Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Category Archives: Children’s


by 2 Comments

Kimber to the ‘Rescue’!

Mom here.

I know you’re all ginormously disappointed that a little furry face we all know and love isn’t kicking off today’s post. Sorry ’bout that. (Naw. Not really.) But there’s a reason I’m leading off today:

This post is about a wonderful little book I recently came across via Net Galley. It’s called Ava Loves Rescuing Animals.

Talk about a girl after my own heart!

Did you know that Kimber’s a rescue dog? Yeppers. She came to us in 2016 via a mutual friend who works at the local rescue shelter. Kimmi was ten weeks old going on 92, if ya know what I mean. She’s been an Absolute Delight ever since! (Don’t tell Kimber I said that, okay? I’ll never hear the end of it!)

So I wanted to share this delightful book with you, with a sweet furry face in mind. Here goes:

Continue reading →


by 6 Comments

Sweet Children’s Story Celebrates the Season

Who let these guys on the front lawn?

Kimber: “Mom! Mom! Open the door, pronto!”

Mom: “Hey, Kimmi. What’s up?”

Kimber: “I gotta meet up for a play date with my new buddy! Hurry! Hurry!”

Mom (Mutters to self: I may regret asking this, but here goes): “What new buddy?”

Kimber: “Red Dog, of course! My new best pal from that children’s story thingy, Lily’s Egypt Adventure.”

Mom: “Um… You do know that Red Dog is a character in a book, right? That he’s not real. As in, fiction?”

Kimber: “Does that matter?”

Continue reading →


by 6 Comments

Children’s Fantasy With Something Extra

One of my baby pictures.

Kimber here. Reminding you that one of us has long maintained that some of the best writing in all literature is children’s literature. Not sure what that means. Methinks it may have something to do with puppies. But if Mom likes it, so do I!

And lemme tell ya, she really liked a “Juvenile Fiction” book she recently read. Totally out of the blue. Never heard of the book or the author before. They just kinda jumped off a shelf at the library right into her book bag. Ya know how that happens sometimes, right? Well. What a find!

I’ll let Her Momness tell you more:

Continue reading →


by 6 Comments

The Dog Days & Children’s Classics

What?

Hello Friends and Happy August!

If you’ve been following Pages and Paws for any length of time – say, 20 minutes or so – you know that Her Momness sometimes says weird stuff about books. (Don’t tell her I said that, okay?)

Sometimes Mom’ll read a “best-seller” that’s topping the charts and go, “Aaaarg! Barf-o-rama and gag me with Meow Mix! Bleeeech and double bleech!!” And sometimes she’ll read an obscure-ish book by an unknown indie author and chirp, “Why isn’t this magnum opus in every library, on every shelf, and in every bookstore in America and the whole world included?! Cuz it’s Seriously Awesome!”

The Children’s Section

Well. You know Mom. (Insert eye roll here.)

She also thinks some of the best writing and coolest stories around can be found in the Children’s Section of the local library. (Not sure what that says about Mom. Can I get back to you on that?)

Pop Quiz!

Anywho, Mom was lumbering back from The Book Place the other day with her usual truckload of To Be Reads. All from the Children’s Section. I’m not making this up. Then she decides it’s time for a Pop Quiz. Like this:

“Okay, Kimmi. What children’s classic opens with these lines”:

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

Lonely But Not Lost: 2 Young Novels Deserve Discovery

‘No, I am NOT lost, thank you very much. Just takin’ The Scenic Route.’

Ever see a lonely book? You know. A library book perched all on its lonesome on an isolated shelf, looking forlorn and a wee bit lost? Like it’s begging for some intrepid reader to come by and snatch it?

Enter Her Momness. She’s a sucker for lonely books. She found two of ’em in the Juvenile Fiction section of the library the other day. (She hangs out there a lot. Cuz she fits right in. Don’t get me started.)

Anywho, the books are: The Story Web by Megan Frazer Blakemore and After Eli, by Rebecca Rupp. In the first one, hockey… Oh, wait. Mom is elbowing her way into the conversation. As usual. So I’ll let her tell ya about these two “lost” and “lonely” books that deserve discovery:

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

Why “Finding Dorothy” & The Land of Aahs Are ‘Forever Young’

You know that Good Book Feeling? Where you close the final page of a Really Great Read and sigh? Wish that it’d never end? Or maybe you just go, “aaah”?

Elizabeth Letts’ Finding Dorothy is that kind of book.

Sheer Genius

We turned Finding Dorothy’s last page and sighed. Because this book, like its protagonists, L. Frank Baum and his remarkable wife, Maud, is sheer genius.

Told through the eyes of L. Frank Baum’s indomitable wife, Maud, Finding Dorothy is the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the beloved book that inspired the movie classic.

Finding Dorothy is also a love story. It traces the intertwined lives of Maud, daughter of a suffragette leader and a “force of nature” in her own right, and Maud’s husband, creative genius and author L. (Lyman) Frank Baum. The two were devoted to each other until the end of their days.

Continue reading →


by 4 Comments

‘Read Aloud Stories With Fred’ Charms Audiences Young & Old

Read-Aloud Stories With Fred (Editor-911 Books, 2021)

By Fred Olds

Children’s Fiction

Looking for uplifting, thoughtful stories you can read aloud to the kids or grands that are both enjoyable and engaging? Check out Fred Olds’ Read Aloud Stories With Fred.

Stories begin with a question for the reader and/or listener to ponder as the story unfolds. Each tale also includes an age-appropriate message and is hemmed with themes like kindness, honesty, or friendship.

Stories are lively and relatively short so as to keep the interest of little ones and not over-tax young attention spans. Vivid imagery and colorful illustrations combine with expert pacing and edifying themes to communicate specific, positive character traits or virtues.

Continue reading →