Beautifully Illustrated. A Newbery Honor Book, An ALA Notable Book and A New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year. No one gets the better of Beth Lambert. Except, maybe, Philip Hall. Philip Hall is the cutest, smartest boy in the sixth grade, and Beth Lambert loves him. The fact that he beats her in classwork, sports, and just about everything else doesn't particularly bother Beth at first. Then she realizes that Philip might be best in everything because she's letting him beat her. And coming out on top is just too natural a thing for Beth to hold back for very long! I reckon Philip Hall can't help liking spunky, expansive Beth... and you'll like her, too.

A powerful, beautifully written novel of loss, finding and being found, set in a very traumatic time in European history--the Protestant Reformation. The turbulent sixteenth century saw the disintegration of medieval Christendom as it was split into sovereign states. This was particularly destructive in Tudor England, where rapid switches in government policy and religious persecution shattered the lives of many.

Especially affected were the monks and nuns who were persecuted by the wholesale dissolution of the monasteries carried out under Henry VIII. One of these monks, Robert Fletcher, a Carthusian of the dismantled priory of Mount Grace in Yorkshire, is the hero of this novel.

The story of this strong, vulnerable man is told in counterpoint with the story of one of the most interesting men in all of English history, Reginald Pole, a nobleman, scholar and theologian who was exiled to Italy for twenty years. He was a cardinal of the Church and a papal legate at the Council of Trent. As the archbishop of Canterbury, with his cousin Queen Mary Tudor, he tried, in too short a time, to renew Catholic England. This man, in the tragic last months of his life, becomes in the novel the friend of Robert Fletcher, condemned as a heretic.

Readers will learn much from this novel of the anguished period that gave birth to Tridentine Catholicism, the Anglican Church, and other Protestant churches. This same period saw the martyrdom of Thomas More, Thomas Cranmer, John Fisher and many others. The profound issues raised in this novel, which contains no altered historical facts but more human truth than facts alone can deliver, have not gone away.

Before Austen Comes Aesop presents an in-depth examination of the Children's Great Books, that is, the literature that has made the most profound impact on the lives of children throughout Western history. In addition to its invaluable chronological list of titles, from ancient times to the present, the book provides both students and their parents the guidance they need to read leisurely or study formally the Children's Great Books at home.

The book's premise is that children often do not spend enough time with the literature written or adapted for them before diving into adult works. An experienced teacher, the author argues that children benefit in many ways from lingering longer over literature created for them.

The Children's Great Books list includes the classic works that, while not written strictly for children, were orally passed on to them for generations and are foundational for understanding Western culture. These works include Greek and Roman fables, myths, and epics; European legends, sagas, folk stories, and fairy tales; and the Bible. The list also includes the acclaimed works written specifically for children, beginning in the age of the first printing presses and continuing into the late twentieth century. 

Additionally, acknowledging the changes in children's literature that have occurred since the mid-1960s, the author provides helpful information for discerning which contemporary influential books are appropriate, or perhaps inappropriate, for one's children. She also includes several appendices that are useful for the study of literature at both the elementary and the secondary levels.

Made in the USA, this board book written and illustrated by Kortnee Senn pairs perfectly with Studio Senn's Marian spinners. It helps drive the message home that all Marian apparitions are still our Mama Mary. 

Curious kids want to know. Now you'll have the answer! Through lighthearted verse, comical illustrations, and charming lift-the-flap format, Davis tells her children the pre-birth story of how they grew and how she felt, month by month, from the start of pregnancy until mother and child met, face-to-face. Your kids will know they are part of the family! 24 pages, hardcover from Workman.