Monday, March 18, 2024

Recently Watched

As always, we tried a few things not worth mentioning here. These were the shows and movies we found most interesting, inspiring, thought-provoking, etc. You can find more TV and movie posts here

📺 2012 (secular, movie, dystopian)... My husband and I both love apocalyptic and dystopian films. This one had a lot of improbable moments, but the best usually do! Did contain I think two language issues + mention of an alleged affair but otherwise it was relatively clean and we liked it pretty well. 

📺 The Adventures of Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Treasure (Christian-but-not-really? Or secular but clean? Family, adventure)... Weird mixture of awesome + cheesy. Basically, could have been awesome but a few of the actors were not quite developed. Good adventure story though and one I know my son will love. 

📺 Confessions of a Prodigal Son (Christian, movie)... Not the very best production quality but it was overall fine. Good message, will watch with the kids as teens. 

📺 Deep Web (Secular, documentary)... This contained a curse word right away but then none at all after that unless I missed something. Fascinating look at our justice system and really brought us a lot of discussion about right vs wrong, grace and forgiveness + justice for safety of a community, the idea of a "victimless" crime, etc. 

📺 The Homeschool Awakening (Christian, documentary)... Love, love, loved this one! Watched as a family- fine for all ages. 

📺 Invisible Hands (secular, movie, documentary)... Such a sad, important, and inspiring look at the child labor behind common products we use every day. 

📺 The Miracle Season (secular, movie)... My mom told me I'd love this one and she was right- so inspiring! Will watch with the kids as teens. 

📺 A Place at the Table (secular, movie, documentary)... This movie was so inspiring and caused me to start making an intentional choice to feed the children of our community. 

📺 Touched by Grace (Christian, movie)... Not the very best production quality but it was overall fine. Good message, will watch with the kids as teens. 

📺 UFO Secrets Declassified (secular, television, )... Not my jam and only watched because a kid was interested. But honestly, it was well-done and captured my attention multiple times. 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Recent middle grade reads


📖 Captain of the Ship (secular, middle grade, historical fiction)... This war of 1812 story was a good one, which I added to my 4th grade list, and I will definitely read book 2. More American Girl book reviews here. 

📖 To Hope and Back (secular, historical nonfiction told in a fictionalized way, from the TGTB book list)... I really liked it, but I tend to like most WWII books.

📖 Life With Lily (Christian, Amish fiction)... Amish fiction for kids! I really enjoyed this one, book one, and will continue to read the series. 

📖 Lily to the Rescue: The Three Bears (secular, general fiction)... Cute. One incidence of a brother calling another an idiot while their mother is saying the family doesn't like their teasing speech (something like 'I'll stop if the idiot stops') but otherwise fine. 

📖 Medical Miracles (secular, nonfiction)... Not as miraculous as I'd hoped but definitely fascinating! I learned a lot from this short book. 

📖 Ragweed (secular, general fiction)... So fun! I kept picturing the jazzy cats from the old Aristocats movie, but as mice. Looking forward to reading this one aloud to my kids. 

📖 The Three Investigators: The Mystery of the Fiery Eye (secular, middle grade)... These books, like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, tend to be fine but a slog for me to read. This one was actually pretty fascinating and fun to follow! 

📖 Viking Quest series (Christian, historical fiction, from the TGTB book list)... Vikings, and especially from a Christian perspective, are such fascinating but rare subject matter. I liked this series and look forward to seeing what my son thinks! 

📖 The Winged Watchman (Christian, historical fiction, TGTB list)... My son has been looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. I tend to like most of the WWII fiction I meet, though! 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Recent Reads


📖 8 Great Smarts for Homeschoolers (Christian, nonfiction)... So great, cannot recommend enough! Even if you're not a homeschooler, or even a parent, it's also fun to figure out your personal intelligence styles. But as a homeschool mom, this book is solid gold. I'll be purchasing a copy to refer back to. 

📖 Bundles of Joy (Christian, contemporary fiction, Christmas)... I started this Christmas read in December but once Christmas was over, I was over it. I finally finished it though! It was not a typical Robin Lee Hatcher novel, nor my favorite of hers, but it was a cute Christmas read. 

📖 Crazy Love (Christian, nonfiction)... This book is technically a bit legalistic at times but I personally felt like it was an important kind, a reality check that this world is not our home and we don't want to be living for this world. Very inspiring! 

