June reading wrap-up

This month I prioritized 7th and 8th grade reads, building up the book list + home library for my oldest. I felt like I struck a decent balance, still enjoyed my own reads (some which are fine for our high school list, too) but made a good dent in our middle school library!

GROWN-UP READS
📖 Bible study: Still worked on Old Testament commandments, orthodoxy, etc. until the 29th when I finally got the answers I was looking for!
📖 Bearing God's Name (Christian,  nonfiction)... this was such a great read because of my Bible study interest at the time! I don't think I'd have been interested if I had ever tried to read it before now, though.
📖 It Had to Be You (Christian,  fiction)... This is book 2 of the Christiansen Family series. I was not super interested for the first two chapters but then it of course grew on me and I will definitely read book 3, too. I am not interested in the book 2 storyline but I know I'll end up liking it anyway :)
📖 Missing (Christian, Amish fiction)... I'm trying to read more Amish fiction since my daughter asked me to find good ones and fill up her reading lists with Amish fiction. I didn't adore this Amish murder mystery but I did enjoy it and added it to the high school list. Trigger warning- a young woman does say a boy had attempted to force himself on her but he is not successful and nothing is graphic.
📖  The Sacred Slow (Christian, nonfiction)... I loved this morning read, which actually worked well with my Bible study focus at times, too! God is the coolest guy.

📚 Plus applicable sections of The No-Cry Nap Solution // What to Expect: The First Year (This book has felt legitimately worthless the last three months but I was glad for it in the beginning so I'll keep at it) // The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding // The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS
📖  Bad Badger (secular, fiction, lower middle grade)... This one was fun and cute but not the biggest hit around here.
📖 Beware Your Bias (secular,  middle grade, nonfiction)... great read on biases and avoiding them for the sake of better decision making!
📖 The Boy Who Fell From the Stars (Christian,  upper middle grade, speculative fiction)... this is like the jackpot for one of my kids- dystopian sci-fi fantasy. I enjoyed it and will read book 2 very soon.
📖 Christmas is Coming (secular,  nonfiction)... We really enjoyed this look at various Christmas traditions around the world!
📖  The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon (secular,  upper middle grade, fiction)... we have loved Grace Lin's previous Chinese folklore stories and this one was a hit, too.
📖  The Hadley Academy for the Unprobably Gifted (Christian, fiction, upper middle grade)... this middle school book was so fun! We're on a sci-fi/dystopian kick around here and this one worked.
📖  The Hiding Place: A Graphic Novel (Christian, YA, nonfiction, graphic novel)... Corrie ten Boom's story, but in graphic novel format! I love her writing but the graphic novel version was still great.
📖 Lightfall 2 and 3(secular, middle grade, fiction, fantasy, graphic novel)... Still hirs, look forward to book 4!
📖  The Lost Property Office (secular but by a Christian author, middle grade, fiction fantasy)... This was a fun one! Looking forward to books 2 and 3 after reading this review.
📖 Louder Than Words (secular, middle grade, historical fiction,  TGTB book list)... I love WWII fiction and so does one of my kids. This is our third read from this author and we are definitely fans.
📖 The School of Music (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... excellent source for music theory basics
📖 The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden (secular,  middle grade, fiction)... I was happy with this sequel and will check out the third book, too.
📖  Village of Scoundrels (secular,  middle grade, historical fiction)... again, I always love a good WWII novel!
📖  Who Was Roberto Clemente (secular,  middle grade, nonfiction)... I never knew anything about Roberto Clemente until recently but I really liked his story.

PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: The Bug Girl // Harriet's Ruffled Feathers // How High is Heaven? // Jam & Jelly by Holly & Nellie // Listening to the Quiet // Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth // Pippa and the Singing Tree // Ready to Fly // Summer of the Tree Army 

For young mamas

Pro tip from a mom of 5- 

Your baby will only be a baby for a finite amount of time. 

Tasks and to-dos will rear their heads every single day but this baby won't long to be in your arms for all time. 

Savor the heck out of the first year. Make it your fulltime job and get a lot of overtime hours. 

Settle in with a good book and let that precious little one sleep safe and secure in your arms. It won't spoil them. They'll sleep in their own bed just fine when they're ready. 

So many things might feel important but trust me- THIS is the important thing. Feel their weight in your arms, the gentle rhythmic shifts with their breathing.  Admire their eyelashes and cheeks. Breathe it all in. Savor this moment. 

Trust me. 

❤️

Bookish links- July 2025

 

Christian fiction releasing in July 

Narnia is not allegorical. We'll see if I remember all this 😉 

This diy Narnia wardrobe reading nook is so creative! 

Christian fiction set in beach towns 

Love this perspective- what do your bookshelves say about you?

I loved this post on edgy Christian fiction, went down a rabbit hole on movie ratings, and then thought I'd remind concerned parents of The Good and the Beautiful book list and Books for Christian Girls. 

Whimsical bookshelf art I love

Quiz- which apostle are you most like? 

Romance books with no spice

Such a cute library bag! 

Missionary stories for the whole family! 

I'm still posting bookish YouTube shorts and having a lot of fun with it. 

