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Fans of Danielle's first book, My Cup of Tea and her blog will undoubtedly be eager to absorb more of her wisdom and good humor – and with good reason. This, her second book, is aimed especially at younger moms who are overwhelmed and still trying to figure out how to work out a lot of the details of smoothly running their homes (and lives). These moms tend to feel guilty for not “having it all together” and wonder how older, more experienced moms with more kids ever manage their large brood and complex family life. I know I felt that way when I was a younger mom and I would have very much appreciated the gentle wisdom contained in this book.

I found this book "light", but inspiring; helpful, but not preachy. Her writing deserves to be called wise, because she manages something that so few parenting/advice books do – she draws out practical truths that really do apply to everyone and then gives examples of how she applies them to her own family.

The book is organized into six main sections (that are divided into smaller essays):

• How Can I Survive the Preschool Years Without Losing My Mind?
• How Can I Fill My Marriage with More of ‘The Better’ and Less of ‘The Worse’?
• What Kind of Role Does a Catholic Mom Play in This Great Big World?”
• How Can I Get on Top of the Housework When It Feels Like I’m Smothering Under It?
• How Can I Make Our Faith an Integral Part of Family Life?
• Can I Really Have a Spiritual Life While Caring for All These Little People?

She tops it off with a simple, but helpful resource guide for Catholic families.

Something about the book reminds me of one of my favorite quotes - practically my motto for homeschooling: "Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." (St. Francis of Assisi). Danielle lays out a lot of simple ideas for handling the necessary (like prioritizing housekeeping needs and avoiding mom-guilt) and the possible (like suggestions for simple monthly celebrations relating to the liturgical year - a nice simple starting point) that end up adding up to more than we ever dreamed.

The back of the book introduces this title quite well: "After Al Parisi's battle with brain cancer left him unable to run the company he founded and took public, he created a better job: CEO of the Parisi family. One of his first initiatives was to write inspirational advice to his children on their lunch bags each day. In this companion book to the original Lunch Bag Notes, Al has written a year's worth of notes to his son, Anthony, and to all teenage boys."

Like Lunch Bag Notes, this companion volume (aimed at boys) offers simple, timeless advice in a format that is very applicable and relevant to today's teens.

Here are a few random samples:

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Dear Anthony,

In a previous lunch note I mentioned how powerful our minds are. For example, many prisoners grew up frequently hearing : "You will end up in jail someday. "Many professional athletes were told: "Someday you'll play in the major leagues." I am not a clinician, but it seems to me that the way things turn out is the result of more than coincidence.

I urge to fill your mind with positive input by reading good books, by watching good movies, and by reminding yourself daily that you are a good person and that God loves you.

Love, Dad
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Dear Anthony,

People love your smile. I bet you don't even realize how much your smile can do for someone.

Keep smiling.

Love, Dad
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Dear Anthony,

Lent is a time to grow closer to God by doing extra acts of kindness, as well as by fasting and praying. Make a great Lent. It is more important than having a great game or great season, isn't it?

Love, Dad
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Please see quibbles for Lunch Bag Notes which also apply to this book.

Mossflower, the second book in the Redwall series, tells the story of the founding of Redwall Abbey and of Martin the Warrior's part in it. The peaceful woodland creatures of Mossflower woods are invaded and conquered by a wild cat and his army of weasel, stoats and ferrets. After mounting an unsuccessful attempt at rebellion, the woodlanders slowly retreat further and further into the woods and out of the grasp of the cat. He dies leaving his evil daughter, Tsarmina to rule. Evil as she is, no matter what plan she hatches, she can't seem to subdue the woodlanders and enslave them as she desires. The woodlanders have pinned their hopes on the return of the onetime ruler of Mossflower, the great badger, Boar the Fighter. He had long since left the woods on a quest to the volcano, Salamandastron, and never returned. His daughter, Bella, feels sure that he is alive and must return to vanquish the evil Tsarmina.

Martin the Warrior, a bard-like mouse named Gonff and Dinny the mole leave to find and bring back Boar the fighter. They encounter many adventures along the way, meeting friends and foes, leaving the woodlanders to fend off the increasingly maddened Tsarmina. They do find Boar but his destiny lies in the defeat of an evil sea rat, not in his return to Mossflower. He forges a sword for Martin, however, from the fires of Salamandastron (which is really not a volcano but a huge forge in the mountain) and charges Martin with the duty of the defeat of Tsarmina in his place.

