Escape to Warsaw by Ian Serraillier

Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serraillier is a riveting book about the German occupation of Poland during WWII. This book gives the reader a picture of what it was like to live in Poland in WWII from various perspectives: a prisoner in a concentration camp, his children, an army officer.

Pros: This book is impossible to put down. You have to find out what happens to the Polish family. Will they ever be reunited? Te content is not as mature as in many WWII accounts. Many middle schoolers (and even some younger children if they could handle the vocabulary) would enjoy reading it.

Cons: While Escape from Warsaw is suspenseful, it is not written in an extremely entertaining way. It definitely would be the most interesting history book in the world, but not the most interesting historical novel. It is a bit dry, lacking some warmth and life.

However it is a great educational read. I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down!

The First Writing Challenge

The kid stood in the middle of the mud puddle, laughing like crazy.

Answer these questions by writing a story or short, creative biography.

1) Who is this kid? Name, age, personality?

2) Why is s/he in a mud puddle? Did s/he jump in? Was s/he pushed? Is s/he taking a bath?!

3)Why is the kid laughing? Does the mud tickle, does the kid like the mud?

4) Any other details you want.

Type your story into the comments for this post. (or just let me know that you wrote something.) The best story will be featured in the next post. You'll be famous! And the chances of winning are very good. At this point there is no deadline! 

Happy writing! Have fun!

(The first book review is coming soon!)

Movie Reviews

Although not every child enjoys reading and writing, I have yet to meet a kid who does not like to watch movies. While I will not be writing movie reviews, I can recommend a wonderful website that writes excellent reviews on movies, music, and more. This website, called Plugged in Online, is run by Focus on the Family and provides detailed, family oriented reviews. It has been invaluable for deciding which movie to buy a ticket to and which to skip. Click on the post title to go to the site. I will include it below as well.

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/

Welcome! Please bear with me!

I am so excited about this blog! I hope it will be a helpful and valuable tool for kids and parents. It is difficult to know what to read and what books will be enjoyable. Since I was very young, I have loved reading and writing stories. I have noticed that, unfortunately, many children do not share this love. They regard these forms of entertainment (and valuable life skills) as a chore. Other kids like to read, but do not know what to read, or they are reading literature of questionable content. If this blog, helps even one child grow in his love for reading and writing and make wise choices on which books to read, I will have succeeded.

However, this blog is under construction. The first reviews will be coming soon. Thank you for your patience.