📖 Dewey (secular, nonfiction)... I am trying to read more animal books since two or maybe three of my kids are very into animals and will likely love these as teenagers. This was a high school yes.

📖 Eli (Christian, speculative)... I was very pleasantly surprised by this speculative fiction, a kind of biblical fiction with a twist where Jesus came to earth not 2000 years ago but now! This one also works well as a book for guys. 

📖 The Foxhole Victory Tour* (Christian, historical fiction)... Fans of WWII books will love reading a story set in places you rarely see- Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia! You'll especially enjoy this one if you are a music lover. I also always a appreciate a story told from more than one perspective. 

📖 From Depths We Rise (Christian, nonfiction)... This woman's story is so heartbreaking but my goodness, her faith! Very powerful story. 

📖 To the Moon and Back (Christian, contemporary fiction)... Centered around grief regarding the Oklahoma City Bombing, something I don't believe I've ever encountered in fiction before! Technically a Baxter Family book but more about the other characters and works perfectly as a stand-alone. 

📖 The Promise of Jesse Woods (Christian fiction, time slip)... This gritty book was so well-written and hard to put down! One character deals with sexual assault more than once (though it isn't gratuitously graphic) but I still plowed through it. I also found that it deeply inspired me to make a difference in my own town for the children whose families struggle with food insecurity. (We recently watched A Place at the Table and this just added so much fuel to the fire that movie started). 

📖 Tuesdays With Morrie (secular, nonfiction, memoir)... Goodness, what a beautiful book! I believe the A word is used twice but still- so touching, so inspiring, want to read it every few years to remind myself what matters here and want to recommend it to everyone, everyone!

* I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Middle Grade March- 10 Great Adventures

📚 Adventures of a South Pole Pig (secular)... This is such a fun read, about a young farm pig who admires sled dogs and is determined to become a sled pig. Her story is an adventure to be sure. 

📚 The Chronicles of Narnia (Christian)... I have always loved this adventurous allegory series and now my oldest loves it, too. 

📚 The Dreamkeeper Saga (Christian)... This is a very fantastical and adventure-driven story rich with Christian symbolism. There are four books in the series so far and it's a huge hit with my middle grader. 

📚 The Green Ember (Christian)... This one, full of battles and allegory, has been a huge hit around here. Every kid we've loaned it to has loved it! 

📚 Hunger Winter (Christian)... This WWII adventure involves a big brother doing everything he can to get his little sister to safety. I loved their relationship and it's rare that a middle grade gets my heart racing but this one did! 

📚 The Inkwell Chronicles (Christian)... This one takes place in Scotland and I loved the literary nuggets thrown in. 

📚 Jack Zulu and the Waylander's Key (Christian)... One of my son's very favorites, from the author of the Green Ember series. 

📚 The Restorationists (Christian)... These children have the ability to travel into paintings making for a different kind of adventure altogether! 

📚 Winterfrost (secular)... I love this one. Set in Denmark, Bettina has to go on quite the adventure when her baby sister is kidnapped by a gnome-like creature called a nisse. 

📚 A Wrinkle in Time (Christian?)... I liked this one but my son adored it. This one is controversial among Christians. It's a five book series but I've only read the first two so far. 

Monday, March 4, 2024

Series I've started and would like to (eventually) finish


The Delusion by Laura Gallier (Christian, YA, speculative)... Spiritual warfare YA that was captivating and really made me think! There wasn't a sequel yet but now there are two and I should really read them!

Dreamkeeper Saga by Kathryn Butler (Christian, Middle grade, fantasy)... I'm caught up but there will be a new one coming out in March!

Isle of Fire by Wayne Thomas Batson (Christian, YA)... I really surprised myself with how much I liked the first two pirate stories in spite of some piratey violence. I will read the third later this year.

Left Behind and Left Behind Kids by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye (Christian, speculative, adult and YA versions)... I love these stories but have never finished either! I think I'm going to stick to tackling the 40-book YA version for now and then restart the 12-book adult version down the road. 

Out of Time series by Nadine Brandes (Christian, YA)... I believe this one is a trilogy and I've only read book 1 so far. 

Promises of God by Kim Cash Tate (contemporary Christian fiction)... I actually came close to reading the second book last year but then I realized her previous books tackle the same family members! I want to start at the beginning and enjoy them like a Baxter Family experience... Probably after I've caught up with the Baxters.

Swipe by Evan Angler (Christian, middle grade, speculative)... I was really into book one of this dystopian series so why haven't I finished it?!