Archive | February 2026

The Ostriches by Jennifer Ussi (illustrated by Lekshmi Bose)

Feb27

Educating & Entertaining

The Ostriches by Jennifer Ussi (illustrated by Lekshmi Bose) is the sixth book in The Incredible Adventures Of Casper The Cat Who Got Lost In Africa. It is a most delightful children’s novel that I absolutely loved. It is perfect for ages four to eight. In fact, whatever your age. This is a charming book if you like animals.

I adore cats. Casper, the hero of the tale, is a very cute little cat. He is a kind cat who likes to help, and a nosy cat who likes to ask questions.

In this book, Casper encounters several animals including a dung beetle, ostriches, a giant tortoise and a warthog – all of who are friendly. And he meets poisonous centipedes and a leopard who aren’t.

The animals all help each other to defeat danger and to find home.

There are lessons to be learnt – you are never too old for a hug, and we are stronger together.

The whole book is beautifully illustrated. The drawings are very appealing, especially Casper with his big, beautiful eyes.

Every story has a moral. We learn “brains come in all shapes, and bravery doesn’t always look like a battle cry. Sometimes choice is to stand your ground when every part of you wants to run.”

Continue reading →

The Child We Lost by Sheila Norton

Feb24

The Love That Binds

The Child We Lost by Sheila Norton is a beautiful contemporary novel about love and loss, and learning to live again.

The novel is seen through the eyes of a mother, and a grandmother. The chapters alternate between the two and are in the first person. This enables the reader to intimately know the characters.

Having lost her twin (before the novel opened), five-year-old Ruby believes he is alive again as she spots a boy looking just like Josh, walking past her school every Friday. She is convinced he is alive again. We witness the trauma this creates for her extended family as they try to help her deal with her loss.

Understanding of death comes following the death of a pet. Ruby is then surprisingly accepting of death once it is explained to her.

Ruby’s mother seeks the truth as to what Ruby saw. What she uncovers comes as a shock to all.

We see the importance of having a faith. “I sometimes wish I had her faith. It must make things so much more bearable to know that there’s a God looking after us.” Loss without faith, is very bleak indeed. Having spoken to a vicar about loss, Ruby’s mother is told: “I’ll pray for you.”…”Even though I don’t believe?”… “That doesn’t matter because I do.” Prayer is comforting for all, just knowing that someone cares.

Continue reading →

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson

Feb20

Heartbreakingly Beautiful

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson is a most beautiful and heartbreaking Christian dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start. I never wanted it to end.

The action is set in 1987 and then thirty-five years later. We hear the events in the third person from several different points of view. We get to know the characters intimately from ten-year-old Heather in 1987 to her best friend and her mother thirty-five years later. It is love and memories which link the lives.

Since 1987 Heather has been missing. Her mother has been unable to grieve as she is keeping hope alive. “Hope was life-giving… Could she survive without hope?”

The loss has torn the family apart. The love of God and each other is the glue needed to help them all to live again. We hear “she’d turned her back on God… But that didn’t stop Him from being there, still waiting on His lost child.” God, our Father lovingly awaits the prodigal returning home.

Heather’s mother, Dora, held everyone at arm’s length since her daughter’s disappearance. “Her heart battled to keep a barrier between herself and the kind of love that could end in devastating loss.” To love and to lose hurts too much to do again, so it is easier to wall up a heart. “The world kept spinning, no matter how much Dora needed it to stop.” We can never fathom why life continues when our hearts are broken.

Continue reading →

Five Go Adventuring Again by Enid Blyton

Feb19

Thrilling

Five Go Adventuring Again by Enid Blyton is another thrilling children’s book that is just perfect for the over tens. It is the second book in the Famous Five series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Generations of children have grown up with the Famous Five books – and I am thoroughly enjoying re-visiting my childhood by getting lost within the pages of a book.

The Famous Five does not disappoint and is as entertaining now as it was when I first read the books in the early 1970’s.

Continue reading →