The Charlatan's Boy

Have you ever heard that the colors red and yellow catch the eye more than say, green and blue?  Well, the cover of this book certainly caught my attention!  The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers is a novel written for 10-15 year olds but this 57 year old enjoyed it immensely. It kept me happily entertained for several lunch breaks. 

I felt like I was reading a book by Mark Twain and I wanted it to go on and on. Written in the first person by our narrator Grady, it uses phrases like, "Chapter One, In which I jump out of a box and play the Wild Man..." or, "Chapter 11, In which we meet the world's most beautiful eighty-two-year-old." 

As far as Grady knows, he was orphaned and found by Professor Floyd under a palmetto bush when he was tiny. Floyd is the only family he knows. Grady and Professor Floyd are hucksters, "pulling a variety of hoaxes and flimflams on the good citizens of the Corenwald frontier".

Professor Floyd is forever looking for the perfect scam  When he figures on turning the myth of the Wild Men of the Feechiefen Swamp into "reality", his sidekick Grady is in for the show of his life. 

Jonathan Rogers, who has a PhD in 17th century English literature, has filled his book with puckish humour, gentle sarcasm and  southern dialect.  We meet swamp dwellers, cattle drovers and gullible townspeople.  

But  most of all we learn to know and love the terrifically ugly Grady. Homely he may be, and rather battered by life, but his spirit is undampened.  He greets each new day enthusiastically and makes us love him and cheer him on.

Give yourself the treat of a great book and read this latest from the author of The Wilderking Trilogy.

--Becky

A Little Boy's Astounding Story

Any book that causes us to love the Lord, His Word and His people even more than we do is a book worth reading.  That is why I am recommending Heaven is for Real  by Todd Burpo. Even non-readers are telling me that they love it.  

When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency apendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous survival.  What they weren't expecting, though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed - a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy's trip to heaven and back.

Colton was not even four years old when the events chronicled in the book took place.  His dad Todd, a busy pastor, community volunteer and businessman, was very sceptical of his small son's claim to have gone to heaven during his operation.  He asked his son "trick" questions but became increasingly convinced that his son had indeed seen and experienced something "out of this world"!

I loved reading about this warm and caring and very normal family.  Todd was  just as distraught and horrified as you and I would be with our child's life hanging in the balance. He raged against God and was filled with despair, only to be drawn back into his Father's loving arms. Colton himself encouraged his folks to keep trusting that the Lord would provide for them, including the mountainous medical bills.  And again and again, this family sees God's hand at work.

The book's emphasis is not on the sensational  but rather on God's loving care for His children. And we are reminded to look out for one another.  Pastor Todd's example of a shepherd tending his flock is outstanding in itself.  


I want you to read this book for yourself as I feel that I cannot do justice to it with my own puny explanation. Suffice to say, it is the best book about heaven I have ever read.




~~Becky

♪ May auld books not be forgot this year ♫

It has been awhile since posting...we apologize for the lapse in time but there has been much happening and like any blogger, unfortunately we were temporarily overwhelmed by the multiple tasks and jobs that had to be done...forgive us :)

Now that the busy season is over and we have some time to reflect there is much that can and should be written, I will stick simply to the book that I read this past few days...it is not new, it is an older story written in 1997, it is a story about relationships, a book about dying, a book about lessons. One old man and one young. A story of renewed friendships. This book is about Morrie Schwartz, a university professor dying from ALS and his former student Mitch Albom.

The reason this story is the one I chose...well it touched me...the conversations between student and mentor include acceptance, communication, love, happiness and values. An inspirational story of how one man chose to die and what another learned along the way.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a great book and although it is not new it was certainly worth reading.
~Denise