Teaching Children Honesty & Truthfulness

"If our culture is to become even more hostile to Christianity than it is today, are your children going to be ready to stand firm?" ~ Bob Lepine

Many of you know that I like books written in the 18th & 19th centuries and into the early 20th century. These books have a basic understanding and teach courage, truth & gratitude in way that isn't taught in today's books - to be honest I personally believe that that manner of teaching is almost gone. 

I was listening to a radio show (Family Life Today) about a series of devotional books by Barbara Rainey in which she teaches through story form about courage, truth and gratitude. The stories chosen provide inspiration and a role model that encourages them to make the right decision and the right choice when the time comes that they need to stand up for what they believe.

Today's show focused on one of her new titles "Growing Together in Truth" which is a 7 day devotional that you read with your children. A devotional doesn't need to be something that is ONLY read through structured moments in time - you can read these stories anytime ~ it can be in the car, while waiting for an appointment, before school (which definitely would help your children focus on behavior and also would send them to school with an encouraging and uplifting thought), or even at bedtime. 

Barbara's books seem to be focused on children about 5 and up but as we all know that really depends on your child's ability to sit and focus. They may not understand everything you read to them at once but even sowing little "seeds" of truth a tiny bit at a time is helpful to encouraging your children to display honesty, gratitude and courage.

Why Use Stories to teach Honesty, Gratitude & Courage?

Honesty means "acting in a trustworthy way so that you will respect yourself and be respected by others".

Shape your child's convictions and provide them with the courage to stand up for what's right. READ them with your kids (even if they are 15 and you think they are to old to be read to - you are NEVER to old to be read to)

Stories share with your children right from wrong, how to STAND UP for what you believe and how parents shaped their children's conviction and gave them the courage to choose what's right in the face of a lie. 

These books are a great addition to read if you'd like to extend the devotionals with your family:

1) Seven Miles to Freedom, the Robert Smalls Story  (elementary) click for my review

2) The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews teaches about how our actions affect others not just today but in the future.

3) The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom (10+) 

4) War Stories by Usborne Books teaches how men and women who stood up for what they believed was right and what it cost them - their lives, their families, their reputation. (10+) 

In closing:

Families need to talk about Truth because we all need to know the difference between right & wrong - between truth & untruth. It's the foundation on which we build a life of faith & trust. And role models like these can take us there. These true stories will capture your family's attention, granting vision and worthy examples that will redefine truth for every age. From Family Life Today's website

Other things you may be interested in:

Transcript of today's show

Barbara Rainey (about the author)

The Three Trees - Book Tour

 The Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale

by Elena Pasquali

Illustrated by Sophie Windham
Publisher: Lion Children’s Books,
distributed by Kregel Publications
ISBN: 978-0-7459-6289-4
32 pages, Kids 4+

My Thoughts:
The Three Trees is the story that tells the story of the birth, the life and the death of Christ. It's basically the story of how 3 trees grew up and then were cut down. The first one wished for riches, the second wished for power and to be made into a proud ship to carry a mighty king and the third only wanted to point the way to heaven. As they are made into a cradle, a small boat and into boards left in the weather each thinks it's dreams are over. Very simply written, each illustration beautifully shows the story and combined both tell the story so both children and adults can learn and understand what Christ did for each person on this earth.


It is so hard to write a description that won't give away the story completely - One of the things I loved about the illustrations is that the opening of the story begins with the artists rendition of "the 4 seasons"  which is one of my favorite pieces of art by almost all artists. I also loved how the story is written from the view of a tree - what a different concept and since the look of a tree never changes everyone can identify with something they have seen no matter where they live in this world (not everyone knows what a manger is, or has been on a boat or even seen what a cross looks like). Every family should have a copy of this book on their coffee table. It's perfect for Christmas, Easter and any other day of the year.

About the Author:

Elena Pasquali studied romance languages at university and has a special interest in researching folk tales. She worked for some years in children's publishing before going on to be an author in her own right.

About the Illustrator:
Sophie Windham has illustrated books for Bloomsbury and Orchard and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal for Unicorns! Unicorns! by Geraldine McCaughrean.

The Three Trees will be on tour November 7-11 - Your code for The Imagination Station Giveaway is: O Holy Night

Much thanks to Kregel Publishing for sending The Three Trees for review on Classic Children's Books. I was not required to do a positive review and no money exchanged hands.

Summer Book Club Wk 7 - Yuri's Brush with Magic

** Giveaway! Read how you can WIN a copy for your family! **

I'm sure many of you have noticed that I haven't followed my original plan for reviews for the Summer Book Club. =D I've come across so many great books that it's been hard to stick to the plan - be sure to watch in the next 6 months or so as I bring some of the books I skipped out and review them as I need fill ins. This weeks Summer Book Club feature is: 


Yuri's Brush with Magic 
by Maureen Crane Wartski.
Age 9-13, 175 pages
ISBN: 978-0982454251
Pre-Order on Amazon: $9.95 (Available 8/31/11)


About the book:
Tammy and Ken's mother is in the hospital, and nobody knows if she'll get better. When their great aunt Yuri arrives from Japan to take care of them, they set out to make her life difficult. But Yuri has some tricks of her own. Soon Ken uncovers an old family secret -- and Tammy's sea turtle rescue work soothes fears about her mother's recovery. But will they solve the summer's greatest mystery, the secret to Yuri's magic?

