boys – Susan Uhlig

God's promises for boys God’s promises…for boys… (Tommy Nelson, 2010) by Jack Countryman and Amy Parker is very kid-friendly. Each entry begins with a short poem and then is followed by Bible verses (International Children’s Bible). The opening title under the section God’s Promises When… is “You Want to Be Cool.” Don’t all boys want to be cool?
Additional sections are:

God’s Promises About…
God Wants You To…
God’s Promises of Help When…
God’s Promises about Making a Difference…
God’s Promises about Jesus
God’s Promises for You…

This book could be used as a devotional or a resource when a boy has a question. Reading age 8-12, but I’d definitely read it to my younger grandsons.
It has great illustrations, too, by Richard Watson. See more details at thepublisher’s site.
Author Jack Countryman created the God’s Promises line. Read more here. Together he and Amy Parker wrote this book and God’s Promises…for girls. Amy is also the author of A Night Night Prayer.

I just happened to read two books set in Kansas this last week. Both were very entertaining. Both at one level were sports stories. But both also had much more going for them, such as humor . . .

Airballjacket The first, Airball, My Life in Briefs (Roaring Brook Press, 2005) gives us the voice of Kirby Nickel loud and clear. Kirby’s town loves basketball so much they are the self proclaimed Baseball Capital of Kansas. Kirby loves the sport, too. However, he can’t play and definitely doesn’t want to humiliate himself by trying. But when the 7th grade team will get the chance to meet homegrown celebrity 6 foot 9 inch NBA start Brett McGrew, Kirby has to go out for the team.
Author LD Harkrader had me both laughing and identifying with her main character and his struggles.
Hope to see more books by Lisa soon. Check out her website at http://www.ldharkrader.com/

outofpatience The second, out of patience (Delacourte, 2006) by Brian Meehl reminds me a lot of Holes by Louis Sacher. I suppose it’s a combination of the humor and the back and forth between the present and the past and how what happened then affects now. It’s a story about friends and family, a small town, and what you believe.
In this case, 12-year-old Jake Waters definitely believes in the curse–the one that says the Plunger (as in toilet) of Destiny returning to Patience will be the beginning of the final destruction of the town. The arrival of the dreaded artifact means there won’t even be a seventh game in the KSF Workup Baseball World Series. As you read, you’ll learn about a variety of “head bonks” as well as the Waters’ men’s philosophy, “when in doubt, don’t move.”