Stories from the Ashes Podcast

Find a free literary database containing books we’ve discussed on the podcast here.

Links on our website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the costs of running this site.

Thank you- we truly appreciate it!

Featured books in this episode:

Hurry, Hurry, Mary Dear by N. M. Bodecker, illustrated by Erik Blegvad

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Ann Radcliffe as a recommended gothic author

The Haunted Lake by P.J Lynch

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Down Buttermilk Lane by Barbara Mitchell, illustrated by John Sandford

Maple by Lori Nichols

Maple & Willow series by Lori Nichols

Maple & Willow Apart by Lori Nichols

Mousekin’s Golden House by Edna Miller

Mr. Hermit Miser and the Neighborly Pumpkin by Christine Noble Govan (Link is to read for free on Archive)

Christopher’s Garden by Elsa Beskow

Survivor Tree by Marcie Colleen

Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman

Saved by the Boats: The Heroic Sea Evacuation of September 11 by Julie Gassman *clarification from the episode- the 9/11 water evacuation was second only to the evacuation of Dunkirk

A Map Into The World by Kao Kalia Yang

“Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn--that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness--that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.”

― Jane Austen, Persuasion

Thank you for spending time with us! Please click stars or leave a review! We'd really appreciate it!

Do you have any autumn chapter book recommendations for Ambre?

What are your favorite fall picture books?

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!) If their review is aired we’ll send them a sticker!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Episode Content Considerations:

* Miscarriage is discussed.

* At the end of the episode we dismiss any kids who have been listening along and Ambre recounts a story from a tv episode that includes brief references to murder, overdose, drug addiction, and infant loss, while addressing the dangers of avoiding processing one’s grief

Find a free literary database containing books we’ve discussed on the podcast here:

Links on our website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the costs of running this site. Thank you- we truly appreciate it!

Featured books in this episode:

* Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

* Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

* Maybe Tomorrow? (a story about loss, healing, and friendship) by Charlotte Agell

* Christy by Catherine Marshall

* The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

* Anxious Andy by Adam Ciccio

* Violet Shrink by Christine Baldacchino

* Give and Take by Elly Swartz

* My Own Lightening by Lauren Wolk (sequel to Wolf Hollow)

* Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

* Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk

* Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Media we discussed in this episode at length:

* Previous episode with Val that Amanda references throughout our conversation: 014 Night Wakings, Grief, and the Healing Power of Poetry

* Elyse Myers “I just do it scared.”

* The six minute Grey’s Anatomy scene Ambre narrates at the end of the episode (here in two three minute parts) about moving through grief. (CCs: Talk of drug addiction and infant loss. Shows raw emotions.)

* part 1 part 2

Thank you for spending time with us! Please join the conversation in the comments below!

* Do you have any favorite books showing anxiety being handled well for adults?

* What are your favorite books that model emotional intelligence for youngsters and teens?

* What’s a book you’ve loved that reached you when you needed it in an area of emotional or mental health?

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!) If their review is aired we’ll send them a sticker!

* GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Our Guest: Nicole Cottrell

* Stories of Color: a curated source for diverse, multicultural living books

* Not Only, But Also: a very mature/adult ears only podcast

* Stories of Color Instagram

* Find a free literary database containing books we’ve discussed here:

* Links on our website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the costs of running this site.

Thank you- we truly appreciate your support!

Featured books in this episode:

* Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by CS Lewis

* Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

* Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants- this young adult version has become available since our conversation, written for ages 12+

* The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction): A Novel by Colson Whitehead

* The First Blade of Sweetgrass by Suzanne Greenlaw and Gabriel Frey

* Books As Windows by May Lamberton Becker

* Give and Take by Elly Swartz

* Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

* In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord and Marc Simont

* Tristan Strong Novels by Kwame Mbalia

If you enjoy the Stories of Color site, be sure to check out the Reshelving Alexandria Catalogue as well!

Are you reading diverse books?

Do you have a favorite book with diverse characters?

We’d love to hear what you’ve read! Please share some book reviews in the comments!

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Our Guest: Valerie Brandt.

Find a free literary database containing books we’ve discussed here:

Links on our website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the costs of running this site. To find the affiliate links from this episode please click here. Thank you- we truly appreciate it!

Featured books in this episode:

* Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James (Amanda’s beach read)

* Beach Read by Emily Henry- (aVal’s bawdy rom-com beach read)

* Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

* Grown and Flown by Lisa Heffernan Mary Dell Harrington

* Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 535 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown (Content Considerations: Language)

* Sweet People are Everywhere by Alice Walker

* The Bargain Bride by Evelyn Sibley Lampman (Ambre also referred to Three Knocks on the Wall and Princess of Fort Vancouver, though not by name)

* The Memory Box: A Book About Grief by Joanna Rowland and Thea Baker

* The Treasure Box by Dave Keane, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell.

