It’s that time already! Here are our favorite recommendations from the last month of reading, watching, and listening. I hope you find some favorites to nourish your soul!
Books—adults/teens
- Children of the Storm by Natasha Vins (Autobiography/Memoir) ★★★★★ This is a challenging story about a young woman growing up in Communist Soviet Union. She was only nine when she first had to take a stand for her faith in school! These types of books often have me evaluating how we are doing with child training. Our own daughter is almost nine. Would she/could she stand up to her teachers and classmates? As she grew older, she started pulling away from God. Was He real? Was He worth it? Would she stand for Christ like her family before her? Very good, very convicting, very thought-provoking. This would also be a good read-aloud to do with children and teens. It had a very similar feel to the book God Knows My Size. For a non-Christian book that is similar, try Red-Scarf Girl. But watch out for language. (Red-Scarf Girl is on the book list if you want more info.)
- I Can’t Believe You Just Said That by Ginger Hubbard (Parenting) ★★★★★ This is probably one of the most practical parenting books that I have read in awhile. Ginger helps parents get past surface-level parenting and focus on helping us get to the heart of our children. So often we get stuck on outward behavior instead of realizing what that outward behavior is actually telling us about the child’s heart. This book is so full of scripture and practical wisdom, the audio book wasn’t enough. I ordered a hard copy for referencing back to. I know it will get it’s fair share of use. This book reminds me a lot of the book I’ve recommended here before called For Instruction in Righteousness. While For Instruction in Righteousness is more of a handbook or resource, Ginger’s book puts words and reasoning behind the scriptures being used and chosen for certain behaviors. *Non-KJV. (Free on Hoopla.)
- Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (Historical Fiction) ★★★★★ Where to start with this one. It is heavy. It is harrowing. But at the same time, it is riveting. It follows the story of two girls who suffered horrifically at the hands of child-trafficker Georgia Tann and her scandalous Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The level of sheer debauchery just leaves me outraged, and how this wicked woman got away with it all for so many years is nightmarish. Just wow! Needless to say, this book had me doing research on the real story of this horrible woman. If you need a gripping story, read this one. The story jumps back and forth from modern day to the 1930’s. Just wanted to mention that because I know that style of writing can drive some people bonkers. It does take awhile to figure out who all the characters are and how the two stories intertwine, but your patience is worth it. The audiobook has top-notch narrators making for an enjoyable listen. *The deepest depravity of man is alluded to, including kidnapping and child molestation, but no graphic details or descriptions are given. Just enough to know that it is going on. *The word heck is used one time. *Two instances of “dear God” near the end of the book.
- My Tech-Wise Life by Amy Crouch with Andy Crouch (Self-Development) ★★★★ I did a quick skim of this book in preparation for an upcoming podcast episode. It revisits some themes from her father’s book, The Tech-Wise Family. I prefer The Tech-Wise Family myself (more info on the book list), but I think that is mostly due to the tone of Amy’s book as it is written by a teenager specifically to an audience of teenagers and college students. (I believe she was 19 when she wrote it.) Having said that, if you do have techy teens, this may be a good one to go through with them. As our world becomes more and more tech driven, it is our responsibility as parents to teach and train our children how to be responsible with both their consumption and use of media in our digital age. (Free on Hoopla.)
Books—children
- The Black Star of Kingston by S. D. Smith (Fiction) ★★★★★ S. D. Smith is one of our very favorite children’s authors, and we’ve introduced his books to E’s cousins during our rides home from school. We finished the main series (Green Ember) awhile back and moved right into The Tales of Old Natalia Series. These books take place about one hundred years before the Green Ember events and fill in a lot of background information for the main series. We’ve had a lot of “Ohhhhh!!!!” moments listening to these. By the way, all of S. D. Smith’s books have awesome narrators making listening a very enjoyable experience. (Free on Hoopla.)
