Armstrong Sperry’s “Call It Courage”: A Hero’s Journey, a Universal Tale
The treasury of Newbery winners is vast and deep. One we recently enjoyed was Armstrong Sperry’s “Call It Courage,” which won the […]
Farley Mowat’s “Owls in the Family”: Boys with Exotic Pets, the Laugh-Out-Loud Edition
We’re back! After quite a hiatus at Inspire Virtue. Thankfully, there has been an abundance of excellent reading material and many good […]
Elizabeth Janet Gray’s “Adam of the Road”: Fine Historical Fiction with Much Medieval Minstrelry
When you’re reading a good book, your impulse is to tell a friend. In the case of “Adam of the Road,” I […]
Jean Merrill’s “The Pushcart War”: Perfectly Frivolous, Lots of Fun
In a moment of desperation at the library (a subject for another day), I grabbed Jean Merrill’s “The Pushcart War” off the […]
Pollyanna’s Glad Game: “Just find something about everything to be glad about—no matter what ’twas”
I like Pollyanna. One child listening to the story by Eleanor H. Porter objected to the girl Pollyanna’s overly dramatic episodes, but, […]
5 Perfect Picture Books for a Summer Afternoon
You’ve attained a summer lifestyle when there is a perpetual rotation of drying bathing suits. The drying rack is no longer stowed […]
Tim Gautreaux’s “Welding with Children” and Reading about the South this Summer
The Nordic countries have their hygge, a cozy aesthetic embracing and romanticizing long and harsh winters. In the South, we have a […]
Edward Eager’s “Half Magic” and the Full Magic of Summering Well
“Still, even without the country or a lake, the summer was a fine thing, particularly when you were at the beginning of […]
Gathering Light Offers a Beautiful Book List for Easter
There are so many beautiful books, there’s no excuse for suffering with second rate material. It can be hard to remember where […]
In Defense of Self-Help and Good Ideas From Other People
In 1889, Samuel Smiles, a British doctor turned journalist, published “Self Help.” This tome of encouragement in personal discipline and improvement spawned […]