I’ve been there. I’ve heard all the statistics about “summer slide,” been anxious for my kids to love reading, gotten caught up in all the reading contest prizes. Look, kids, free books! But as a mom with older teens now, I’ve realized sometimes those reading contests can feel more like a burden than a gift…
A real-world middle-grade fantasy built around the plot of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Yes please! Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca is a magical story about a young baker and her family. The Story Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson is the youngest of four kids in an Indian-American family. Mimi wishes she were talented like her older…
I’ve always loved Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of his hand.” The idea that God speaks to us through his creation is evident the more time you spend in nature. And children, naturally curious about the world they are just discovering, are often more sensitive to…
When I visit a place, taste a food, or reread a story from my childhood, I often find the experience doesn’t hold up to the memory. Yes, there’s something nostalgic there, but Pizza Hut just doesn’t taste as good as street vendor pizza in Italy, Chuck-E-Cheese isn’t the gigantic wonderland it once seemed, and those…
Adding a new baby to the family can be exciting, and older siblings often get swept up in the joy and anticipation. But what may seem fun and games at first can become tedium as kids adjust to mom not feeling well, frequent doctor’s appointments, and endless waiting for the big day. And then, when…
I’ve self-diagnosed myself with adult amnesia. Maybe I made that term up, but I think it’s a real problem. I have trouble remembering what it’s like to be a kid. Do you? Actually, I do remember much of what it’s like. The problem is I have trouble remembering to remember. When I was a kid,…
The Sunlit Lands Series by Matt Mikalatos is my top pick for kids who have grown up reading The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wingfeather Saga, and The Green Ember Series and are now ready to dive into young adult. These books contain the same kind of deeply true and meaningful stories as the above mentioned…
Mitali Perkins is the author of many wonderful books for children ranging from picture books to young adult novels. But I first heard of her not through her books but through this article she wrote for Christianity Today in which she claims the classic books she read as a child paved the way for her to later…
Julia’s House Moves On by Ben Hatke is a beautiful picture book about not having it all together. Because none of us do, really. And sometimes it takes a book like this to help us, and our kids, take a deep breath and remember that our plans may not work out, and that’s ok. Julia’s…
We have a lot of picture books to choose from, so when a child of mine insists on the same picture book two days in a row, I take notice. Not that I hadn’t already noticed Scott James’s new book God Cares for Me: Helping Children Trust God When They’re Sick. My husband is a pediatrician,…
If your kids are anything like my 8-year old, they may be slightly obsessed the the Hello Ninja series on Netflix. It’s loosely based on N.D. Wilson’s picture book of the same title. And after listening to Wilson discuss it on the Stories Are Soulfood podcast episode about poetry for kids, I was curious to give it a try….
The Christmas story is amazing, isn’t it? God wrapped himself in flesh and emerged into the world as a helpless baby. He was totally dependent, yet with a mission to save the world He created. But it can be hard to make the story feel fresh for a kid who’s heard it five bazillion times….
