirts." And that also means that when Tavin tries to steal a base, he slides in "chest naked." While I don't have a problem with it myself, that's a bit of descriptive folksy terminology that I could imagine some parents not liking, particularly with younger boys who you might not want going around describing themselves, every time their shirt is off, as "chest naked." I read it to my girls, so that is not a situation that will happen here. From then on, each chapter centers around a game and other softball-related developments, including how they got a sponsor (the Burger Shed), and how the softball field concession stand got burned down when Mary Beth got the idea to try selling s'mores. One whole chapter is about Tavin eating a "black nanner" (a blacker than black banana) because it would have been rude to decline. This is folksy, ridiculous, and charming – it's what'd you'd expect if you turned the Duck Dynasty TV show into a book about a rec league softball team. Cautions In addition to a few "chest naked" references, there's some mild pottyish humor, one instance related to a player who ate jalapeño nachos mid-game. And, with his "tender guts," this meal had the already slow Myron Curtis now moving at quarter speed. When its his turn at bat, his team is rooting for him to make it to first... "without ruining his breeches." Conclusion It's a season that starts slow, but has Team Burger Shed coming from way back to make it into the playoffs. Do they win it all? You'll have to read it to find out, but I think you and your teens will want to. This is not some great literary work, but it is a fun read aloud, written such that I was drawling with a southern accent the whole way through....

Book Reviews, Popular but problematic

Beware Wings of Fire’s bait and switch

Wings of Fire is an incredibly popular kids’ book series about dragons, but sadly the author has pulled the old bait and switcheroo. She first lured young readers in with the promise of fire, fights, and fast-paced adventure. But starting in book 10 with a one-line mention of one girl dragon liking another girl dragon, the author began pushing the LGBT agenda. That comes out in a bigger way in books 14 and 15, with the introduction of a couple of “non-binary” characters (complete with they/them pronouns), a dragon with two moms, a trio of lesbian couples, and a homosexual pairing. It’s no coincidence that this agenda comes out big and bold only this far into the series. The author knows she has most of her young readers hooked, and they’ll want to know how the 15-book series ends, no matter what she foists on them. Hopefully, Christian kids will quit in disgust, but there will be a temptation to see how it all ends. Parents can help their kids by finding better books for them. We have suggestions at ReformedPerspective.ca/books and we’re always looking for your help. Send them to us using our contact form here....

Book Reviews, Children’s picture books

What really happened to the dinosaurs?

by John Morris and Ken Ham 1990 / 32 pages Some children, it seems, are born with a love for all things dinosaurs while others might need their curiosity stirred. In parental hands, What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? could do some real stirring. Colorful watercolor graphics accompany a narrative journey about the dinosaurs – Tracker John and his dinosaur friend DJ take us to the beginning of history, when God made dinosaurs on the sixth day. They discover clues which teach them why dinosaurs are different than other land animals. As we travel along with Tracker John, we see how sin changed God’s good creation, and how the Flood may have life for the dinosaurs. One neat aspect of this large hardcover picture book is the many illustrations of dinosaurs and humans living side by side. This is a fact of history that is denied by secular scientists, but has such power to capture a child’s imagination. Children in the second grade and younger will enjoy having this book read out loud to them, and the rainbow of colors used in the artwork will draw in young eyes. However, some more technical paragraphs will need to be summarized or skipped to make this a more attainable read-aloud for preschool kids aged 3 to 5. Older elementary kids in turn might find some of the watercolor graphics to be childish. This book is therefore a great selection for the parent who wants to encourage their young children to study God’s big world, even when the topics can be confusing. But it does require some effort on the adult reader’s part to make the words interesting and understandable to their young listeners. ...

Articles, Book Reviews, Dating

3 great books about dating

Some years back a fellow came out with a decent enough dating book, but years laters people came out complaining that his book had done serious damage to them. The problem was, they had treated his writing as if it were some sort of 11th Commandment, to be followed without question. That's a reverence due God's Words, and no others. So, the books here are all recommended, but as good books... not as the Good Book. As always, read with discernment. PREPARING FOR MARRIAGE by John Piper 2018 / 86 pages I was surprised in college, to learn the kind of questions my secular classmates would ask on a first date. They started off with the topics folks just don’t normally talk about in public: abortion, politics, and religion. But it made sense: if you can’t agree about the biggest issues, then why bother with a second date? Good questions are why this slim volume, while written for couples, would be a great one for singles too. The first appendix has more than 50 good, get-to-the-heart-of-the-matter questions to help a person evaluate whether their date could be marriage material. Piper uses a lot of we’s, because he is talking to couples, so I’ve recast a few examples using you statements instead: What is your understanding of headship and submission in the Bible and in marriage? What makes you angry? What are your views of daycare for our children? Would there be one checkbook or two? Why? What expectations should we have about situations where one of us might be alone with someone of the opposite sex? Should we have a television? How many children would you like? Would you consider adoption? How will we distinguish between punishment and discipline? And, as an added bonus, this book can be downloaded for free at DesiringGod.org/books. JUST DO SOMETHING by Kevin DeYoung 2009 / 128 pages Kevin DeYoung didn’t intend this as a dating book but for Christian young men and women who are waiting on God to point them to their perfect match, this could be just what you need. Some Christians get themselves all tied up because they believe God has one ideal path for each of our lives, and it’s our job to discover it. That really misunderstands what God expects of us. There isn’t only one right thing we can; we have all sorts of options. We could, for example, decide to have tuna on rye for lunch, or a slice of pizza instead, and either option can be God-honoring. Of course, where God does reveal His will, we need to listen. So daters-to-be must use Scripture to rule out some options (don’t date pagans or fools) use Scripture to establish proper priorities (don’t let pretty rate higher than godly) turn to your parents (and others) for advice. pray to God for wisdom. Will that tell you whether to date godly option #1, tall Theresa, or godly option #2, bold Brenda? Maybe not. But you don’t need to worry. DeYoung you to understand that if you’re following what God tells us in His Word then you can proceed in confidence that you are honoring God with whomever you might date. God’s secret will isn’t ours to know, so we can’t, and don’t need to, consider it. MARRY WISELY, MARRY WELL by Ernie Baker 2016 / 170 pages I’ve read several dating books, and while some might be a bit funnier, or a quicker read, Marry Wisely, Marry Well is the one I am most certain about. There are a lot of questions when it comes to dating, and Ernie Baker offers cautious answers – he’s trying to not say more than God does – but his answers still provide enough direction to be helpful. Marry Wisely is not intended for parents to just drop into their teen's hands – it's a book to be studied, and probably best studied in a group. I could imagine it being used as the basis of a young people’s study weekend, or maybe by a pastor in some pre pre-marital class for teens. Baker wants to reach and teach young people before they start dating and have a whole mess of emotions clouding their thinking. So what questions does Baker answer? Things like: What’s God’s purpose for marriage? How can I best use my single years? How do I know if I’m ready? How do I know if he’s the one? This isn’t a hard or long read, and it offers a lot of valuable guidance to the young man or woman who wants it. But it is probably too meaty, and requires too much effort and study, to be the sort of thing you could spoon-feed teens who aren’t already interested....

