Jenn

It took me a little while to settle down into this book, mainly because I was confused about what was going on and how things worked. But the story drew me in as well as the excellent character development and intrigue. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I liked this book more than the second in the series, although I think that there was less action than there should be. It felt like the characters were fumbling around quite a bit and the climax of the story... didn't really happen. Parts which should be really sad or really joyous fell a little flat.

Overall, I'm glad I read the series, but it's not a favorite and I'm not likely to read it again.

What I liked best about this book was how Peter combined real-life examples alongside instruction and advice. That kind of personal witness is great for a book of this nature.

This was a good interview. It gave me a peek into the character of our latest Pope. There was a lot of content that was specific to Argentinian politics, but that's probably due to the timing of this interview.

This was a remarkable book on the Eucharist. Doctrine is solid, yet accessible. Fr. Hardon is very engaging and this book was a delight to read. There was always something worth noting, underlining, or contemplating – every chapter. The best part of this book was the prayers at the end of each chapter. They always related to the topic at hand, and pointed to the very real need for us to not only learn about Jesus, but to grow in our relationship with Him.

I really am liking this series of books for the simple, yet insightful way they describe and explain the Bible stories. This book, I think, does a great job of explaining why Jesus and the disciples change locations and the response of the crowd.

My Favorite Picture:
The first picture of Jesus on the mountain.

I didn't like this book as well as the others in the series, and I think it has to do with the scope of the book. It attempts to tell the life of Jesus, instead of one story or pericope. In doing so, it over simplifies and doesn't leave room for lending interest to the story. It sounds much more like a flat recitation of facts, especially when compared to the other books. There is no deep insight given.

My Favorite Picture:
Jesus meeting Martha (Lazarus's sister) at her house.

George Martin is a great storyteller. He has a great sense of pacing and changes scenes and narrators before you get bored or bogged down in the detail. This also serves to make you try to remember what happened in the last scene when we return to a particular character, forcing the reader to be more engaged in the tale.

This is the third book and consequently something like 3,000 pages into the story and I'm still with it, so that has to say something. :)

My only critique of the book – and this probably says more of my sensibilities – is that it can be very vulgar at times, and this can be off-putting.

This was an interesting fairy tale book. There were definitely a lot of plot twists, so you can't say that it was predictable. I enjoyed reading about Tansy, and am not sure that I'd want a fairy godmother myself now. :)

It took me a little while to get into this book, but I found in Chapter 12 a section on the nature of men and women that was fascinating as well as insightful. I would read this book just for this section, but there's more!

This book wins just for these sentences: “Which stands up better in a crisis - man or woman? The best way to arrive at a conclusion is to go to the greatest crisis the world ever faced, namely, the Crucifixion of Our Divine Lord. When we come to this great drama of Calvary, there is one fact that stands out very clearly: men failed.” LOL!!!

I enjoyed reading the second half of the book more than the first half of the book and found many sections worth pondering in my own heart, the way Mary pondered these mysteries during her lifetime here on Earth.

This was a great little book that made a solid argument against relativism and pointed out the flaws in some of the common arguments espousing it. The argument was very accessible and interesting and did a good job of presenting it's case without being condescending.

This is a great examination of some current bioethical issues. The author does a good job of presenting different sides of the argument and explaining the logic behind them, the reasons why others have refuted these arguments and backs everything up with copious foot-/end-notes and references to Catholic Church documents.

The book serves both as a good reference and a great introduction to the complexity of these issues, such that you learn how to think about these issues and the moral principles surrounding them.

This book gave a really good paraphrase of the story of Daniel. The story wasn't missing any key parts, without being overly caught up in minutia, and had a good pace. I think that kids would enjoy reading about Daniel and would be able to understand what is going on.

The illustrations were fairly realistic. Somewhere between realistic and cartoon/comic book — I am not artistic whatsoever, so I don't have any clue if this style has a name. I can just say that it was pleasant to look at. :)

My Favorite Picture:
Daniel studying by the window.

What I liked about this book was the message: you will be happier if you are grateful. Counting the blessings in your life, in your day, is a good way to learn how to be grateful. There are parts where the story doesn't seem to flow well, or that would be better if they were not included in the book. The other thing that makes it an okay instead of a great book is that the person in the drawings looks like an adult man in a beret. For this type of book, it seems that it would have been better had the drawings depicted a kid.

