Blog
As a homeschooling veteran, I review middle-grade stories to help parents, librarians, and teachers choose good books.
Look for author news here too!
Tinker by Jill Williamson and Luke Williamson, a review
Tinker by award-winning author Jill Williamson and her eighth-grade son Luke Williamson is a great tale for middle-grade reluctant readers. It's sci fi, or actually space opera. Young Tinker is an orphan, taken in by his evil uncle and uncle's two sons who keep him...
The Great Ice Cream Truck Heist by JJ Johnson, a review
The Great Ice Cream Truck Heist by JJ Johnson tells a funny and memorable tale. Full of bravado and self-doubt, Iggy, age 12, leads or tries to lead his neighborhood kids working together to solve a mystery. This is Book 4 in the Iggy and Oz series, and it's a keeper....
Kickstarter, Search for the Hidden Throne: Help me fund my illustrator for Book 3!
I'm preparing a Kickstarter campaign to help fund Guardians of Time Book 3, Search for the Hidden Throne. Cover reveal! See above! Get in line to be one of the first to see the new book when it comes out later this spring. Get bundles of ebooks, audiobooks, and signed...
Arty Goes West by Mark Redmond, a review
Arty Goes West by Mark Redmond introduces us to a Christian chapter book series featuring Mark-Twain-like humor and memorable characters. Redmond draws on the canvas of the Old West, small-town Texas apparently in the late 1800s. Arty, age twelve, and his widowed...
Readers Favorite gives The Dog Snatcher a five-star review!
I'm thrilled to announce that Readers Favorite has given my series starter The Dog Snatcher a five-star review. This is great news because Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned praise from...
Vincent in Wonderland by C.E. White, a review
Vincent in Wonderland, a tale for middle grade, is quite a surprise. Vincent Van Gogh, age 11, meets Alice, age 12. They each chase a white rabbit into a hole and find themselves together in Wonderland, also called Sian in this story. It's no ordinary white rabbit....
Secret of the Lost Dragons: A podcast interview and more
My new chapter book Secret of the Lost Dragons is out now, gathering readers. Does that include you and yours? I hope so. Listen to a 20-minute podcast interview with me, discussing my work with fellow Christian fantasy author Michelle Levigne. The podcast name?...
It’s Launch Day for Guardians of Time Book 2!
You can find links to all the places to buy these books at https://www.phylliswheeler.com/book-table Things are coming together! The Book 1 audiobook is available, and there's even a sale going on: the ebook of Book 1 can be had for 99 cents during November. If you're...
Audiobook for The Dog Snatcher … coming soon!
The audiobook for The Dog Snatcher is coming soon. I am so excited! The narrator, Keith Robinson, is wrapping it up now as school is starting. He’s a music teacher.
Cover Reveal! My next book: Secret of the Lost Dragons
Book 2 in my chapter book series is revealed today! Secret of the Lost Dragons, Book 2 of the Guardians of Time.
An Award for The Dog Snatcher!
My chapter book The Dog Snatcher has been named a winner of a Purple Dragonfly Award from Story Monsters Magazine. I am thrilled to receive this honor! It's also been named a finalist for the prestigious Selah Award for Christian Fiction, middle grade. The Dog...
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, a review
I recently found myself reading I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys. It’s a young adult historical novel about life in communist Romania as well as the revolution that upended it.