Book Reviews, Science - Creation/Evolution, Teen fiction

The Farm at the Center of the Universe

by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jonathan Witt 2024 / 167 pages An astrobiologist has written a young adult novel with an Intelligent Design agenda, so the obvious questions are: Can he tell a good story? Does he honor God? The answer to question #1 is yes, definitely, and to #2, no, or at least not nearly enough. While the story doesn't quite stand on its own, it'll grab anyone who has even the least bit of interest in learning about atheistic evolution's shortcomings. That's why every Christian teen should read this before they finish high school – undirected evolution is one of our culture's big lies (with fruit like euthanasia, abortion, homosexuality, etc.) so our students need to be ready to contend with it before they head to university or the workforce. And this novel format transforms what could have been a dry, dusty, academic debate into a much easier read. As the opening chapter begins, Isaac and his older cousin Charlie are driving to visit their grandparents' farm for a week. Isaac is a teen who wants to know why God let his dad die from cancer. Charlie is in his twenties, and is also Isaac's science teacher (that's what can happen in a small town) and he's a tough love type, heavy on the tough. As a Darwin devotee, he tells Isaac that his dad's death is proof there is no God, just an uncaring universe. But it turns out Grandpa is not only a more sympathetic listener, he's also a retired chemistry professor who has his own thoughts about how the universe came to be. He introduces Isaac to the "book of nature," which gives all sorts of hints as to what happened in the distant past. And he also highlights how brilliant design gives evidence of a Designer. This is both the book's strongest point and its weakest: it absolutely blows up evolution, but doesn't offer the true, biblical, six-day alternative. Still, it is a very helpful read, and fun too, especially when Grandpa debates Charlie. But Isaac isn't sure exactly who he is rooting for. "Part of him wanted Grandpa to be right about a Creator and Charlie to be wrong. Isaac didn't want his dad's death to just be random. If it were random, then there wouldn't even be a God for Isaac to be angry at for letting it happen. But another part of him saw the attraction of his cousin Charlie's view. The idea of a God so powerful He could create things like these microscopic machines that filled his body, but Who hadn't even intervened to help his dad, was oddly frightening. It was almost easier to just ignore a God like that – insist He isn't out there. The silent treatment. Punish Him for letting good people die. And, after all, maybe just maybe, there really wasn't a God and he could just forget about all the hard questions." That highlights some of the book's depth in raising the "problem of evil." Though it is a theological, rather than scientific objection, it is one evolutionists will frequently raise: if a good God exists, why does He let bad things happen? But this also highlights why this isn't a book teens should read alone, because the objection goes largely unanswered. Isaac rightly notes that his feelings have no impact on whether or not God exists. That'd be a scientific answer to this objection, and a good one to have in hand. But teens should know the biblical answer too, as God gave it to Job, or as Paul teaches in Romans 9:20-21: "Who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?" And this answer needs to be understood in the context of this same God sending His Son to humble Himself and die for us. He has shown He is loving, so while we don't understand all He does, we do know we can trust Him. That's an important point, but one parents will need to provide. (Greg Koukl approaches the problem of evil from another direction with his helpful "problem of good.") As Grandpa and Charlie continue with their back-and-forths, it gives them both a chance to pitch the arguments for and against Intelligent Design. I've followed this debate for decades, and I think this fiction format allows for one of the most concise, clear, and devastating evolutionary takedowns I've read. One of my favorite bits is when Isaac is worried his Grandpa might be exaggerating a bit, when he says the cell is like a miniature factory, because, after all, factories "were massive, complex buildings filled with machinery and workers who built things like cars and trucks and Grandpa's tractor." Grandpa's response? "...you're half right. Calling a cell a factory isn't quite accurate.... It's not quite a good comparison because I'm giving too much credit to man-made factories. A cell is more like, how can I put this? A factory that builds factories that builds factories. Or a robot that builds robots thats build robots. Do you know any man-made factories that do that?" Despite Charlie's best efforts, the legs are kicked out from under his Darwin idol. Caution But what's left standing in its place? Grandpa briefly gives a nod to the Bible, reading from the opening four verses of Psalm 19 about how "the heavens declare the glory of God." But he never addresses the opening chapters of Genesis. Grandpa doesn't believe in unguided evolution, but it becomes clear he also doesn't believe that God created in just six days. The problem here is akin to the situation we have with a Jordan Peterson or even a Pierre Poilievre. In our blind land, these one-eyed men see so much better than most. But they are still seeing only half as well as they could. The book of nature that Grandpa appeals to offers him only hints and clues as to the reality and nature of God, but God has revealed Himself much more clearly in another book, His Word. If only Grandpa was willing to rely on the clearest of the two books, instead of leaning on his own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6). Conclusion While every Christian teen should read this, none of them should read it alone. They should read The Farm at the Center of the Universe because of how it makes quick work of atheistic evolution. It'll prepare them for many of the attacks a university prof might muster. But while evolution-toppling accounts for about 99 percent of the novel's contents, there is also 1 percent that misdirects by leaving open the possibility that God could have created over billions of years. Are the authors proposing some sort of theistic evolution? That's never clearly stated, but it needs to have been ruled out. And since Farm is targeted to teens that 1 percent of misdirection shouldn't be overlooked. Teens should read it, but with a teacher or parent alongside....

