Little Blue and Little Yellow is a delightful children’s book about two concepts, friendship and color mixing. The master storyteller, Leo Lionni, does it well. I don’t care what age you are, this little book delivers a warm, heartening message. We join Little Blue and Little Yellow as they are enjoying their friendship. Toward the end of their day of adventure, their colors accidentally get mixed. Oh no! They are no longer Little Blue and Little Yellow. They both are now Green! The illustrated images in this book are like pieces of colored paper in a collage. In this book’s simplicity we find a secret joy. It makes us think about friendship and family and what that means to us. This book was a yearly read in my classroom. I read it as a way to introduce a unit involving the color wheel. Every teacher of young children should have Little Blue and Little Yellow in their personal library for those quick-read fill-in times.

In the Presence of My Enemies is a true story. This story is told by Gracia Burnham, missionary held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group in the Philippines. This is a first-hand account of the nearly one year of traveling on foot in the jungles of the Philippines as captives of terrorists. It is both chilling and brutal. Gracia struggles to endure. Her husband, Martin Burnham, is resolute and strong in faith but his physical health declines. An attempt eventually is made to rescue them. Gracia makes it but Martin is not so fortunate. In the telling of this story, I find myself particularly drawn to the person of Martin Burnham. There is a depth in him that speaks of the person deeply at one with God. In the Presence of My Enemies is an intriguing and interesting read.