- The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner (Fiction/Fantasy) ★★★★★ Book two of the Old Natalia Series. Full of danger and excitement, the king is leading precious cargo to safety and is betrayed by one of his own. There seems not to be too much hope, but with S. D. Smith, you know there is always at least a shred! We are eagerly awaiting the audio version of book three to come out mid-April so we can finish listening to this series during our car rides from school. *Dragons play a big role in this book. (Free on Hoopla.)
- Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis (Fiction/Fantasy) ★★★★ The king is on a quest to find seven missing lords that were sent away during his uncle’s terrible reign. Their journey leads them to many magical lands, dangerous situations and dangers they had no idea they would have to face. *There are many magical elements in this book. *The word a** is used 3 or 4 times throughout the book. (Free on Hoopla.)
- The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis (Fiction/Fantasy) ★★★★ The prince’s mother has been killed and the prince kidnapped. He has been put under a horrible spell for several years. Aslan sends for the children to come free the prince of this curse and save Narnia once again. I love the battle between good and evil in these books…particularly in the children’s minds as they fight their flesh to make right choices. Jill has a particularly hard time in this book, but Puddleglum always comes through with encouragement in a round about way. I love how the names in these books encapsulate a character so well. I quite often am heard saying, “You are acting like Eustace.” or “Ok Puddleglum.” and E knows EXACTLY my meaning. (This is a great child training hack! Wink!) ***Gosh and golly are both used as well as the d word and a**, both used one time each. (Free on Hoopla.)
Movies
- Sabina: Tortured for Christ, the Nazi Years. This movie was not at all what I expected it to be. I suppose “The Nazi Years” should have given it away. I’ve read her autobiography, The Pastor’s Wife, (see detailed review for this on the book list as there are things you should know before you read, primarily language) and I guess I was expecting more of her life story in the prison camp. I didn’t realize they were actually imprisoned for a short time during WWII. Although it was certainly not my favorite movie ever, it certainly was moving, especially the ending. It probably wouldn’t be appropriate for young children. The first half of the movie depicted their life before they were saved, so it does include things such as dancing and drunkenness. And at one point, it was hair raising when Sabina almost committed suicide. There is also a short glimpse of a statue in the background which depicts the full back side of a naked person. You can register here to watch this movie for FREE!!!
- The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island. Here’s a good one for kids. If you remember, E was sick for a couple weeks in March, so I did let her watch quite a bit more than normal. This was one we watched together. It’s a cute animated movie following the storyline of the book quite closely. We love the Boxcar Children around here, so it’s so nice to be able to watch a movie of them as well. This one is free if you have Amazon Prime.
- Sight and Sound’s Production of Moses. Unbelievable!!! The special effects were so awesome. The fire, the Red Sea parting, and I am still trying to figure out how they turned the staff into a snake! It looked so real!!! This would be a good one to watch if you ever get the chance. We watched this for only 99 cents when we signed up for Sight and Sound’s First Friday Event! Be sure to sign up to catch Samson on May 6th. (You can pay what you want…as low as 99 cents.)
Media
- Parenting with Ginger Hubbard Podcast. I have known of Ginger Hubbard off-handedly for quite some time, although her name never really meant anything to me. That is, until I heard my friend interview her on her podcast. (Listen here.) And that’s when I was REALLY introduced to her. I trust my friend, and I trust who she recommends, so I immediately went to check out Ginger’s podcast. It is GOLD. I immediately implemented one or two practical things right away (specifically from the episode on interrupting), and have seen some great results in my parenting efforts. If you’re a parent, I’m pretty sure you’ll find some extremely helpful episodes. (Ginger is the author of the book, I Can’t Believe You Just Said That, that I mentioned above.) *Non-KJV.
If you missed the past “recommendation roundups,” find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
FOR MORE GREAT BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS AND REVIEWS, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE BOOK LIST PAGE OR VISIT ALTOGETHER LOVELY’S AMAZON STOREFRONT!
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