Monday, April 25, 2016

Kiylee's Christmas by Sandy Christensen

It's not a published hardcover book, but it is a great story to read about. It's the true story of a family who faced a trial around Christmastime, but with a bit of faith, they had a miracle happen to them before the New Year ever came to them. It's a powerful story that will teach you about the true meaning of Christmas and what it has to offer. I recommend that it's appropriate for everybody at any age. Even a child. This book was written by my mother, I just wish that it was published and was on the shelves at either Deseret Book or even Barns & Noble.

http://twelvemakesadozen.blogspot.com/p/kiylees-christmas.html 

The Puzzle Book for LDS Kids

The Puzzle Book for LDS KidsThis book is like a lot of fun for children who are in preschool. This book will teach children a lot about the church and then solve mysterious clues that the book is offering to them. It might become a challenge for primary children who are in preschool, but it will eventually make a lot of sense to them of what they've learned from the puzzle book and then they might compare it to the scriptures they read and it may increase their testimonies. I recommend this book to be appropriate for preschoolers, because it helps them to learn a lot of fun activities given to them from the Church. You can buy this at Deseret Book as well as Amazon.

https://deseretbook.com/p/puzzle-book-lds-kids-arie-van-de-graaff-66847?variant_id=33584-paperback

My LDS Quiet Book by My Growing Season

My LDS Quiet BookI read about this book from the Deseret Book website and it looks like a totally a cute book that can be used for babies. It makes them want to look and feel the pictures.  It's written by someone, but they just preferred to be called My Growing Season. Maybe it's some sort of writing group that helped put it all together before publishing it with Deseret Book. It teaches toddlers how to be reverent in church and it's a book that would help them be less loud during Sacrament, Sunday School, and Sharing Time. I totally recommend this book to be for babies, because it's made out of felt and infants love the feeling of soft books with hard pages that won't tear or rip off. You can buy it off of LDS book, if you can afford it, because it's actually a pretty expensive book for children, probably because of how antique and fancy it is. Just remember the pricing on it and if you have the funds to buy it, your kids will love it.

The Parable of the Princesses by Jenny Philips

Inline image 1This book is full of the most beautiful illustrations!  The story itself is a parable of three princesses who have been instructed by their beloved father to build him a castle while he is away.  The three princesses - who represent children of God struggling to do his will - find many temptations and challenges prevent them from accomplishing their missions. The beautiful artwork and elegantly worded story is sure to touch hearts and bring the spirit.  

This book was reviewed by my sister, Drama Queen. She's fond of reading books that are part of the adolescent perspective, but for this, she just read this book and it turns out to be adult. I recommend that this book is more appropriate for adults than children and adolescents. 


Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson


I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The characters were interesting, and the described setting beautiful.  While it was pretty archetypal to the genre, the plot did hold a surprise or two.  The best part, as a reader, was knowing that as a "Proper Romance" there would be no explicit content.  Very sweet and enjoyable over all.

Inline image 1The story begins so:  Marianne is desperate to return to her country home after a year stuck in Bath with her impersonal grandmother.  Then, surprisingly, that self-same grandmother abruptly declares Marianne to be the new heir to her fortune..the only catch?  Marianne must attend a house party and learn what it truly means to be an elegant lady  - which includes having to wear a bonnet and not go running about the countryside. Can Marianne, still grieving for her mother, find the inner strength to become a proper lady of fortune?  Or will the simpler life prove too tempting?

The person who reviewed this book was my sister, Drama Queen. She loves Romance books and recommends that this book is appropriate for teenagers.

Ites: an illustrated guide to the people in the Book of Mormon, written by David Butler and illustrated by Ryan Jeppesen

Ites
This book is a guide book for children to learn about the different kinds of people that are found in the Book of Mormon and why they're called the certain people ending with "ites." It's a guidebook that will lead you to a lot of learning of things pertaining to the Book of Mormon and also teach life long lessons and participate in fun activities it's showing. By the sounds and looks of this book, I recommend that it is appropriate for elementary kids as well as adults. You can find this book at Deseret Book and Amazon. That "ite" to help you! :)

https://deseretbook.com/p/ites-david-butler-93113?variant_id=2511-hardcover

Dead Wood and Rushing Water by Boyd Jay Peterson

Dead Wood and Rushing WaterI haven't read this book, but it's a book that has been written by my Mormon Literature teacher who has a contribution to writing and teaching Mormon Literature. I shouldn't be judging a book by its cover, but I think that with Dead Wood and Rushing Water being called that with a subtitle that says Essays on Mormon Faith, Culture, and Family, I think it's more appropriate for both adults and teenagers so they can learn about families and how to get along better.










https://deseretbook.com/p/dead-wood-rushing-water-boyd-jay-petersen-91929?taxon_id=4808&variant_id=3704-paperback 

