Thursday, July 25, 2013

Litfuse Review: A Big Year for Lily

Last month we had the privilege of introducing you to the wonderful world of Lily Lapp, a sweet, curious, and lovable young girl growing up in an Old Amish order.  Well, we are no less excited to tell you about the third book in the Lily Lapp series, A Big Year for Lily.



About A Big Year for Lily: 

If you haven't heard of Lily Lapp, you are in a for a real treat!  The Lily books remind me of a cross between Little House on the Prairie-thanks to the references to plain dress, one room schools, and horse and buggies.  They also reminds me of the Ramona series since she is always managing to get herself into trouble whether she meant to or not!  This new book, A Big Year for Lily, does seem to find Lily a bit more grown up and in a little less trouble then in the first two books.

The publisher summary for A Big Year for Lily:

"Lily Lapp's family has settled into their new home in Pennsylvania, but life still holds big changes and big steps for Lily.  Good changes, like once again living close to her beloved cousin and best friend, Hannah.  Bad changes, like a mean girl who plays tricks on her.  And no change at all where Lily would most want one-Aaron Yoder sits near her in school and relentlessly teases her.  Surprises are in store for Lily as she learns, with Mama and Papa's help, to manage the ups and downs of growing up Amish."



About the authors:

Author Suzanne Woods Fisher has written many titles about Amish life, including Amish Values for Your Family, which I own and very much enjoyed!  Ms Fisher hosts a radio show called Amish Wisdom.  You can connect with her on her web-site Susannewoodsfisher.com.

Author Mary Ann Kinsinger grew up in a old order Amish community.  As an adult, she and her husband chose to leave the community.  But, her first hand experiences add depth and accuracy to the writings.  Mary Ann blogs at A Joyful Chaos.

As part of this new release, Suzanne is celebrating with giveaways!!  I am one of the last stops on this blog tour, so you don't have much time to enter. The giveaway closes tomorrow and the winner will be announced on the 29th.  Good news is, you don't have to wait long to find out who the winner is!  You can enter on Facebook or by email.


What did we think of A Big Year for Lily?

When any series reaches the second or third book, sometimes they are not as good.  But, that is just not the case with the Adventures of Lily Lapp.  A Big Year for Lily is just as funny and entertaining as the first two books.  We have not yet reached this book in our read aloud time, but I have been reading it myself and read 16 chapters in just one night.

I know it is a children's book, but even I (as a 30 something adult) completely enjoyed being swept into a calmer, slower paced life of the Old Order Amish.  I marveled at the detailed descriptions that author Suzanne Woods Fisher gives, she made me feel as I was right there with Lily and her family.  There are some nice pencil illustrations throughout the book, but they are not necessary except to assist the youngest readers in their imagining of these lovely stories.

Mustang has been racing through her other Lily books trying to catch up with me and is very jealous that I have read book three and she has not.  She will be caught up soon, however, as the books are a quick read with short chapters for small attention spans-perfect for our evening read aloud time.  Even Charger enjoys hearing them and he is just 5.

The Lily books are written with the 8-12 year old girls in mind, but it's audience can certainly include boys, younger children (Mustang is only 7) and moms :).  They make a wonderful choice for a family read aloud.

How to Buy?

A Big Year for Lily and other books in the Adventures of Lily Lapp series have a suggested retail price of $12.99 and are available at many retailers as a paper back or e-book/Kindle editions.  Here is the Baker Publishing link (not an affiliate link).

Also, be sure to checkout the Adventures of Lily Lap website.  It has lots of fun games, printable coloring pages, and bonus features to help your children connect with Lily and her family.


Thanks so much for stopping by!
God Bless,
Lisa

Disclaimer:  As a part of the Litfuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of A Big Year for Lily in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own.




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