Adult non-fiction, Book Reviews

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland

by Christopher R. Browning 1992 / 384 pages This is a really horrifying book. Ordinary Men tells the World War II story of German Reserve Police Battalion 101. Police battalions were units sent into occupied territory to quell civil unrest and to take care of any remaining partisan forces. They generally consisted of men too old for the regular military draft, or sometimes volunteers attempting to avoid conscription into an active military unit. They were formed of men with families and careers, the sort of men you might meet at the grocery store, or perhaps go bowling with. The men in police units were not normally those you'd consider likely to become mass murderers. On July 13, 1942, that all changed. The nearly 500 men of the battalion were sent to Jósefów in Poland. Upon arrival, Major Wilhem Trapp, the battalion commander gave the men their instructions. In tears he told them that they were to round up the 1500 or more Jews in the town and execute them. In an unusual move, Trapp invited anyone to step forward who did not want to carry out the task at hand and be assigned to other duties. Only 12 of the nearly 500 took Trapp up on his offer. Those who didn’t stepped forward were set to work, and an initially small group of them was brought to the nearby woods where they were instructed on how to execute the Jews in as swift and tidy a way as possible. With their victim lying face down on the ground, the policemen were instructed to place the bayonets of their rifles at the base of their victims' necks, and then fire. This method ensured a swift death for the victim, and was as clean and tidy as a mass execution could be. Later groups that carried out the executions that day were not given the same precise instructions, and often shot wildly. This meant that the victims' skulls were frequently blown apart, splattering the formerly tidy uniforms of the police with blood and brains of the victims. As might be expected, many of the shooters were unable to continue and were allowed to assume other less distasteful duties. Unit discipline was surprisingly loose that day, and many of those doing the shooting simply abandoned their posts without permission and slipped off into the woods. They were able to do this without any punishment from their superiors. Despite it being so easy to avoid being one of the executioners, 80 per cent or more of the battalion continued rounding up and executing the Jews until the job was completed. Upon returning to their barracks, most of the men of the unit quickly got drunk. As with most difficult tasks, executing the Jews became easier, and even a source of merriment at times. Battalion 101 did few actual executions on their own, generally providing police cordons to prevent doomed Jews from escaping their fate. While Lithuanian "Hiwi" units did much of the actual shooting, the men of Battalion 101 were involved in the execution either directly or by providing a security cordon to at least 38,000 Jews from July 1942 until November 1943. Additionally, they forced at least 45,200 other Jews onto trains bound for death camps like Treblinka. Story of Those That Killed This is a horrifying book, but not so much because of the number of men, women and children who were innocently executed. This book is not the story of those who died, but of those who killed them. After the initial incident at Jósefów, battalion discipline was tightened. Despite this, men who didn't want to be involved in the executions had little trouble avoiding the duty. When officers set up details, they generally picked volunteers. On those occasions when they simply chose people at random, it was still easy to avoid the duty by moving to the back of the crowd. It quickly became apparent that men in close proximity to the officer got picked, so avoiding this unpleasant job was a relatively simple affair. The horrifying part is that despite it being easy to avoid execution duties, it was never a problem finding volunteers, eager to go out and join the latest squad. There were always other more seemingly honorable tasks available for those who chose not to join the execution squads, such as joining a patrol to eliminate partisan resistance fighters. None the less, there was a conspicuous number of men in the unit who appeared to prefer the task of killing unarmed civilians. In reading a book like this, one has to ask how an average man could become a mass murderer. The author is quick to emphasize that these were not men trained to kill. As police officers, their military training was no better than the average. They had received no special indoctrination that prepared them for their task. Being, for the most part, middle aged men set in their ways, they were, if anything, less susceptible to the worst of the Nazi propaganda than most of the younger soldiers conscripted into military units. Only about 25 per cent of the policemen were members of the Nazi party and most of those were late joiners, coming into the party after National Socialism had become well established in Germany. In other words, most of these men weren't even committed Nazis. The author emphasizes that in almost every conceivable way, the men of Battalion 101 were average. They were, quite literally, ordinary men. They could well have been your neighbor next door, or the guy from down the street. So how do you explain something like this, when ordinary men become willingly involved in extraordinary evil? The author notes that psychological experiments suggest humans will readily inflict severe pain on other human beings when ordered to do so by an authority figure. It seems that the average man's conscience can be put at ease if someone else has told him to cause pain, for perhaps then he might be able to convince himself he is not morally responsible. In the case of Battalion 101, however, the normal stern authority figure who ordered the killings was a kindly older man, so distraught about the orders he brought that he was literally in tears. His instructions to clear out the ghetto in Jósefów came less as an order from an authority figure than as a request from a man deeply uncomfortable with his task. The standard explanation of many accused