The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle

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This is a delightful book to read aloud to children. It's story is a captivating and fun adventure that our boys loved hearing every night. About a doctor who learns to talk to animals and his fun adventures through the perspective of Tommy Stubbins, his assistant.

Princess Academy

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This is a delightful book by Shannon Hale that is perfect for readers younger (teens) or older. It's an exciting and fun story with drama, action and even a little romance. It's an easy, fun read.

Lauraine Snelling Books

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I've read several Series by Lauraine Snelling and they are excellent. True romance books set in Blessing, North Dakota. Very enjoyable to read.

The Goose Girl

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The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. This was a fun book to read. It's specifically written for teens but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Romance and adventure combined into a lovely tale that's hard to put down.

The Trumpet of the Swan

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The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White. Recently read this book to my boys and what a delightful story it was. A perfect read-aloud book that had them entranced and excited to read together night after night.

Keeper of the Bees

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Another Gene Stratton Porter favorite that I've read multiple times and loved multiple times. I think I need to own this book because it speaks to my soul.

Edenbrooke

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Loved this story. Edenbrooke, by Julianne Donaldson.  "A Proper Romance" as it's called. Clean, stirring, and beautifully written. Set in the Regency period, similar style to Jane Austen's novels but much quicker and easier reads than hers. Loved it and can't wait to read more of Julianne Donaldson's books. Comes highly recommended.

Last Ounce of Courage

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Best movie my husband and I have watched in a long time. We need more shows as powerful as this one. The message is clear and stirringly true. Our freedoms are being taken away from us and we need to not be afraid to stand up for them, even fight for them. Be sure to watch until the end, including the closing song over the credits. Currently it's available on Netflix.

The Harvester

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Are you looking for a clean, feel good romance novel? I love all books by Gene Stratton Porter and this is definitely a favorite! The old fashioned kind of love story and those are the best kind. And as always it has Gene Stratton Porter's wonderful love of nature woven into the story which makes it a delight to read.

The Perfect Game

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This was a cute movie about how the underdog baseball team from Mexico went on to have their dreams come true.

The Land Before Time Movies

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Our kids love all these movies and we've watched them many times. They are clean and exciting. Maybe a little scary in parts for really small children, but our kids really love them.

The Billion Dollar Hobo

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This is a funny, family-friendly movie that I look forward to watching with the kids when they get a little older. It's kind of goofy and silly, but clean and fun.

Wizard of Oz

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I loved this book as a child! I've been reading it to my boys every night and they love it too! What a delightful story it is- full of fantasy and adventure. We love the characters. A great classic!

Christmas Story

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This is a great movie about Christmas. It tells the story of how St. Nick came to be. What I love most about this movie is that whether or not the story is true, it helps us see that the Santa Claus figure is a figure of giving, a figure of love, which is truly the spirit of the season. Santa Claus isn't just a material and commercial part of Christmas. He is a gift giver, completely selfless, giving of himself and a great example to all of us. 

Christmas with a capital C

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This movie had a good message about keeping Christ the center of Christmas. I appreciated that, especially in this day when so many are afraid to make him the reason for the season.

Mercy Watson Books

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Oh wow, I just discovered these books and they are wonderful. The are written for kids at the beginning chapter book reading level, but even my 3-year-old loved them when I read them to him because of the beautiful illustrations done by one of my favorite illustrators Chris Van Dusen.

God's Smuggler

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A great book about how one man changed his life and started doing good. Very interesting biography. Well written.

Coming Through the Rye

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This is an excellent book that was very enjoyable to read. It was written by Grace Livingston Hill. The story is about a daughter of a good family who has lived a sheltered life. This all changes when seemingly out of nowhere her father and brother are accused of some horrible crimes. The book explores the themes of forgiveness and repentance while at the same time weaving in an enduring love story. Great book.

Holes by Louis Sachar

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This is a great book. It's specifically written for teens, but I sure enjoyed it as a light read. I liked the themes that were spread throughout the book and little clues hidden along the way that kind of came together at the end.

