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Life Lessons from Roses on Baker Street

February 15, 2016 by Cosette

If you’re looking for a story with characters that communicate depth of feeling without a trace of melodrama and that successfully portray the genuine conflicts of a young heart with candor and authenticity, you’ll be richly rewarded by Roses on Baker Street by Eileen Berry. Roses takes its place in your heart like gently falling snow—quietly, subtly, softly.

book cover for Roses on Baker Street by Eileen Berry. published by BJU Press

It begins when we are introduced to a missionary family returning to the States from France for a year-long furlough. Their youngest daughter, a third grader named Danae, enters her new, un-France-like world with caution and unavoidable comparisons. The streets are different. The houses are different. The language is different. Even the bread is different. And the hardest part of all to grasp is her father’s advice to his homesick daughter: “Look for the roses—not the thorns.” Danae combs the neighborhood and doesn’t find a single rose. In France they peppered the landscape, gracefully climbing the walls of her village.

In school, Danae’s teacher tries her best to make Danae feel welcome, and in the classroom, the children show some interest in their new classmate’s home on the other side of the ocean. But after observing giggling and whispers in the lunchroom, Danae returns from her first day of school feeling friendless. And it is here—in my favorite scene in the story—that her father steps in and enters into his daughter’s feelings of loneliness in a special way.

Roses on Baker Street ends in a surprising blaze of color that will linger with five- to nine-year-olds long after they close the covers of this touching tale. With its lessons in patience and contentment, its beautiful color illustrations by master artist John Roberts, and Berry’s characteristically gentle style, Roses waits to take its place on your library shelf and in the heart of every child who reads it.

Filed Under: JourneyForth Tagged With: John Roberts, JourneyForth, picture book, roses

Benjamin’s Sling

December 14, 2015 by Cosette

In searching for a new Christmas story for K4 through beginning readers, I was deeply impressed when I discovered Eileen Berry’s Benjamin’s Sling. Initially, I saw it as a fresh, beautifully, simple children’s Christmas story. But as I read further, I unearthed abundantly satisfying answers to some of life’s most complex and timeless questions. Perhaps like me, you may be surprised that Benjamin’s Sling appeals to everyone from grandparents to preschoolers.

book cover of Benjamin's Sling by Eileen Berry

The story opens with a sleepless night. An orphaned shepherd boy wrestles with the comforts that he sees around him but that have been denied him personally. The twinkling lights of Bethlehem just before it slumbers stir his envy of those with a normal family life as he looks down on the town from the pastures he calls home. Fear and loneliness run deep for this child—the sad results of trauma and loss—and the author brings them vividly forward in the pastoral musings of the boy’s heart.

Jumpy and trigger-happy when it comes to using his sling, Benjamin has joined the ranks of the hyper-aware at a young age. Modern readers easily identify with the questions and doubts that swirl in his head concerning God’s sovereignty and whether His good will toward men is real. “Why didn’t God—who is able—prevent his father’s untimely death? What dangers yet await him, as a vulnerable lad?” An older shepherd—Caleb, who is Benjamin’s close and kind guardian—doesn’t have all the answers to the boy’s questions. But, as is characteristic of the wise guide, he points Benjamin to the One who does. Fully aware that there are places only experience, maturity, and divine grace can take Benjamin, Caleb reminds him of his father’s strong love and of God’s protection of that most famous shepherd—David. But words are not enough to bring Benjamin to peace with his past.

Only seeing the Savior can quiet the shepherd boy’s trembling heart—and it all begins with some very loud voices on the hillside.

You, your children, and your grandchildren will thrill again when you read of these simple shepherds meeting with the King of Kings. You will rejoice at the transforming power experienced by the humble few, chosen to experience that first Christmas. In this rich, poetic setting of Eileen Berry’s enthralling account, I found the perfect Christmas gift. I cannot recommend highly enough this classic story that will bless your family year after year.

View the opening pages of Benjamin’s Sling at bjupresshomeschool.com. Discussion questions are also available on the product page.

 

Filed Under: JourneyForth Tagged With: Christmas, gifts, JourneyForth, picture book

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