of heinous crimes - "I was merely following orders" - simply doesn't apply here for it was almost always possible to avoid the order with no adverse consequences. The authority figures of the battalion never took a stern line and never forced the men to kill. Rationalizing Evil Some of the men of the battalion rationalized their actions in strange ways. One explained that he always paired himself with another policeman who would shoot the parent of a child. Since the child was now an orphan, it seemed only merciful to this individual to also shoot the child, for this would "deliver" him from the lonely, miserable life that orphans have often experienced. It may not have been intentional, but the policeman justifying his actions used a perverse pun. The same German word he used to suggest he delivered the child, also means "to redeem." It seemed shooting these Jews almost took on a religious significance for him. The author also contrasts the policemen with the bureaucrats in Berlin who issued the orders that Battalion 101 followed when they executed civilians, or forced them onto death trains. These bureaucrats, he notes, were able to issue their directives with relative ease because they never actually had to face the people whose deaths they were responsible for. The men of this police battalion never had that excuse. They couldn't claim that they were emotionally distant from their victims as they escorted them, one by one, to the areas in the forest where the killing was taking place. The policemen saw their victims close up, and were able to look them in the eye. The men of the battalion indicated they even struck up conversations with the men, women, and children they were about to kill though one is left to wonder what kind of a conversation could possibly have occurred. The policemen could not claim a moral distance from their victims like the bureaucrats in Berlin could. They looked many of their victims in the eye and treated them like human beings until the very last possible moment. True Cowardice So what could be the cause? There is, perhaps, only one explanation that makes sense and even partially accounts for what occurred. Twenty years after the fact, when facing criminal prosecution for their actions, men of the battalion were asked why they didn't step forward and avoid becoming a mass murderer when offered the opportunity by Trapp. Most explained they didn't want to appear cowardly. It was one thing to start with the executions and then be unable to finish. It was quite another to not do the executions at all. That was cowardly. Only one individual seemed to understand his own motivations clearly. When asked why he didn't step forward when given the chance, he didn't say that he was trying to avoid being a coward, but that he didn't step forward precisely because he was a coward. He was less afraid of killing innocent children than he was of the peer pressure exerted by his comrades. The true story of Battalion 101 is a horrifying tale. There was, no doubt, enormous pressure from the rest of the battalion to conform and to join the executions. Yet peer pressure is not an excuse. We don't excuse kids at school caught smoking who gave in under pressure from their peers, and, though the crime is larger, people caught in the situation of the battalion cannot be excused either. Peer pressure helps to explain their actions, but it doesn't take away the guilt. Perhaps the most obvious element lacking from all the excuses provided by the policemen is any sense of morality. Twenty years after the fact when criminal investigators interviewed these former policemen, there was no longer an immediate sense of peer pressure. The rest of their unit no longer had the same sway over them, and even that long after the events the policemen overwhelmingly indicated they had done what they did because they didn't want to appear weak in front of their comrades. They hadn't been motivated by a belief in Nazi values. Twenty years after the fact they expressed little remorse for what were clearly morally repugnant actions. Even those who had not been involved in the killing did not claim to be "too good" to kill, but they were "too weak." It is almost unbelievable that crimes of this magnitude could be discussed without any reference to morality. In All of Us Though this is a work of history and not theology, and though the author reveals no obvious religious bias, his conclusion sounds like something straight out of the Bible. He warns against the smugness many feel when discussing the evil actions of others. As he notes in his final sentence, if under these circumstances the very ordinary men of Battalion 101 could become mass killers, "what group of men cannot?" It is in this last comment that it might be possible to finally understand the actions of these men. The Heidelberg Catechism explains that we are "incapable of any good and prone to all evil" and the Larger Catechism of the Westminster Confessions states that mankind is "wholly inclined to all evil." This is why the tale of Battalion 101 is so utterly horrifying. Their actions are not horrifying because they're so unusual, and so implausible, but because they're something we're all capable of. The level of evil to which they descended - the same evil we've seen repeated in places like Rwanda, or by individuals like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahlmer, or Clifford Olson - is something that lies in the hearts of all of us. Reading a book like this is not for the faint of heart, or those prone to nightmares. As one of my grad school colleagues commented, it is almost senseless to talk about preventing these kinds of actions, for without the regenerating work of God the cause of the evil remains unsolved. Despite its disturbing story, the book is one well worth reading for it illustrates in a brutally clear fashion why reaching out to our neighbors is so urgent. If you ever needed a slight push to talk to co-workers, or the people just across the back hedge, to explain to them "the reason for the hope that you have," this book will do that for you. This review originally appeared in the March 2000 issue under the title: "Ordinary Men, Ordinary Monsters." Listen to Jordan Peterson talking about Police Battalion 101 below. ...

