Welcome!

Welcome to The Hundred Acre Bookshelf!

I’m Rachelle, a Christian, homeschool mom, and lover of good books. I’m known for reading while brushing my teeth and redeeming other odd bits of time with a book. I believe good children’s books are good books, meaning that they are good for children and good for adults. Excellent books stand the test of time, are worth owning, and hold up to multiple re-reads.

I live in Great State 48 (Arizona), and I love getting to watch my kids grow up in my own home state. We read a lot, hike and camp often, and host a monthly poetry/Scripture/prose recitation night. We’re also known for celebrating historical or literary events by throwing a party with period food. (Tolkien parties happen at least once a year, too.)

Once upon a time I lived in New York City, where I went to college, worked in education policy, met my husband, married and had our first two children. I love the deserts of Arizona but I’m not blind to the beauties of urban life, either. Never do I miss New York more than when I think of the museums and libraries.

Why The Hundred Acre Bookshelf

About ten years ago, I stopped by the New York Public Library to visit the original Winnie-the-Pooh and the rest of Christopher Robin Milne’s stuffed animals. I didn’t have kids yet, but I remember thinking with awe on the disciplined imagination of A.A. Milne. This man took careful note of his son’s make-believe play and wrote a series of original stories for his son and his son’s toys. Wow.

Now that I’m a mom, I’m even more captivated by the beauty of a story written for a specific child. Many of the best children’s books were written in this way – The Hobbit, The Wind in the Willows. In fact, C.S. Lewis wrote an article called “On Three Ways of Writing for Children” in which he praises this manner of writing in particular.

The warmth, the individuality, the intense knowing-and-being-known that is involved in this kind of personalized story-telling gets at something that matters to me as a parent: knowing my kids well, savoring my time with them, and picking books that are not just famous and important for social reference points but that are good for my kids.

I haven’t equaled A.A. Milne in my efforts to write for my kids. (Not even close.) But in a smaller way, I can fill their minds with stories. I can select books for them.

So, here I share little glimpses of the books that stock my bookshelves, in the hopes that they may help you stock yours, too.

The name “The Hundred Acre Bookshelf” is also meant to convey two other points. One, that the world of good books is big—hundred acres big.

And two, that though the world of books is large, the bookshelf is limited. We can only own and store and care for so many books. We have time to read only so many. So, what’s on the bookshelf next to Winnie-the-Pooh? What else is excellent, beautiful, important, and simply good? Let’s explore those together.

What you can expect

I’m honored to have you join me on this journey through good books. I send one bookish post per week, a mix of:

• Book lists.
  
  I list books I wholeheartedly recommend, with a focus on high-quality books that can be read over and over. Some book lists emphasize quantity of choices over quality. That’s not what you’ll find here.
  

• Author profiles.
  
  In addition to making topical book lists, I’ll profile a specific author (or illustrator) from time to time. Sometimes an author writes both excellent and mediocre work, so it’s not always safe to assume you’ll love everything else written by the author of your favorite book. These profiles will guard against that danger, as well as offer the chance to get to know an author a bit better.
  

• Editions guides.
  
  For some classic stories, there are too many editions out there. Which ones are best?
  

• Book reviews.
  
  I don’t expect to do a lot of single-book articles, but these will appear now and then. I’ll dive deep on good books, and other times use this space to offer warnings on not-so-great books.
  

• Occasional musings.

  
  From time to time, I’ll write on education, homemaking, motherhood, and faith.
  

• Trivia!
  
  Twice a month, I’m planning to post a trivia question with a link to the answer. This is a fun way for us to discover new books or new facets of the books we already love. I can imagine this being an interactive feature, so if you have a trivia question to propose, please let me know!

I’m still learning and growing and finding new books to read. I would love to hear your favorite book recommendations, too.