10 historical fiction novels set around the world 

Tree bookshelves- one // two // three 

Small space book storage 

Amazon's list of near death experience (dying, seeing Heaven, and being resuscitated) books... not all of these are Christian perspectives but lots are

Gorgeous book cake

Quiz- which Christian fiction series should you read next? 

Good Books by Christian Musicians

I went through a phase in college where I almost exclusively read chick lit with bright pink covers and biographies/memoirs of musicians. I have been enjoying the occasional musician biography/memoir again, this time with a focus on Christian musicians. I imagine this list will just grow and grow. 

🎶 Adorning the Dark... Andrew Peterson talks alot here about creativity in general and I learned a lot about albums from this one. 

🎶 The Chase... This one is about young adult relationships, not music, but I included it here since author Kyle Kupecky is a musician. 

🎶 City on Our Kness... This TobyMac book will light a fire in you to make a difference in your community. 

🎶  I Can Only Imagine... This is the story of Bart Millard from MercyMe and has also been made into a movie. 

🎶  I Still Believe... Jeremy Camp's novel about his first wife's young death has also been made into a movie.

🎶  In Unison... I liked this Jeremy Camp book, too, written with his wife Adrienne. This one is focused more on marriage advice but still shares music details, too. 

🎶 Like a River... Granger Smith's story is heartbreaking but powerful and this memoir was so well done! He's a great writer.

🎶  My Jesus... Anne Wilson's music story starts with grief. The first halfof the book really broke my heart but this girl has such a lovely heart! 

🎶  Rescue Story... Zach Williams lived fast and hard before he really found Jesus. He talks a lot here about substance abuse and a dysfunctional if not abusive marriage in the beginning of his testimony so be ready for that. 

🎶  Slow Down... Nichole Nordeman's motherhood book wasn't my personal favorite but I did enjoy it. 

May Reads

I did a good bit of reading again in May. I did a book list inventory near the end of the month and realized I need my kid reading to focus primarily on YA and upper middle grade novels now so that's my goal in June. Build up our 7th and 8th grade book list! 

First, grown-up reads...

📖 Bible study: My husband and I have still been studying God's covenant with Moses and trying to understand how/why they aren't a part of most modern Christian denominations' practices. This has been quite the project! June was heavily focused on Passover. 

📖 I Really Do Miss Your Smile (Christian, fiction, short story)... This is the prequel to the Christiansen Family series, the story of how John and Ingrid got together. I really liked it! I can't get enough of these Christiansen books!

📖 Jimmy (Christian, fiction)... Jimmy is great for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird. This was a very moving story but it definitely made me cry. 😭 

📖 Rescue Story (Christian, nonfiction)... This is a memoir if Christian musician Zach Williams' journey into his faith and career. I liked it alright. There's a lot of substance abuse in his background and he and his wife also had a dysfunctional\abusive beginning so be prepared if you decide to read it.  

📖 Self Heal by Design (Christian, nonfiction, health, science)... This was an overall good read for health nerds like myself but I don't agree with every word because of some things from other health books. 

📖 Plus the designated chapters of my ongoing baby reads this year, What to Expect: The First Year // The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding // The Wonder Weeks 

And for my kids' shelves...

📖 Adventure Cat (secular, nonfiction)... One of my kids really loves these nonfiction animal stories and this one was no exception.

📖 Bernard Pepperlin (secular, fiction)... This was a fun and cute story about the dormouse from Alice in Wonderland but there's a final battle svene that'll be a bit much for sensitive readers. I added this to our 5th grade list.

📖 Buzzer Beater (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... This basketball story is the second in a sports series but works as a standalone since each book is about different children playing different sports. I've never enjoyed basketball but I liked this pride/sportsmanship story just fine and it was a hit with my oldest. 4th grade list.

📖 Emmy in the Key of Code (secular, middle grade, fiction, novel in verse)... This was a fun, quick read about a girl taking a coding class at school. I actually enjoyed learning about coding + music and I enjoyed observing Emmy's relationship dynamics with her parents, her coding teacher and classmates, and her new friend. 6th grade list.  

📖 Horse Heroes (secular, nonfiction)... I don't like the fiction series by this author but I have liked her nonfiction research books just fine for third graders. (So far, at least!)

📖 Lightfall #1: The Girl and the Galdurian (secular, middle grade, fantasy, graphic novel)... This quick-read graphic novel was a big hit for my oldest. We hope the second will be a yes, too!

📖 Lucky Scramble (secular, middle grade, graphic novel)... This quick read is about a speed cubing competition. I added it to our 5th grade list.

📖 Mouse Scouts 1-4 (secular, chapter book, fiction, TGTB book list)... These are cute, basically a mouse version of girl scouts.

📖 The Secret of the Yellow Death (secular, YA, nonfiction)... I always enjoy health/medical stories so of course I enjoyed this one. I added it to our 8th grade list.

Picture books we enjoyed this month: Amish Christmas // Audrey Bunny // Books by Horseback // Elsa's Chessboard // The Girl Who Built an Ocean // The Horse's Haiku // It Will Be Okay // Knit Your Bit // Mother to Tigers // Saving the Countryside // Toe Shoe Mouse // Whoosh!