* All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols

* Life by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel

* Inside Cat by Brendan Wenzel

* They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel

* Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

* Unbetrothed by Candice Pedraza Yamnitz

* Monster in the Hollows (Wingfeather Saga book 3) by Andrew Peterson

* Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr: Their lives, their times, their duel by Anna Erskine Crouse and Russell Crouse (a Landmark book)

* Thomas Jefferson, His Many Talents by Johanna Johnston

* Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

* Almost Nothing, yet Everything: A Book about Water by Hiroshi Osada, illustrated by Ryoji Arai

* A Drop Of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Walter Wick

* 13 Ways to Kill Your Community by Doug Griffiths (Val mentioned this one in passing but we didn’t get around to discussing it)

Here’s a link to the article Ambre still wants to finish reading on Motherhood as a Hero’s Journey.

We’d love to hear what you’re been reading this summer!

Have any books especially touched you on the topics of grief or mental health? We’d love to hear about them!

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Our Guest: Jan McGrath

* www.meimeimandarin.weebly.com

* www.TellMeAStoryAgain.weebly.com

Find a free literary database containing the books we’ve discussed here:

Links on our website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the costs of running this site. Find the affiliate links from this episode please click here. Thank you!

Featured books in this episode:

* Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

* Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

* Silas Marner by George Eliot

* David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

* North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

* The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack, illustrated by Kurt Wiese

* Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop, illustrated by Kurt Wiese

* The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy

* Gai See: What You Can See in Chinatown by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Yangsook Choi

* Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore and illustrated by Lattimore

* Fish in the Air by Kurt Wise

* Kite Flying by Grace Lin

* Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin

* The Legend of the Willow Plate by Alvin R. Tresselt

* Empty Pot by Demi

* The Greatest Treasure by Demi

* The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

* Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel, illustrated by Blair Lent

* To Grandmother's House: A Visit to Old-Town Beijing (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition) by Douglas Keister

* Thank You, Meiling (A Manners Children's Book) by Linda Talley, illustrated by Itoko Maeno

* Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons In Life, Love, And Language by Deborah Fallows

Here are some other images related to the episode:

Calamityware (Ambre’s red mug)

“The Jasmine Song” a Chinese folk song traditionally known as “Mo Li Hua”

Are you doing a Heritage Thread with your family?

For which country?

We’d love to hear what you’re reading!

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Find a free literary database containing the books we’ve discussed here:

Links on our website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the cost of running this site. Thank you for using them and supporting us!

Resources referenced:

* HearthRoom Press

* Ambleside Online

* Living Book Press

* Purple House Press

* Smidgen Press

* Wingspan Board Game

* Wild + Free (find a group near you!)

* Hamilton the Broadway Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Naturalists, authors, illustrators and other nature study and agriculturalist influencers from the turn of the century that Kelly covered in her fascinating history lesson:

* Anna Botsford Comstock

* Liberty Hyde Bailey

* John Spenser

* Louis Agassiz Fuertes

Books reviewed in this episode:

Featured books:

* Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock

* The Nature Notebook Series by Anna Comstock

* The Comstocks of Cornell―The Definitive Autobiography by Comstock edited by Karen Penders St. Clair

* Creating New and Better Plants: Luther Burbank by Paul Bacon

* Book on the Inklings still in process by John Hendrix of The Faithful Spy

* Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola

* Trees At Leisure by Anna Comstock

* Jim Arnosky’s books- Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher, Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-watching, Shore Walking, Sketching Outdoors in Autumn, Drawing Life in Motion

* We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines

* Insects in their World by Su Zan N. Swain

* The Story of Spiders by Dorothy Shuttlesworth Illustrated by Su Zan Noguchi Swain

* Peterson Guides- the vintage illustrated copies

* Creekfinding: A True Story by Jacqueline Briggs Martin illustrated by Claudia McGehee

* Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran illustrated by Barbara Cooney

* The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown

Thank you so much for joining us today! Please, be sure to visit Kelly’s website to find all the wonderful books and Nature Study helps she offers!

We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

What’s your favorite part of nature study?

Any books on the topic you love or recommend?

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Episode Content Consideration:

Ambre uses the word “crap” to mean “stuff” once.

BigThink article: “A home library can have a powerful effect on children”

Study: “Scholarly culture: How books in adolescence enhance adult literacy, numeracy and technology skills in 31 societies”

Rabbit Room Press

Dolly Parton Imagination Library

PJ Library for Jewish Kids

Books reviewed and mentioned in this episode:

Links on the website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the cost of running this site. Thank you!

