Secret Hide-Out

by Virginia Randall

---

Religious/Secular Content	:	-  Religious
Adult Content	:	-  None
Mature Topics	:	-  None
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	-  None
Magic/Witchcraft	:	-  None
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	-  Minimal; only that which is within the story line on the way to a biblical perspective
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	-  None
Violence/Abuse	:	-  None
Educational Value	:	-  A little; this would be of biblical educational value on witnessing and possibly used to teach of the lives of those less fortunate than others
Positive/Negative Message	:	-  Positive Message; this book was written as a fiction book but was written with the purpose of helping the reader with effective witness

---

This is an oldie but a goodie!  It was published in 1960 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago - but don't let this hold you back.  This is an INCREDIBLE read!  It is written in a casual manner using words that are easy to understand.  We read it as a family but if a child were to read it alone, they would need to be easily reading chapter books...this one has 23 chapters and is a total of 127 pages.  The type is pretty large too (12 or 14 pt?).

This book is about a small town church and a little boy named Toby.  The church is about to be taken over and changed into a sports club.  Toby is a child who lives in an orphanage.  Toby runs away to this small town and is found by two other boys.  Through a series of events, they figure out that Toby is the actual owner of the church - now they just need to figure out how to prove it!

During the story, Toby is witnessed to by his two friends that find him, and he becomes saved.  Additionally, the boys plot a way for Toby to be adopted by one of the local couples.  It is somewhat of a mystery story, along with drama and comedy.

In general, it is just a "feel good family book".  If you have the opportunity to read it, we highly suggest it.

The ABC Bunny

by Wanda Ga'g
hand lettered by Howard Ga'g

---

Religious/Secular Content	:	- Secular
Adult Content	:	- None
Mature Topics	:	- None
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	- None
Magic/Witchcraft	:	- None
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	- None
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	- None
Violence/Abuse	:	- None
Educational Value	:	- A lot!  ABC, Rhyming
Positive/Negative Message	:	- Positive

---

DS2 and I read this book today and thought is was absolutely wonderful!  It is a very quick read (GREAT for his short attention span) and actually...the words are a song...the song (with notes) are in the very beginning and the very end of the book.  After the song in the beginning of the book, each page takes you thru the song (and the alphabet).  The letters are large and red while the pictures and words are black - so it is very eye catching.  Many of the words rhyme so again, this just adds to the quick, fun of this book.

Each letter and page introduces you to a different animal in the woods so this book offers many items for learning for little ones.  Although ds2 and I were reading this in prep for ds2 starting Before Five in a Row (which we'll start as soon as our new book arrives from Rainbow Resources) this book is recommended for ages 4 - 7.

As a side note: we checked this book out from the library and the copy we received was hardback.

Ginger Pye

Written and Illustrated by Eleanor Estes

---

Religious/Secular Content	:	Secular
Adult Content	:	No
Mature Topics	:	No
Strong/Inappropriate Language	:	No
Magic/Witchcraft	:	No
Disrespect/Rebellion	:	No
Drug/Alcohol Use	:	No
Violence/Abuse	:	No
Educational Value	:	Great read aloud for all ages, great mystery that creates many opportunities for critical thinking.
Positive/Negative Message	:	No

---

Can I tell you that we have been reading this book FOREVER!! I think it's because of the author's writing style. Let me explain.

This is a very child friendly book. A great read-aloud for all ages. All three of my older children ages 5, 6 and 8 have enjoyed this book. Even hubby enjoyed it when he sat in on it a few times. The author is funny and engaging. However, she does seem to go off on rabbit trails all the time.

The story is about a young boy named Jerry who works hard to earn the money to purchase a dog (Ginger) of his own only to have him stolen on Thanksgiving Day. He and his sister Rachel work tirelessly to try and find the dog and the "Unsavory Character" whom they believe to have stolen Ginger.I will leave it at that so as not to ruin the climax but I feel that Mrs. Estes could've said in maybe 150 pages what she actually said in over 300. Yeah, it's a big book.

One of our favorite characters was Rachel and Jerry's 3 year old uncle, Uncle Benny. So cute and funny! The Pye parents are sweet but the father is quite absent from the story and the Mom appears, but in short instances here and there.


The children enjoyed this book greatly and there was nothing that I was alarmed at while reading it and I'm pretty picky about what we read over here. However she is very wordy as I stated above so that might make it harder for the reader to want to keep up with this book. I know that I wanted to just stop a few times but the children wouldn't let me-they really, really liked it.