Martin and his friends return to Mossflower just as a plan to flood the evil cat's castle is underway. With Martin's battle plan, the cat's castle is destroyed and the army subdued. Martin himself battles the cat and defeats her. In the end, the mice plan to build an abbey there in the woods dedicated to peace and designed for the protection of the woodlanders. Martin becomes a legend and his saga told to all successive ages of Mossflower inhabitants.

There are many similarities to the original Redwall story, such as a thoroughly evil antagonist, the hero away on a quest during most of the story, the quest ending in finding a sword and a battle between so-called peaceful creatures and trained armies. In this story, however, the hero Martin is portrayed as a noble warrior from the beginning. He has great courage and chivalry and is proven time after time. Another pleasant part of this story is the bard mouse Gonff. He is a delightful character, making up songs and poetry at every turn in the story. The woodlanders are quite ingenious in their resistance to the wild cats (squirrel archers, otter commanders and tunneling moles). I kept thinking that they were doing pretty well without Boar the Fighter. I still found the dialogue trite at times and the plot pretty obvious. When Tsarmina starts to have nightmares about water, we know she's going to die in water.

Mossflower was a good prequel to Redwall in that references made in the first book were explained and the stage set for other stories. Other books in the series suggested by this story include the titles Salamandastron, Martin the Warrior, Luke (father of Martin), Mattimeo (son of Matthias) and more. They all have similar themes in the defeat of evil rats or other vermin by the peaceful, good woodlanders.

NOTE: A more recent edition of this syllabus was published in 2007 - this review is based on the 2003 edition.

This syllabus outlines a complete year of study in British Literature intended for 12th graders.

Books used in this course:

Required:
The Harp and Laurel Wreath by Laura Berquist
Beowulf
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Primary Works of Literature:

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Henry V by William Shakespeare
Midsummer-Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Emma by Jane Austen
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

Alternate Works of Literature (for substitution of any titles in the above list that the student has already read):

Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Othello by William Shakespeare
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

This is the author's explanation for the goals of this study:

The goal for this year is for the student to exhibit more subtlety in understanding, more discrimination in interpretation of text, and more attention to language in his papers. The syllabus is designed to help the student in these areas. British Poetry will be studied throughout the year, and great works of literature will also be read and discussed. There will also be 4 required papers.

There are paper topics included at the end of this syllabus. However, students are encouraged to create their own topics for their papers, using the 'General Questions for Works of Literature'. The reason students should be encouraged to create their own paper topics is that the thought that will go into creating a paper topic will help the student organize his thoughts about the work of literature which he has just read. A student in the rhetorical stage should be able to assemble and organize his thoughts, and then should be able to present those thoughts in a well written, well organized paper.

She goes on to explain the "how" and "why" of discussing works of literature with your children

The syllabus contains eight pages of detailed instruction for parents on learning objectives, pointers for improving and grading student papers, and a basic style sheet for student writing.

A detailed lesson plan (11 pages long) provides a year-long schedule of readings, including time allocated for discussions, writing papers and studying works of poetry.

Detailed discussion questions (and answers) are included for Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the "Prologue" to the Canterbury Tales (the text of this Prologue is also included in this syllabus). A detailed "General Questions for Works of Literature" is provided as a help in discussing the other works studied.

Finally, a paper topic is provided for each of the primary and alternate works of literature covered in the syllabus. Some are fairly detailed such as this one for Henry V: "Henry V undergoes a great change in his life. This change is referred to in the opening scene by the Archbishop. Do you think such a change is realistic, and do you think that Henry V is really a good man?" Others are quite simple, such as this one for The Everlasting Man: "Summarize and explain what the author is teaching us through this book."

I've personally read about half the books recommended in this syllabus and they seem quite well-suited to the reading level and area of study. The one thing that surprised me was having G.K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man recommended as an alternate to a portion of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, to be read over the course of three weeks. It's a fantastic book (one of my very favorites!) - but really more of a non-fiction selection (and overview of history), rich in language and symbolism, that I believe would frustrate many students if read through too quickly. G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday might be a better option and would certainly provide wonderful material for writing and discussion.