Adult non-fiction, Book Reviews

How Should We Then Die?

A Christian Response to Physician-Assisted Death by Ewan C. Goligher 2024 / 145 pages In April 2024, a desperate father in Calgary, Alberta begged a judge to prevent the doctor-assisted suicide of his 27-year-old autistic daughter. The father argued that his daughter’s “condition, to the extent that she has a condition, is mental not physical in nature” and raised serious concerns about the approval process for her death, including whether legal safeguards had been met and whether “doctor shopping” had taken place (where patients assessed as “ineligible” continue to seek out opinions from other doctors until they find ones willing to approve of their assisted suicide). Confusion reigns But the judge felt he could not intervene: “MAiD assessments are conducted in accordance with the structure imposed by the Criminal Code … but they remain medical assessments conducted by doctors … are private in nature and involve the application of specialized professional judgment. … The Court has no expertise and no place in reviewing MAiD assessments in some sort of ad hoc system of pre-authorization...” But by this logic, any medical assessment, including a mistaken or careless one, approving of an assisted death could be impervious to judicial review. Furthermore, the judge reasoned that preventing the daughter from accessing “medical assistance in dying” would do more harm to her than allowing it, a deeply religious argument Dr. Goligher tackles head-on in his book, as we will see. Thankfully, the Alberta Court of Appeal granted an injunction halting the assisted death from proceeding at least until the appeal is heard later this year. This story emphasizes just how far we’ve come in Canada with euthanasia and assisted suicide (collectively referred to in Canada with the euphemism “medical assistance in dying” or “MAiD”). What’s more, many Christians seem genuinely confused about how to deal with the issue. I’ve taught multiple university courses on law, human rights, and public policy in two different Christian post-secondary institutions, and in most of them the issue of euthanasia has been discussed and studied. In each class, I have found Christian students who either (1) believe that euthanasia is wrong but are unable to articulate why, or (2) believe it is wrong (morally wrong, I suppose) to “impose” on others one’s belief that euthanasia is wrong. Much-needed book And so, not even a decade into this legal and moral quagmire, Christians in Canada are in desperate need of resources to help respond to this issue in a way that is compassionate, thoughtful, and theologically grounded. Thank the Lord for providing such a resource through the pen of Dr. Ewan Goligher! Dr. Goligher is a medical doctor and an elder in a PCA church in Toronto. I first met him when he and I co-taught at the Christian Legal Institute (the only Christian legal training academy in Canada) and he urged students to pay careful attention to this issue and to champion the human rights of the vulnerable whose lives are placed at risk in the name of “autonomy” and “self-determination.” He also encouraged students to be prepared to defend Christian and other doctors who are clinically, ethically, and conscientiously opposed to participating in the intentional termination of patients’ lives. Since that first meeting, I’ve enjoyed a friendship with Ewan and we have picked up our conversations at other events: Christian legal and medical conferences and at the Apologetics Canada conference where Dr. Goligher has also lectured. Ewan’s book is a beautifully written apologetic for the Christian answer to the ultimate question that every human will face: how should we then die? Secular god doesn’t value life Our culture is increasingly promoting one answer: “Autonomy is lord. And so I have the right to die, with public assistance, at the time and place and in the manner of my own choosing.” Ewan dispels that approach as a falsehood that completely undermines the value of some. “So when we say that people matter, we are also saying that it is good that they exist. If people have intrinsic value, then it is always good that they exist. And if we insist that they really matter – that they have deep intrinsic, inherent value – then the cessation of their existence (their death) must always be regarded as a terrible tragedy.” Ewan also shows persuasively how embracing “assisted death is an act of secular faith” and just how presuppositional and religious the arguments for assisted suicide are. “Because those who claim that death is nothing don't really know that for sure, physician-assisted death is best considered an act of blind faith on their part. It is an act at least as superstitious and religious as any carried out in any religious services of any kind. Those who administer physician assisted death are functioning not as doctors but as priests, helping their patients by ushering them out of life and into the afterlife, the great unknown.” The real God offers real hope But what of despair? Ewan offers a fuller, hopeful approach to those struggling to find meaning in their suffering, rooting his answer in the confession of faith as expressed in the Heidelberg Catechism: we belong not to ourselves but to a faithful, loving Savior. Expanding on and moving beyond the work of Jewish psychoanalyst and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, Ewan shows that, to live with suffering we need transcendent meaning rather than self-invented meaning, and that, “we only clearly behold the true meaning and significance of our lives in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.” A third way The opening paragraph of the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2015 Carter v. Canada decision – which led to the legalization of doctor-hastened death – presented an “either/or” dichotomy: either a person dies a horrific death with extensive suffering, or they take their own life early. However, Dr. Goligher shows his readers a third way: physical and existential suffering can be substantially mitigated without eliminating the sufferer. He also helpfully distinguishes between refusing treatment, the cessation of which leads to death, which is ethical; and euthanasia, which is not. This area of medical ethics has been the source of some confusion due to the conflation of certain concepts and terms. In short, to refuse treatment is permissible for a Christian because where there is a “decision to withdraw life support (which is not really an action but rather the cessation of action)… the actual cause of death is the underlying illness. Life-sustaining treatments are not discontinued in order to bring about the patient’s death; rather, they are discontinued because it is recognized that they are no longer effective or appropriate.” But any act the intention of which is to end the life of the patient is something different in kind, and is immoral because it intentionally seeks to end the life of the patient. Such action is properly called homicide. In fact, assisted suicide (or MAiD as it is called in the Criminal Code) is still classified as homicide in the Criminal Code. As Dr. Goligher notes, “The intention, or goal, of the action is the key distinguishing feature.” Highly recommended Ewan’s book is thoughtful and engaging. Multiple references and allusions to Shakespeare and Schaeffer, Augustine and Tolstoy, Camus and Nietzsche show a breadth of knowledge and engagement with key thinkers, without ever coming across as stuffy or academic. I highly recommend this book for young Christians’ study groups, for elders and pastors, for moms and dads, for nurses and doctors. At a relatively short 145 pages, the book is a very accessible read, easily understandable for a grade 11 or 12 student. And it is written to be understandable and compelling to both Christians and the broader Canadian public. It presents the gospel beautifully in its final chapters. Throughout the book, Ewan’s approach is that of a compassionate doctor, one who has clearly seen more than his fair share of suffering. Each chapter opens with a true heart-wrenching story of extreme anguish. There is no downplaying how brutal human suffering can be, but Ewan’s extensive clinical experience in managing and mitigating pain and suffering also shines through in this book. Ewan is more than a physician; he is also a pastor-elder and his compassion comes through the pages of this book too. The moving stories he shares put a lump in my throat as I read them. As the story I opened with illustrates, and as many experiences will confirm, physician-hastened death will impose itself on the Church on many fronts. Christian physicians, nurses, and palliative institutions are being pressured to provide and approve of euthanasia (these professionals are no longer seen as virtuous but as villainous for not “supporting” their patients). Some doctors are now proactively suggesting euthanasia to elderly or disabled patients as a “medical option” that should be considered. And our culture is planting the seed early in the minds of our children (and our seniors!) to see medically hastened death as a dignified way to die. The Church cannot be silent or ignorant on this issue. No better resource is available to assist her to understand and speak than this book. André Schutten is Senior Legal Counsel and Director of Training & Development at Christian Legal Fellowship (CLF), Canada’s Christian legal ministry. Christian Legal Fellowship sits at the intersection of the church, the state, the legal academy, and the legal profession. To learn more, please contact André at [email protected]....