Featured and Mentioned Books:

* Sesame Street Dictionary- 1980

* Mr. Men and Little Miss Picture Dictionary

* Calvin and Hobbes

* Andrew Lang Fairy Tales

* Illustrated Junior Library (I think Ambre referred to this as the Junior Illustrated Classics in the episode)

* I Touch by Rachel Isadora

* Green Ember series by SD Smith

“It will not be so in the Mended Wood”

(coloring page Ambre shared about in her story)

* Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

* Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

* Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

* My Bookhouse

* Childcraft

* Young Folks Library

* Collier’s Junior Library

* Through Golden Windows

* Mathematics Illustrated Dictionary by Jeanne Bendick- Ambre much prefers the vintage over the more modern reprint due to the lovely illustrations

* How Much and How Many The Story of Weights and Measures by Jeanne Bendick- Ambre much prefers the vintage over the more modern reprint due to the lovely illustrations

* Shepp’s Giant Library

* The Delphian Course

* Beatrix Potter treasury

* Thomas the Tank Engine Story Collection by Reverend W. Awdry (red cover)

* The Glorious Impossible by Madeleine L'Engle

We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

What is your best tip to starting a home library?

How did you begin?

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Find a free literary database containing the books we’ve discussed here:

Taleah told us all about her free bookstore: Embrace Books. You can follow them on FB here.

Links on the website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they help offset the costs of running this podcast. Thank you!

Books mentioned in this episode:

* Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle

* Lord of the Rings by Tolkien

* Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

* CS Lewis Space Trilogy

* Storm: The SYLO Chronicles #2 by D. J. MacHale

* Vasilisa by M.L. Farb

Taleah reads Ambleside Online books aloud on The Enchanted Library Podcast. Please check out what she’s read!

We’d love to hear from you in the comments! Do you give books away? What does that look like for you? Share your experiences below!

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews (ending 07/01/2022) we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts.

To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Find a free literary database containing the books we’ve discussed here:

Books reviewed in this episode:

Links on the website are often affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the cost of running this site. Thank you!

Featured books:

* Zao’s Tales by J.A. Sommer illustrated by John D. Neiner

* The Blue Book of Tales by J.A. Sommer illustrated by John D. Neiner

**Both books release on July 19th and can be pre-ordered today at the links above and below.**

(In this episode Ambre mistakenly uses the word “cliché” while describing the quotability of the text of Zao’s Tales when “maxim” would have been more accurate.)

* A book John can’t recall the title of- can you help him out? He recalls it was a kids spy book with possibly a decoder ring on the kid’s hi-top shoes. If you know the book please share it in the comments!

* The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

* A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

* I Call it Heresy! by A.W. Tozer

* Imagination Redeemed by Gene Veith Jr. and Matthew Ristuccia

* Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke

* Charlotte Mason's Home Education Series

* Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (a love or hate series according to John)

* Lord of the Rings trilogy

* Edith Nesbit books

A few favorite authors of theology: A.W. Tozer, C.S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers

Ambre’s favorite Edith Nesbit reader on Audible is Cathy Dobson- give your ear a few minutes to adjust to her cadence when listening to a sample.

Books and stories mentioned:

* Robinson Crusoe (link is to a side by side comparison from Exodus Books)

* Gulliver’s Travels

* Brer Rabbit stories

* Anansi stories

* Men of Iron by Howard Pyle

* Chronicles of Narnia

* Harry Potter

Thank you for joining us today! Don’t forget to pre-order Zao’s Tales!

We’d love to hear from you in the comments! Have you read any of the books we discussed today? Share your reviews below!

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews (ending 07/01/2022) we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts.

To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!

Episode Content Consideration:

Ambre uses the word “sex” in this sentence: “I don’t know of… any YA books that have kids that are 17 and up that don't have sex.” (29:30-30:10)

Listen to the audio only here or on your favorite podcast player!

In this episode Ambre had quickly relocated to the furthest corner of the house to be as far from the unexpected chainsawing outside her house as possible. Her mic didn’t handle the change, or the echochamber of the room, gracefully. Everyone else sounds great but she sounds like she’s in a tin can. On the (understandable) chance you opt out of sitting through her parts, she and Charlesa put together a quick and dirty transcript as an alternative to be read through.

We feel what Val and Charlesa had to share really challenged our thinking in some areas and gave us a great window into the inner workings of small town libraries and transforming a private library into a public library. We really don’t want you to miss this conversation in one form or another!

Find a free literary database containing the books we’ve discussed here:

Books reviewed and mentioned in this episode:

Links on the website are affiliate links- they don’t cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the cost of running this site. Thank you!

* Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids by Rebecca Cohen

* Beowulf

* Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt by George Grant

* Strenuous American by Alvin F. Harlow

* Maybe Tomorrow? by Charlotte Agnell

* Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by James Daugherty

* The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner - “I enjoyed this but it wasn’t my favorite. It has some swearing and some lack of sympathy that bothered me. I recommend The False Prince as an alternative.” -Amanda

Program Charlesa recommended: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

Thank you for joining us today! We’d love to hear from you in the comments! Have you read any of the books we discussed today? Leave your review!

-If your kids/teens have a book they would like to pitch to our community, please submit their brief reviews to [email protected]. Include their first name, last initial, and age. Thank you! (It’s absolutely fine to submit a review for a book we reviewed already in an episode- we want to hear their voices!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: For every 5 reviews left, we will give away a book recommended on one of our podcasts! To enter, leave a review on your podcast player of choice or in the comments here and email [email protected]!