The Charlie Bone Series

Charlie Bone Series

There are eight books in this series, written by Jenny Nimmo, who has a very interesting background herself.  
Charlie Bone is a regular boy of about 10 years of age when the series starts.  The stories are set in modern-day time.  The books are recommended for grades 4 - 6.  

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ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'
There is no specific mention of “other gods,” However, this is a fantasy series and the characters seem to place a lot of importance on their common ancestor, The Red King, and their special powers.  They do not ask (or pray for) help from a “Higher Power,” they depend on themselves and their friends, or the “arm of flesh.”

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'
There are no graven images of gods that are worshiped in these stories.  

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
The Lord’s name is taken in vain several times throughout the series.   No other bad language is used. 

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
The Sabbath Day is not a holy or sacred day in this book.   You may want to address this with your reader.  

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'
Charlie Bone has a good relationship with his mother throughout the series, with the exception of one book, when she falls under a magic spell.   He also has a good relationship with his maternal grandmother, and his uncle.  His paternal grandmother, and great-aunts he does not get along well with, however, he does not disrespect them with his behavior or speech to them.  

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'
Murder is mentioned in these books, confined to the evil characters.  You may want to address this with your reader.
SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'
There is nothing inappropriate about any of the relationships in this book, with adults or children. 

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'
Stealing seems to be par for the course in these stories, when the good characters are trying to save others, or otherwise trying to do good.  You may want to address this with your young reader.  

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'
There are instances where lies are told, and justifications made.  You will probably want to address this.   

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'
Only the evil characters are coveting other’s possessions.  Consistently, the good characters desire family, home, and an end to the fighting.  

Overall Opinion: The stories are fantasy, and obviously so, however, in my opinion, I would address the issues mentioned above with your child before reading; such as honesty, stealing, keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and good and bad choices, and their consequences. 

Peter and the Sword of Mercy

Peter and the Sword of Mercy
By Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Background: This is a spin-off story of the Peter Pan book, a pre-quel.  There are 4 stories to the Peter and the Starcatchers series.  The Sword of Mercy is book #4 in the series. 

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'
The bad guys place so much value on power and material possessions, and will do anything to get what they want.  In my opinion this is placing power and worldly possessions above the worship of God.  There is no mention of other gods in this story. 

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.' Please see the First Commandment.  

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
There is no inappropriate language in this book.  

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
There is no mention of the Sabbath day in this book, either keeping or breaking. 

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'
The family relationships were great, trusting and honoring parents and other adult family members, even when there are disagreements. 

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'
There is some mention of killing and murder and torture, by the bad guys. While these are portrayed as very bad and are not focused on or described in great detail, you may want to address this with your young reader. 

SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'
There is nothing inappropriate about any of the relationships in this book, with adults or children. 

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'
Stealing happens once in the story, but the main character expresses regret and goes back to make things right.  

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'
There are one or two instances of not telling the complete truth, however, regret is expressed, and an apology is issued later. 

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'
Only the bad guys are coveting power and they get consequences for their actions so everything is kept in it’s proper perspective. 

Rating: In my opinion, the story is appropriate for older children 10 and up.  I give it a PG rating since parents will want to discuss aspects like sneaking out, being truthful, and having honest relationships; although the book does a pretty good job at resolving these issues on its own.  
This story has a believable, endearing quality about it and I will let my daughter read it when I feel confident she will not be scared by the bad guys.  :)

In the Beginning...

As a Mother, and more importantly, as a Christian mother, I have felt keenly the lack of information available about the Christian Principles in books.  I am an avid reader and have been since my early childhood- I remember bringing my favorite books to school and reading under a tree while my classmates played tag, on jungle gymns, swings, etc.  (My husband teases me that I devour books!)
As I grew older, and I grew out of books like "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden," (both of which I highly recommend, by the way, and I will write up separate reviews for eventually)  I started encountering stories that had "surprises" that would make me feel very uncomfortable.  It came to the point that I would be overly cautious about reading new books, because I hated those distasteful surprises and the way I felt afterward.  I felt so bad inside.  For years I re-read my own childhood classics, as well as more mature classics, by authors such as Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, etc, because I was avoiding new books and potential "R-rated scenes".  As an adult, and especially as a mother, I did not want my children to experience these kind of "surprises" before they are prepared or knew how to deal with them. 
The main reason I started this blog was to reach out to other Mothers out there.  I have been previewing each book that my daughter (age 8) reads, and I hope that other mothers, with high standards and desires to teach and prepare their children well, will find this blog helpful to them.  After all, not every Mother has the time to read each book before their children do! 
I have chosen to keep my reviews simple, and base them on the 10 Commandments.  I will include a short personal opinion at the end of each review, however, the main purpose of this blog is to offer the kind of information that Christian mothers and children will want to know, and discuss beforehand; not to offer up a review of the writer's talent, a plot summary or the popularity of each particular story. 
I welcome comments and suggestions of every kind, however, I ask that you be respectful of the intent of this blog, and keep things clean and appropriate for all viewers on this blog. 
Thanks for all your input!