Below are some of the books I’ve been reading this month; note that the following may contain spoilers:

By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder – The fifth book in the Little House series reads as a bridge book to me between childhood wonder and growing up. A few years have passed between On the Banks of Plum Creek and By the Shores of Silver Lake and Laura has acquired more responsibility within the Ingalls family. The reader is reacquainted, albeit briefly, with some people from previous books, including Almanzo and Royal Wilder, and there are some new people, one of whom is baby sister Grace Ingalls, to whom we are introduced. There are some difficult themes such as loss of sight, murder, and theft, but this is still a good read aloud.

On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder – The fourth book in the Little House series finds the Ingalls family in Minnesota. Laura’s world continues to expand, and she and Mary even have a chance to go to school and make friends. They also go to church for the first time in their lives, but the reader finds that their parents have been teaching them Scripture and hymns so their going to church isn’t unsettling for them. Also, we see more of Ma’s character in this book and I love her tenacity in the midst of changes and difficulties. This would make a good read aloud.

Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C. S. Lewis, by C. S. Lewis – I have mentioned this book in the On Lent – 2020 post as well as the On March Reading Life – 2020 post; it is one that is officially on my re-read list. The ritual of reading the Scripture passages along with excerpts from some of Lewis’s works makes a nice start to the morning and something to which I look forward.