My Favorite Picture:
The elephant

This book is a collection of poems. Some are better than others. Some rhyme and have a good, constant cadence and would be easy to read (especially because I tend to sing-song when reading poems out loud). Others don't have a consistent cadence and the rhyming is a little odd, which is a little off-putting. Overall, it's not a bad book

The illustrations are rather simplistic, but some of the details are funny. For example, in the poem about getting out of bed the picture shows a book on the floor called “How to Wake Up!” and one on the bed called “Leave Me Alone”.

My Favorite Picture:
The one for when you're sick.

I really appreciated this book. It was simplified for children without being too simplified or condescending. There was a section in the back which gave more explanations to the events and culture of Jesus's day. Each page (or nearly so) has a topic heading and then a small write-up regarding that event, and there is a table of contents on one of the last pages, in case kids just want to look up something in particular. It seems like this would be a good book for kids aged 5 (being read to) through perhaps 10 or so.

The illustrations seem to be some kind of watercolor paintings. None of the people have any facial features and the pictures themselves are fairly simplistic. That said, I found them to be very appealing.

My Favorite Picture:
The one of Mary and Jesus making a meal. This is perhaps one of my favorite pictures of Mary.

This book tells two tales: one of the Presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple, and one of the Finding of the boy Jesus in the Temple. Both are fairly straightforward re-tellings of these Bible stories.

My Favorite Picture:
Jesus bringing a water jug to Mary, who is making bread. Or maybe the jug contains wine.... :)

I didn't like this book. It felt... hokey. Is “hokey” a word? I'm not sure, but it kind of felt like it was trying to be a song, and there was a repeated phrase “Hey, hey, bless-a-my-soul!” that made me want to puke, just a bit. Or roll my eyes. In any case, I was Not. A. Fan.

To add insult to injury, the illustrations in this book were paintings done in the Impressionist style, of which I am also Not. A. Fan.

So there you go.

My Least Objectionable Picture:
The baby sleeping in the crib with his two older siblings looking on.

This was a decent conclusion to the series. After reading School Spirits, the book about Izzy Brannick, and then coming back to this series, I really appreciate the witticisms of Sophie's character that much more.

In the last third of the book, there are some action sequences that aren't clearly described, so you have to read the passage a few times and extrapolate events from what is said later to try and get an idea of what exactly went on. A little frustrating. But overall, a good read, just not a favorite.

This children's book actually taught me something! So, it definitely gets high marks for that! It made the story accessible and interesting. The illustrations were fairly typical for kids' books.

My Favorite Picture:
The younger son with the dancing girl.

This book is a lot like I Already Know I Love You, so perhaps I should have given it 3 stars, but it just didn't grab me. Again, the perspective is from a grandparent's point-of-view, and I'm not in that age category. The “story” – if you can call it that – was rather flat and most of the illustrations were not particularly appealing to me. You could tell they were done on a rough paper or canvas, so it was a textural element of which I'm not too fond.

I also found it a little bit odd that the illustrations had the baby in blue for much of the time and looking rather like a boy, until you get to the page talking about the 1st birthday cake with the yellow and pink frosting. What? I'm not sure if they were going to gender-neutrality (and failed) or if they were just confused. Either way, it was a little detail that detracted from the book (for me anyway).

My Favorite Picture:
The baby sleeping in the white shirt and diaper.
(Actually, my favorite is the picture on the back cover of the teddy bear.)

This book is in the same series as Daniel in the Lions' Den, and similarly has good illustrations and a good recounting of the story of Jonah. It doesn't sugar coat the bad behavior of Jonah, like some children's versions of the story do.

My Favorite Picture:
Jonah sitting under his vine.

Matthew Kelly does a great job of making information related to the faith both accessible and engaging.

There are four things which are common to people who are most engaged in their faith. Matthew walks us through each of these four things and gives concrete examples of how to work on these in our own lives in manageable steps (or continuous improvement, as he calls it).

It encourages us to look at these things from an individual perspective, as well as parish and Church-wide views.

This book lacked ... thrill. It was a very long book with very little real action occurring. I kept reading, though, because I did care about the characters, although I should have been bored with the slow plot.

The concept of the book was intriguing, although, again, it could have used a faster pace, and I think more interaction with the antagonist, especially at the time of the resolution.

This was a short, sweet little book that has a great message. God loves you no matter what. And that love can see you through even the tough times. You should probably have a copy of this book, just so you can read it again and again, because knowing that – REALLY knowing that – is so important. The illustrations here were fairly simple, but colorful and cute.

My Favorite Picture:
The kid sick in bed. He looks all cozy, snuggled in there.