Book Review: Rasmus and the Vagabond

Rasmus and the Vagabond by Astrid Lindgren is a story about Rasmus, an orphan boy, who runs away from the orphanage to try and find a family.  Soon after cold and hungry he runs into a tramp that claims to be God best friend.  As they travel together Rasmus and the vagabond have many adventures and slowly learns what it means to be part of a family.

The author of this book also wrote Pippy Longstocking.  It has a very similar feel and writing style.  I enjoyed Pippy when I was a kid and was excited to read this book.  I enjoyed it.  It is meant for children, but as an adult I found it a fun quick read.  I would think some kids younger than 10 or so would have trouble reading this book.  Its sentence structure makes some of it hard to understand without slowing down and really paying attention.

I’m am excited to have a copy of this book in my family library.  We will read and reread this book with all our children.

Note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Wrestling for my Life

Wrestling for my Life; the legend, the reality, and the faith of a WWE superstar by Shawn Michaels is a book about Shawn “The Heartbreak Kid” Michaels life and conversion to a strong Christian faith.  Michaels uses this book to discuss how becoming a Christian changed his life and purpose in and out of the wrestling ring, his family and his self worth.

I must say I know nothing about wrestling.  I know a very few names of the more famous wrestlers and I only recognized Michaels by the pictures inside as “maybe a wrestler Ive seen while flipping channels.”  But with all that I found this book really interesting and easy to read.  I enjoyed reading about how his faith drastically changed his life yet he was still able to use his gifts as a wrestler and his fame as a platform for his new faith. 

I also enjoyed how he stood up for the WWE and wresting in general.  He admits that there are some bad parts of wrestling but as a whole defends the organization as fun, entertaining, and make believe.  I like this about him.  I was one of those people that assumed wrestling was a bad company with horrible messages and images.  I enjoyed his insight and viewpoint on the organization.  I may have to try watching wrestling soon.

Note:  There are a few topics that he discusses that might not be appropriate for younger kids.  For instance he uses terms like “chasing women”, he discusses porn, and he discusses what he calls the “damn” instance (where he said the word damn after being saved in a WWE commercial). 

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a  positive review.

Book Review: The Plague of Unicorns

A plague of Unicorns by Jane Yolen is a fun youth novel about young boy James who is full of questions and wonder.  In the orchard of a abbey where the golden apples grow, the unicorns gather every season to eat the special golden apples not letting the monks get more than a few that stay on the top of the trees.  As the monks are exhausted from trying to stop the unicorns, James is sent to the abbey to be taught from the monks.  But how could a young boy change their dire situation.

I really enjoyed reading this book as an adult.   I can’t wait to see how my 8-year-old daughter likes it.   I am huge fan of Jane Yolens book for kids.  We have many of them in our kids library.

I am excited to have this book in our collection.  I think we will read and reread this book with our kids.  It is 185 pages long so it will be take multiple nights to read and be better for kids 7 and above that can stay with a longer story line.

Note: I was given a copy of this book to read and review.  I was not compensated for a positive review and the opinions above are my own.