My thoughts:

Yuri's Brush with Magic is a book for the preteen to younger teen crowd. Well written and fast moving, it's an easy book to finish in just a few hours (for those of us FAST readers) but still very enjoyable for anyone that isn't a speed reader too. There are many different directions the author takes us in such as art, families, bullying and even Sea Turtle Conservation. 

Tammy and Ken start out their time with their Aunt Yuri determined NOT to like her, to make life so difficult that she sends them home. But as time goes on they discover that she isn't as mean as they thought but instead is hurting and has a hard time trusting others to actually care about her. They also meet their neighbor Mr Sol who is handicapped and gives them little chores to do in exchange for Ken learning about nature photography and Sea Turtles. During the time there Tammy learns several of the Japanese folktales from her Aunt Yuri and while she listens the paintings her aunt paints while telling the stories seem to come alive.

This is a wonderful easy reading book that has a lot to say about bullying, standing up for each other and for what's right and learning to sympathize and support those that are hurting or sad. It would be a great book to read at bedtime with your kids or for your kids to read on a rainy afternoon or outside on the lawn. 

There is also a great section at the end of the book with Sea Turtle Fun Facts and also an interview with Matthew H Godfrey, PhD, Biologist from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: North Carolina Sea Turtle Project.

What others say:

"Yuri’s Brush with Magic charms with its Japanese legends and a paintbrush that seems to make its subjects come to life..." -- Cindy Hudson, author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs

"We had been having trouble getting my daughter to read for pleasure. Then we decided to read a chapter of Yuri's Brush with Magic together at bedtime. I would read a few pages, and then she would read a few pages. Back and forth... This is the first book my daughter ever said, 'Mom, can we read another chapter... and one more...'" -- Deb, Mom of Rae (8)

Links you should check out:

The Sleepy Hollow Books page about the book (including an excerpt)

Maureen's Blog (be sure to read Life Is a Dance, it's beautiful)

About the author:

Maureen Crane Wartski was born in Ashiya, Japan, in a house by the sea. Long before she published her first story at 14, Maureen was in love with writing. Inspired by an uncle who gave her a foundation in classical literature, she realized that worlds are magical things with which to create dissonance and beauty.


Maureen Crane Wartski blends stories and art in her young adult novels, art quilts and watercolors. An award winning author, she has written many YA and midgrade novels and short stories and has conducted writing workshops for all ages and grade levels around the country.


How about a giveaway? SleepyHollowBooks.com has offered 3 copies of Yuri's Brush with Magic for my readers! Are you one of the winners????


Giveaway: (the regular giveaway here - rafflecopter is taking a timeout on this one)


Mandatory Entry: 
Please follow Family Literacy on GFC (left sidebar) Note: this MUST be done first so the other Optional Entries count.


Optional Entries:

1. Follow Sleepy Hollow Books on Facebook and leave a comment with a link back to the review/giveaway. Be sure to leave the hyperlink in your comment so I can find it.
2. Visit Maureen's Blog and read a couple of her posts - leave her a nice comment or two if you enjoyed yourself. =D
3. Follow ME on Twitter here. Pls leave your twitter link in your comment so I can follow you back.
4. Share this review on StumbleUpon, Buzz, Googling, FB, another kind of social media or a giveaway linky - 1 type per day/once only per type. (2 entries) (the buttons are at the bottom of this post)
5. Tweet (2x's daily - at least 5 hours apart)   

" #WIN 1 of 3 copies of Yuri's Brush w/ Magic on @FamilyLiteracy - great book for #kids 9-13! http://ning.it/qL3ha9 "


Thanks so much!  

Only 1 more week of the 2011 Summer Book Club! I hope you have enjoyed every book this summer, if you missed out on any of the reviews here they are again. Just click on the link to find them!

Week 1: How Huge the Night! 

Week 2: Journals of the Big Mouth Bass

Week 3: The Last Words of Will Wolfkin

Week 4: When Molly Was a Harvey Girl

Week 5: Uncommon Criminals

Week 6: The Elephant's Tale

Many thanks to SleepyHollowBooks.com for donating a copy of Yuri's Brush with Magic for the Summer Book Club and the 3 winning copies. The review and thoughts are my own and no money exchanged hands. The description of the author and the "about the book" is from the SleepyHollowBooks.com website.



I will draw the winner on 8/5 @ 10 pm - the winner has 48 hours to respond by email with their street address (no PO Boxes pls) and phone number (in case there's trouble delivering it).