Book Reviews, Graphic novels

Stealing Home

by J. Torres and David Namisato 2021 / 112 pages During World War II, after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Canada rounded up Japanese Canadians living on the coast and shipped them away to abandoned mining towns further in the interior. To add to the horror, this "temporary measure" came with devastating permanent consequences: their homes and most of their goods were sold, and the money was used to build and maintain their internment camps. So when the war ended and they were released, these families couldn't go home. They had to start from nothing. So how could such a sad chapter of Canadian history get a gentle enough treatment to be suitable for this Grade-4-and-up graphic novel? By focusing on how at least some of these Japanese Canadians managed to overcome their mistreatment. For Sandy Saito, baseball was a big help. Even before the war, anyone of Asian descent didn't exactly fit in with the predominantly white population of Canada. But on the baseball diamond, it didn't matter what others thought; all that mattered was how you played. As we're introduced to Sandy we find out this young boy is a huge fan of the Vancouver Asahi, a local baseball team made up of Japanese Canadians. Because Asahi players were smaller than their opponents, they couldn't play bash ball; their game wasn't about hitting more home runs than the opposition. They, instead, played "brain ball" with steals and bunts. And it worked so well they won the league championship 11 of the previous 24 years. When Sandy and his family were sent away, he took his baseball glove, as did others. They had no insulation in their cabins, and families had to share space. There were outhouses instead of bathrooms. And they couldn't leave. But they could play baseball. I don't have any cautions to offer. The only critique I can think of is that in making this gentle enough for elementary students, the authors might have made a little too little of the horrible abuse that happened. My own fourth grader read this, and thought it was quite good, but it didn't disturb her like it did me. That's probably because I was reading between the lines, and she was just taking it as it was told on the page. As to audience, she didn't know if it would grab a fourth-grade boy's attention. I think she might be on to something. Even though baseball is central to the story, this isn't a sports book. We don't see any great plays, or tight games, so it doesn't have that sort of boyish pull. But for elementary-and-up kids with any interest in history, this will be a very intriguing read. And for adults like me, who never knew about these events, this is a must-read. If we want our government to act with restraint in the future, we need to remember the times when it didn't do so in the past. We need to know, and we need to share that history, lest in forgetting it, we have to live through it again. For a more brutal account of how the US treated Japanese Americans during the war, you'll want to read We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration....

