Ex Libris - Death of a Guru

Death of a Guru is written by Rabi R. Maharaj, "a descendant from a long line of Brahmin priests and gurus and trained as a Yogi. He meditated for many hours each day, but gradually disillusionment set in. He describes vividly and honestly Hindu life and customs, tracing his difficult search for meaning and his struggle to choose between Hinduism and Christ." (Comment form the back of the book)

I have read this book more than once, and would recommend you, blogger friends, to do the same. It's the kind you can't put down until you've reached the end, it's such an amazing true story.

From Harvest House publishers, Eugene, Oregon.

Ex Libris - Blumpoe the Grumpoe

Blumpoe the Grumpoe meets Arnold the Cat is written by Jean Davies Okimoto and illustrated by Howie Schneider.

Horace P. Blumpoe is renowned for his grumpiness - he yells at the dustman, complains to the postman, and when his car breaks down on the way to his sister's, his bad temper is at its all - time worst! However, Arnold the cat is quite determined to be his friend and, in the ensuing battle of wills, it is Arnold's persistence and winsomeness which carry the day.

Great story, we love this one.

Ex Libris - Pumpkin Soup

I think this story, written by Helen Cooper, is one of our family's favourites. It's about a Squirrel, a Cat and a Duck who live together in the middle of the woods. They are experts in making pumpkin soup and all goes well until one day Duck fancies doing Cat's job. They have a terrible argument and Duck decides to leave home. That's when the real problems start...

There are at least two more in the series: 

We don't have these last two but we have read them and they are just as good! The illustrations are amazing, which makes the stories good picture books, too.

Ex Libris - The Brambly Hedge series

To kick off this new series of posts I am going to tell you about the Brambly Hedge series by Jill Barkham.

There are four in the series, sadly we have only three of them. We are missing the autumn one, as you can see.

They are seasonal stories about little mice who live in Brambly Hedge "on the other side of the stream across the field. [...] The mice keep themselves very busy. There is always something to prepare for and, of course, the mice never miss an opportunity for a celebration."

The illustrations are beautifully detailed. Even a non-reader can take the books and look at the pictures. They are ideal for reading out loud to children.

New weekly post

From next Thursday on there will be a new blog post every week titled "Ex Libris". This is Latin and literally means "from the books of...".

I will post every Thursday about the books we have on our bookshelves here at home. It will be about books that we have enjoyed, books for adults or children, christian and non-christian, fact and fiction, collections, poetry, music, cook books...

I will comment on why I am posting on that/those particular book(s) and it will also be accompanied by photos and a short summary if and where necessary.

I know I am going to have fun doing this and I really hope you, my bloggy friends, will enjoy these posts, too.