17 Miracles

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I loved this movie and would recommend it to you without reservation. It deals with the hardships that the Mormon pioneer handcart companies faced as they crossed the plains to the Salt Lake valley. It illustrates their faith and the miracles that occurred because of that faith. The stories were based on true events as recorded from the journals of those crossing. This is really a great film, with great acting. It's not your typical documentary film about these events; it really drew you into the story and made you feel as if you had been there.

Emmanuel's Gift

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This is a wonderful documentary film about a disabled man who makes a big difference to his country in Ghana. Through his courage and perseverance he is able to help change how the disabled are viewed in this country and help them have more opportunities.

The Cow that laid an Egg

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Another J favorite. Actually this book has a funny story attached to it. J was in his class at church and his teachers were being silly and asking questions like, "Do cows lay eggs?" and all the kids would laugh and then they'd say "of course not". Anyway, the next week J goes to the library with me and finds this book. We check it out and take it home and he gets so excited when we read it that he can show it to his teacher about how cows really do lay eggs!

I love you Stinky Face

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My son J has the funniest little personality - he loves the silly kinds of picture books that have things in them that make him laugh. He has a knack for find them too - he's picked out a few real winners lately and this one is one of my favorites. It's silly, but sweet at the same time. A great bed time story that I need to buy to add to our collection.

Grandma Bubbles Books

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Grandma Bubbles books for new readers are some of the best easy reader books out there, in my opinion. When C., my son, was in the early reader book stage we would go to the library to find him books and most of the books there were too hard for him. I'd have to supply him with boring black & white books that didn't really have a story at all - just pictures with words. Needless to say, he really didn't enjoy reading them much and it was kind of a drag until he got past that stage into the more exciting, colorful easy readers.

Marianne McKnight (a.k.a. Grandma bubbles), the author, has filled what I deem to be a gap in children's books with these fun, adorable easy readers that are specifically written for children ages 3 to 6. She has two series available right now- The Kit and Glug series and The Jen and Pam series.

The Kit and Glug series is about a boy named Kit and his best friend (who happens to be a monster) named Glug. The go on all sorts of adventures together. The Jen and Pam series is about two best friends named Jen and Pam. They love princesses, fairies and dress ups. The illustrations in both of these series are delightful and even the earliest reader can follow along with the story line by reading just a few words on each page.

If you're interested you can find and order the books inexpensively on her website - grandmabubblesbooks.com. They are well worth it.

Mr. McGee Books by Chris Van Dusen

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If you or your children haven't read these books before, you are in for a huge treat! These books are delightful, amazingly illustrated and funny. They are some of those books that you check out at the library dozens of times and then realize, why don't I just buy them? And I plan to. Chris Van Dusen has a knack for captivating his readers with humor and drawing them in through wonderful illustrations that make you want to keep turning the pages for more.

Children's books

I decided to add on this blogs some of our favorite children's books. I've been hesitating to do this for a while because there are so many. But I think I'll probably at least start listing the best ones - 4 and 5 stars. I will list Picture books, Easy Readers, and Beginning Chapter Books for now, as that's all we've been exposed to. I know as a parent, I'm always looking for a good book for my children and there are so many great childrens books out there! Hopefully this will help you as you read to your children and they begin to read to you.

I Am David

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What a great movie! This movie has a good story line, a good message and excellent acting. Just good and clean overall. It's probably not a movie for young children as it deals with what happened to a boy during WWII. But I highly recommend it. Very enjoyable to watch!

Before Green Gables

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If you love the Anne of Green Gables books, you'll love this one. It's written by a different author but she's very good at capturing the same style and filling in the story line of how Anne got to green gables. I enjoyed reading this book a lot.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

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This was an excellent book. It's actually in the teen section at our library, but I very much enjoyed it. It's very interesting and has a great message. It's about a boy who lives in Massachusetts and his life as a seaman and how he makes the most of the lot that he's been given in life.

Amish Grace

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An excellent movie about forgiveness. Watch out - it's a real tear jerker! I wouldn't show this one to young children because of it's emotional content. It's based on a true story of the shootings that happened among the Amish a few years ago. Good, good movie!