Adult non-fiction, Articles, Book Reviews

Help for the anxious and those who struggle with measuring up

Last summer, in an issue of this magazine devoted to the topic of anxiety, I shared my own struggle with burnout and anxiety. I don’t think I ever received as much interaction with any other article I have written in my lifetime. From bachelors to mothers, loggers, seniors, and pastors, people continue to pull me aside to talk about their own struggles with anxiety. It has been a great encouragement to see how the LORD works through our weakness to refine us, burn away the chaff, and direct our eyes upward to trust in Him. Since then, a couple more solid resources have been published that I’m confident will be a blessing to many who desire to live in the freedom that Christ has obtained for us. Building a non-anxious life by John Delony 2023 / 300 pages With anxiety symptoms being so widely recognized and diagnosed, it is becoming more common to hear comments like “I have been feeling lousy, visited my doctor, and discovered that I have anxiety!” Or, “my 5-year-old isn’t able to do that because she has anxiety.” Underneath these comments is a perception that anxiety is a kind of illness or condition we are stuck with, a part of our identity, with little hope of change. We then reshape our lives and the world to adapt accordingly. Sadly, this often results in us building a world around ourselves, doing little for others and for God’s kingdom. In his new book Building a Non-Anxious Life, Dr. John Delony challenges this way of thinking about anxiety head-on, offering a far more hopeful and practical approach. Dr. Delony’s thesis is that anxiety isn’t the problem. Rather, our focus needs to be on “addressing the things causing anxiety in the first place – the situations, thoughts, schedules, and choices throwing your wellness and world totally out of whack.” Dr. Delony compares anxiety to a smoke alarm in our homes. If the alarm goes off, the problem isn’t the alarm itself. We can find all sorts of tricks to try to make the smoke alarm less irritating, like covering our ears, distracting ourselves, or even stuffing a pillow on top of it. That may help muffle the noise and make things more bearable in the short term, but it doesn’t address the root of the issue: there is something causing the smoke! That is what needs our attention. The book proceeds to introduce six daily choices that he argues will help build a non-anxious life, putting out the fire. It begins with choosing reality – becoming aware of what isn’t working in your life. Although he writes for a broad and even secular audience, the sixth choice is “belief.” Specifically, “If you want to go all the way to truly live, build, and enjoy the fruits of a non-anxious life, you have to surrender. You must choose belief in something greater than yourself.” Delony is open that he experiences this in his faith in Jesus Christ. The book has become popular quickly for good reason. Dr. Delony has a knack for being able to explain complicated things in simple terms. This book is easily accessible for all ages and walks of life. I know of one family with teens that is working through it together, chapter by chapter. But what I appreciate most about it is that it helps to set captives free, challenging the disposition among many to allow anxiety symptoms to hold them in bondage. Although some people may have predispositions to anxiety, and it may be a life-long struggle, it is so important that we take to heart Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.” As a result of some quality resources, counseling, and God’s tender care, when I experience anxiety symptoms today, I can see them as something to be grateful for. I’m reminded that God has designed my body to sound an alarm when things aren’t right. That means I can make changes. Delony’s book has given me even more tools to help with building a non-anxious life. Impossible Christianity by Kevin DeYoung 2023 / 160 pages The causes for anxiety symptoms and burnout will be different for each person. It can be connected to being raised by an anxious parent, early life trauma, stress, illness, or drug use, among other things. But there is another factor that many of our readers may share with me, namely spiritual guilt and a struggle with knowing whether God is pleased with us. Yes, we know that our eternal destiny is secure in Christ. But it is another thing to know that He is already pleased with us right now. And if we aren’t sure about this, we can foolishly try to earn God’s favor by our performance, and feel guilt or even despair when we fall short. Kevin DeYoung’s latest book, Impossible Christianity, isn’t directly about anxiety, but it gets to the heart of a problematic way of thinking that seems to be more common among Reformed Christians. His subtitle gives a clue: “Why Following Jesus Does Not Mean You Have to Change the World, Be an Expert in Everything, Accept Spiritual Failure, and Feel Miserable Pretty Much All the Time.” I keep buying and giving away copies of DeYoung’s Just Do Something book, as it is such a big help to those struggling with discerning God’s will for their lives. It truly is a liberating read (and not just because it is short). Impossible Christianity is proving to be no less impactful, and I think it will be particularly so for folks from the Dutch-Reformed tradition. DeYoung begins by sharing stories about his long-standing efforts and love of competitive running and then notes that “many Christians have come to expect (and accept) that being a disciple of Jesus is a lot like my thirty-five-year journey with running. You read the books. You watch the videos. You get the right equipment. You try to be disciplined. You try to improve. But with only the mildest of success.” He then proceeds to make the case that he now sees how this has been the implicit message in all his other writings as well: “following Christ is never easy, but it does not have to be impenetrably mysterious, exceeding complex, and relentlessly guilt-producing…. Ordinary Christians and ordinary churches can be faithful, fruitful, and pleasing to God. In short, Christianity doesn’t have to be impossible.” There is a lot of theologically sound content packed in another very short book. For example, he takes readers to the book of 1 John to find three road signs that can provide assurance of salvation. Based on 1 John, he notes that we should have confidence if we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (1 John 5:11-13), if we live a righteous life (1 John 3:6-9), and if we love other Christians (1 John 3:14). “These are not three things we do to earn salvation, but three indicators that God has indeed saved us by his grace.” To be clear, this is just one small part of a larger argument he makes, and I’m not going to try capture his full case in this article. Most compelling for me is his discussion about how God looks at us as a Father does, not just as a judge. As a father myself, DeYoung’s words resonated in my heart in a way that intellectual arguments have not been able to. If one of my children draws me a picture, mows the lawn, or cleans up part of the house, I’m truly pleased with them. Sure, the picture may show that I have four hairs on my head (I’m sure I have at least six), the lawn may not be cut in perfect lines, and they failed to dust the shelves. But I’m not looking for perfect obedience. Rather, I’m looking for true obedience – from the heart. It meant the world to me to realize that God looks at me as a Father, who has already found perfect obedience in our elder-brother Jesus Christ. God is actually pleased with me. The reason why I think this book is particularly relevant to those with a Dutch-Reformed tradition (i.e the majority of RP’s readers) connects to his point that “Too many Christians make the mistake of thinking that if they are to be seriously godly, they must utterly denigrate everything they do as Christians.” Hardly a week passes where we aren’t reminded about how our best works are “like filthy rags.” Yet God’s Word, and the Reformed confessions, make it clear that our good works are accepted by God in view of Christ’s work. He is willing to say to us “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). From the conversations I have had with some others in Reformed churches, guilt over not doing enough is one of the contributing factors leading to stress and even burnout. If that includes you, I heartily encourage you to buy this book and take the encouraging words to heart....

Adult biographies, Book Reviews

The Watchmaker's Daughter

The true story of World War II heroine Corrie Ten Boom by Larry Loftis 2023 / 384 pages Larry Loftis is an international bestselling author who has written three other nonfiction thrillers of World War II heroes. Now, with The Watchmaker's Daughter, he has written an excellent, well-paced and very well-researched biography on Corrie Ten Boom. I really enjoyed this book; I read it in one sitting while enjoying the sunshine on my patio! At a young age, Corrie started to learn the watchmaking trade from her father, Casper, widely renowned for his amazing skills and known as the Grand Old Man of Haarlem. Shortly after they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the business, Hitler's Nazi forces took over the Netherlands. The Ten Boom family was deeply religious and believed that they needed to protect the Jews who were “the apple of God's eye” so they opened their home to Jews and to onderduikers (dutch for "divers"), young men hiding from the Nazis. But in March 1944, the family was betrayed by a Dutchman, one of their own. During the rest of the war, as Corrie was moved from one concentration camp to another, she finally ended up in Ravensbruck, a hellish place. But during the years of giving refuge, and throughout her and sister Betsie's imprisonment, she relied completely on her Savior, finding blessings even during the darkest of days. After the war, Corrie spent 25 years visiting more than sixty countries telling her story of love, forgiveness and grace. In his afterword the author writes that “writing about Corrie's message of faith, hope, love and forgiveness was an empowering and spiritually moving experience for me.” What I also enjoyed about the book was the occasional mention of Anne Frank's family in Amsterdam, and of Audrey Hepburn in her early to mid-teens who lived in Amersfoort. Hepburn worked in the military hospital there and put on private ballet performances in nearby homes, donating the proceeds to the underground. Dietrich Bonhoeffer also gets mentioned, as he was also in concentration camps, and towards the end of the war was shot. And all three of these connections are dovetailed right into the Ten Boom story. I also liked the several appendices, the “rest of the story” which completes the story of the refugees in the Ten Boom home. Appreciated as well were the 45 pages of notes where we read quotes from Bonhoeffer and Victor Frankl, and the extensive bibliography and an exhaustive index. This would be an excellent book for school and church libraries. There are at least two other books with the title "The Watchmaker's Daughter," one of them even about Corrie Ten Boom (but a children's book), so be sure to track down the one by Larry Loftis....

