What I read in April

First, grown-up reads...

📖 Bible study: My husband and I have been studying something together and would happily take any and all resources you've got! We've been studying the laws of Moses and trying to understand how/why they aren't a part of most modern Christian denominations' practices.

📖 Eat to Live (secular, nonfiction, health, science)... This one has me so fired up! I am breastfeeding a baby so my focus is health and living a long + vibrant life raising this kiddo rather than weight loss. There is definitely a ton of weight loss talk but lots and lots of disease-prevention nd cancer-prevention talk I was focused on.

📖 The Huckleberry Patch (Christian, fiction, short story)... This was a good, tiny burst of inspiration that was free for Kindle, at least when I got it. I think it probably only took about ten minutes to read

📖 Stories for Your Soul (Christian, nonfiction)... I really enjoyed these short inspirational stories by Max Lucado. A couple really moved me and got me crying.

📖 Things I Never Told You (Christian, fiction)... I very much enjoyed this first book in the Thatcher Sisters series. It had faith, deep character development, and a strong exploration of family relationships/dynamics. All things needed to make my favorite kind of book! I definitely want to read book 2. (YouTube short here) 

📖 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...

📖 Biddy Mason Speaks Up (secular, nonfiction, history)... I actually found this book in my library's catalog by searching for midwives' birth stories but wasn't expecting so much rich black history! Be warned, there is one sentence that says some slave women were raped by their masters. I added this to our 7th grade list. 

📖 The High Cheese (secular, middle grade, fiction, TGTB book list)... This was a good baseball story. My oldest asked me to request book 2 (a basketball story) from our library as well.

📖 Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (Christian, middle grade, fantasy)... Another hit with my oldest. We'll definitely try the next in the series.

📖 Leif the Lucky (secular, fictionalized biography)... It seems like homeschoolers just love these d'Aulere books. I like this Viking book fine but it wasn't a new favorite or anything.

📖 May the Best Player Win (secular, middle grade, fantasy)... This chess-focused story was a fun read but it did take the Lord's name in vain multiple times. 

📖 Sleuth Family Robinson (Christian, middle grade, fiction, graphic novel)... This is such a fun read featuring "a family that actually likes each other!" Big hit for my kids. (YouTube short here)

📖 Starla Jean series 1-3 (secular, chapter books, fiction, TGTB book list)... Starla Jean is cute and quirky. My seven-year-old loved these books! 

📖 Wild Buildings and Bridges (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... I love architecture so my nature-smart kid and I really enjoyed this one.

📖 Wind Riders books 1-3 (secular, fiction, chapter books, TGTB book list)... My seven-year-old loved this series! 

Picture books we enjoyed this month: The Brilliant Brain // Bunny's Book Club Goes to School // Ella Of Course // How Science Saved The Eiffel Tower // The Sleeping Rose // The Smallest Spot of a Dot // The Snatchabook