A Great Story: Dark Enough to See the Stars

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I love a great story, don't you? Few pastimes offer more pleasure than a mug of hot tea, a cozy blanket, and a riveting story while the wind whooshes through the trees outside and rain pelts shivering windows. There's something special about cuddling a sleepy child in a rocking chair for a bedtime story or reading aloud to the kids under the backyard maple tree on an Indian summer day. "Please, Mom, just one more chapter? Please?"

I'm one of those parents who took my girls to the library and surrounded them with books. Seems we always had a book going. All three of them are still readers.

Stories have the potential to give us new ideas . . . and perspective. Like a magic carpet, they bring us to another time and place, yet we often learn about our present lives and take away courage and inspiration.

Award-winning author, Cindy Noonan, has written a wonderful novel for children, ages 10 to 13. "Dark Enough to See the Stars tells the fictional account of twelve-year-old Moses, who runs away on the Underground Railroad. Bloodhounds chase him as he follows the North Star to Pennsylvania. Before his mother was sold to a plantation in the Deep South, she had taught him to find the star. She had told him, “Never forget, Mose, you is named after Moses in the Bible. Someday you is goin’ to the Promised Land, just like he did.” Fueled by his mother’s hopes for his freedom, Moses is determined to reach Canada." Read more about the book from Cindy's website.

Cindy and I belong to the same writers' group. Our circle of writers read this story chapter by chapter. At every meeting, we couldn't wait to read the next "installment." Cindy has researched the Underground Railroad thoroughly and brought a story to life that any middle grader will love. He or she will take away an appreciation for freedom and for the sacrifices of many good people along the way. 

So, if you're looking for a good read for the family that offers history with a heartbeat, take a look. Dark Enough to See the Stars is available on Amazon.

Magic Carpet

What's your favorite thing to do during the winter season? 

In our house, we like to read! On any given snow day, I'm bound to find our daughter in the recliner sideways with a thick hardback in front of her. Her dad often has his nose in book at the dining room table, and I find my own way to to snatch a chapter here and there. A great pastime when the wind is howling and temperatures hover near zero.

Here's a silly little jingle about reading dedicated to the children - and maybe to the kid inside each of us.

Make a book your magic carpet.

Open it up and off you go!

 Fly above villages, mountains, and rivers; 

Look over the edge at the glittering snow.

A book's a great forever friend.

It goes with you anywhere:

On your bus ride home to supper

Or curled up in your favorite chair.

People may tell you, "Please be quiet."

But your book can talk to you!

Always learning, always growing - 

That's what books can help you do!

So, on the next snow day, which genre will you turn to first? Which authors will you look for at the library? Is there a picture book that makes you smile?

For starters, I enjoy fiction by Francine Rivers, non-fiction by Ken Gire, Elisabeth Elliot, and Joni Earickson Tada, poetry by Ruth Bell Graham - and a good mystery once in a while . . . 

When our girls were little, a favorite story was The Lemon Drop Jar by Christine Widman.

What book titles are your favorites?