Book Reviews, Graphic novels

Little Robot

by Ben Hatke 136 pages / 2015 This is one of those little-girl-meets-little-robot, little-girl-loses-little-robot, little-girl-kicks-some-big-robot-tushy-to-save-little-robot stories. What sets it apart from all the others is that the first 26 pages are entirely wordless, and there isn't much talking the rest of the way either. The little girl, it turns out, is quite the amateur mechanic, so when she comes across an abandoned box and discovers a robot inside, she sets out to get it running. And she gets a little frightened when it does come to "life." This little girl is also quite lonely, so once she overcomes her fear, she becomes convinced this is going to be her new friend. However (insert ominious music here) she isn't the only one interested in the little robot! His manufacturer has noticed he's missing, and has sent a big bad robot on a search and recover mission. And this thing is massive – a semi-truck-sized beast that looks like it could eat trees! When it swallows the little robot, it's up to the girl, and some other new-found robot friends, to outwit the big robot bully and free her little buddy. Cautions At one point the big bad robot also swallows a poor defenceless kitty, but never fear, the fuzzball isn't chewed up – it's just inside, waiting to be rescued. The only other caution would be the notion of robots as people. Kids' stories have all sorts of anthropomorphism – cats can have hats, rabbits have swords, and trees might even walk – so is it a big deal if robots get this treatment too? No, unless kids get too much of it. No one believes cats, rabbits, or trees could actually become people, but they are saying that about robots today. The world misunderstands mankind as simply "meat robots," and from there, it isn't much of a leap to think robots could one day become "metal people." But we are more than our meat - we are body and soul, and no amount of hardware or software will ever engraft a soul into a robot. And that's a point that might be worth sharing with our kids. Conclusion The protagonist of the story usually gives you a good gauge of the target audience, and as this one is a little girl, girls would certainly be among those interested. But it's also got robots, and robots hunting robots, which will appeal to the boys. And as a mostly wordless comic, it will also have some appeal for early readers. It has a bit of tension, which could be a bit much for some in Grade 1, but for most in Grades 1 through 5, this will be a real treat....

Adult non-fiction, Book Reviews

Thank God: becoming more grateful to the Greatest of Givers

by Reuben Bredenhof 2023 / 133 pages Dr. Reuben Bredenhof’s new book, Thank God is an encouragement and a how-to guide of sorts for giving thanks in all circumstances, even when the going gets tough. While living a life of gratitude is, first and foremost, really just giving God His due, He has so created us that thanking Him is also very, very good for us. How so? When we remember how God has provided for all our needs in the past, we’ll also have the confidence to come to Him with our anxieties now. But as Dr. Bredenhof notes, our nature is to take for granted what we have received. Fostering a life of gratitude is about teaching ourselves to remember the past more accurately. Recalling His faithfulness better equips us to entrust Him with our future, assured of both God’s power (He is able) and God’s love for us (He is willing). And it is simply about joy – a quip from G.K. Chesterton, shared by Dr. Bredenhof, notes: “The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful, and has no one to thank.” Sunrises are glorious, but how pale they would be if you didn’t get to praise the Artist! This is a short, very accessible read, and would be a great one to tackle together as a couple. It could also be a wonderful book for a church to buy in bulk to give away to parishioners en masse. Find it in Canada at Reformed Christian Books or Providence Books & Press. And find it in Australia at Reformers Bookshop....

Adult non-fiction, Book Reviews

You are not enough (and that's okay)

Escaping the toxic culture of self-love by Allie Beth Stuckey 2020 / 208 pages In today’s culture, women often encounter myths promoting the belief that genuine happiness is attainable through self-love and autonomy. Social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram frequently showcase quotes urging women to embrace their supposed perfection and view self-love as the ultimate path to fulfillment. Allie Beth Stuckey’s book, You’re Not Enough (And That’s Okay), fearlessly confronts these myths from a Christian standpoint, emphasizing the significance of discovering true contentment through Jesus rather than the pursuit of selfish ambitions. Dismantling 5 myths Stuckey dismantles five prevalent myths perpetuated by the culture of self-love: You are enough You determine your truth You’re perfect the way you are You’re entitled to your dreams You can’t love others until you love yourself Drawing from her Christian testimony, she exposes the emptiness that arises from relying on oneself for happiness, recounting her struggle with a failed college relationship leading to a season of partying and disordered eating. Christ, not you Living in a culture that constantly affirms self-worth, conveying the message that one is a sinner in need of redemption through Christ provides a counter-narrative. Stuckey adeptly navigates this cultural landscape, highlighting the inherent discontent and feelings of inadequacy resulting from the pursuit of self-love. In the chapter “You’re perfect the way you are,” Stuckey asserts that one is “not perfect the way you are, and you will never be.” She explains that Scripture reveals two kinds of selves: the old self, utterly depraved and seeking love and satisfaction in the wrong places, and the new self, redeemed by Christ and free from the bonds of sin. Accepting the secular narrative of “you’re perfect the way you are” means that instead of relying on Christ's perfection, we'd be relying on our own, embracing ourselves instead of Him. Stuckey also addresses the Church’s susceptibility to the allure of the self-love culture. She reminds readers that Jesus’ commandment to love others as oneself is not an endorsement of self-love. Rather, Jesus understands that “self-love” is inherent, born out of looking out for our own interests. Stuckey cites Philippians 2:3-4, teaching that we should consider others’ interests more important than our own. The book concludes with a poignant reminder that while self-love depletes, God’s love is enduring. Stuckey highlights the profound and eternal nature of God’s love, contrasting it with the superficial and temporary nature of self-love. In summary, You’re Not Enough (And That’s Okay) provides a much-needed Christian perspective in a culture saturated with self-love....

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You are not enough (and that's okay)