Guest Review: Making the Blue Plate Special

Subtitle: The Joy of Family Legacies by Florence Littauer, Marita Littauer, and Lauren Littauer Briggs. Cook Communication Ministries, 2006. 320 pp. Reviewed by Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress, writer-speaker.


MAKING THE BLUE PLATE SPECIAL is intended to remind its readers of the great value in passing along family legacies. This book is a compilation of many stories by various writers. The stories are included in topical chapters authored and organized by Florence Littauer and her daughters. Chapter topics include holiday traditions, keepsakes, memorable meals, and family vacations. Sprinkled throughout are tips to assist readers in creating meaningful moments.


I perhaps most appreciated Marita Littauer’s foundational comments related to the importance of legacy. She moves the focus to God’s biblical plan for passing on truth through tradition, stories, and even genealogies. Her premise is that we are to be intentional about creating legacy because it gives us a sense of history and purpose.

While this book is readable enough, I had a sense of fragmentation. It covered almost too many topics. The flow and cohesiveness wasn’t accomplished as well as one might have wished. Also, the significant emphasis on collectibles gave me pause. I wondered if it might be possible to spend so much time and effort preserving the past that we clutter our present?


I did enjoy the honest, humorous transparency of Florence Littauer’s brother regarding family reunions --- as I have one coming soon. And I was glad for the continual emphasis on faith throughout the book.

Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin

-->This book won the 2009 Christy Award for historical fiction. The entire list is here.

I am a fan of Lynn Austin, and I have read all of her books, some of them twice. See her other work on her site here. This one got off to a slow start. Maybe it was because I was reading it in the large-print edition. However, after a couple of chapters, I really got involved in the story of the three orphaned Swedish sisters on their journey to a new life in America.

Austin is a history teacher, so she really gets into the details of life in whatever time period she chooses for her stories. The girls travel on a ship from Sweden to Chicago and encounter plenty of problems on the way. In a way, it’s a coming of age story, because each girl grows mentally and spiritually by the end of the story. Each also finds a love interest, so I guess it’s technically a historical romance.

It’s a great read, and an award winner. What more could you want.

Read and Share Toddler Bible

-->What a great idea! A child’s Bible with an accompanying DVD. The stories in the book begin with Genesis and progress through the Old and New Testaments with stories about familiar characters like David and Goliath and Daniel and the Lion’s Den. The stories dealing with Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection are especially well-done. The stories are very short, and there is a “tips” section with suggestions for the adult/parent to help the child get the most out of the story. The illustrations remind me of cartoon characters that children see on TV every day. I commend illustrator Steve Smallman for crafting these gorgeous visuals.
The book is sturdy enough to hold up for hours of reading and sharing with toddlers. The video stories reinforce the book content, and, in my opinion, this is the real strength of this publication. The child gets personal attention from the parent/adult when the stories are read to him or her. And, since it’s possible that this generation of toddlers learns better from video than from reading, the DVD drives the point home.

Gwen Ellis, a 27-year veteran of the publishing industry, has done a masterful job of putting this project together. See her site: http://www.seasidecreativeservices.com/.