My First Book of Mormon Activity Book by Laura Lee Rostrom

This book is a great way for babies to start learning about the Book of Mormon. If they can't understand what the actual words from the Book of Mormon are saying, this book will be a great source for them. It will teach them about the people in the Book of Mormon and that might increase their testimonies about it by the time they would go to primary in the future. You can actually find it from the LDS bookstore.


https://ldsbookstore.com/my-first-book-of-mormon-activity-book-volume-1?feed=Froogle&gclid=CjwKEAjwgPe4BRCB66GG8PO69QkSJAC4EhHhxzCXtJYJHESCmEukL76-I_foI1xJE6IoW4GQLileRxoC3Ivw_wcB 

The Scholar of Moab by Steven L. Peck



The Scholar of Moab is about a guy who's trying to become a scholar and he is struggling with his life as a Mormon. He likes to attend church, but he feels that he doesn't have his faith. He ends up stealing a dictionary and burning the library to keep the evidence away from the cops. But the ward heard about it, and they thought it was the communists and the Gadianton Robbers trying to take over Moab and destroy the LDS church. He felt like wanting to confess what really happened, but nobody in the ward would ever believe him, because they think he's too much of a good guy to do anything like that. I recommend this book is more appropriate for adults, not because it has sketchy things happening, but it also has grammar that might be hard to understand while reading it. It is also supposed to be funny, but I don't think most younger people would understand the humor.

http://www.amazon.com/Scholar-Moab-Steven-L-Peck/dp/1937226026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461608422&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Scholar+of+Moab 

The Christmas Train: A True Story by Thomas S. Monson

The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson, wrote a true story from his childhood about learning the importance of giving, especially around a favorite holiday of the year. I recommend that this book is totally appropriate for elementary school children all the way up to adults. It will also teach the lesson that President Monson learned and why it is better to give than to receive. You can find this book at a store called Deseret Book or you can still order it from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Train-True-Story/dp/1609071824/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1461607691&sr=8-3&keywords=The+Christmas+Train 

The Backslider by Levi S. Peterson

I never actually read the entire book, but I did have to read the last chapter for my Mormon Lit class. From what I noticed during the book, it takes place in the early days of the church in Utah. It talks about a Mormon cowboy who's still struggling with being perfect in his life. He especially wants to baptize his wife, but he doesn't feel worthy. I recommend you don't read this to children because it's more an adult book. So if you're an adult over 20 years of age, it's appropriate for you, but not for children or adolescents.


http://www.amazon.com/Backslider-Levi-S-Peterson/dp/1560852186

A Dinosaur Goes to Church: Written by Candas M. Elder and Illustrated by Jennifer Eichelberger

I haven't read this book, but I've heard it's one of the most humorous LDS books to read to preschoolers. It will also teach children about the importance of being reverent at all times, especially when going to church to worship. this would be a really good book to keep in your church bag for sacrament meeting.

http://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Goes-Church-Candas-Elder/dp/162108423X 

Tennis Shoes Adventure Series by Chris Heimerdinger


This first set of books and author I'm going to talk about is a Book of Mormon fiction series called the Tennis Shoes Adventure Series. It's all written by Chris Heimerdinger. He's written about 12 books in this series to teach every teenager about how the Book of Mormon would come to life if a person were to experience what it would be like to go to the past and an ancient time. It could also teach about what the Book of Mormon says, even though these characters aren't actually part of the Book of Mormon. This book cover I'm showing you is the first book of the series. It talks about a teenage boy who's struggling with his life, especially when it comes to knowing what the Church has been trying to teach him. He also has a friend who's so enthusiastic with the Church that he never doubted about it. These two friends go into a cave with his sister to see if they can find treasure, but they end up back in Book of Mormon times. They start to learn from their experience that the Book of Mormon is a true book. I don't want to explain the entire plot, because I'm pretty sure all of you want to read this book and possibly the entire series. Here's a link on Amazon where you can order online and then it'll come to you in the next days from the day you ordered it.

http://www.amazon.com/Tennis-Shoe-Adventure-Shoes-Nephites/dp/1577344677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461602240&sr=8-1&keywords=Tennis+Shoes+books

Welcome

Welcome to this blog called LDS Lit. Reviews. I'm Dog Walker from many other blogs, including Twelve Makes a Dozen. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and a returned missionary. This blog I created is all about different stories from members of the LDS church that you can learn about. You might not be a member of this Church, but the authors will surely explain about their perspectives of the church through the books that they've written. It could even give you the big picture of what the LDS church has to offer, and you can think about if you would like to join the church or not. (I know some missionaries would be happy to meet with you!) These are mostly fictional stories that contain lifelong lessons and humor in the books that you might find inspiring to learn and love. Check out the links on the tabs above to show some of the greatest LDS literature. Good luck and have fun seeing the books I've put up so you can see how exciting they will be, and maybe decide if you want to read them. And if you know of a book we should add to the review, just let me know in the comments.