Bookish links: May 2026

Spotted the above Eric Carle puzzle at a Walmart 

May new releases I'm excited about- All That Glows // Brewed Awakening // A Chance for Kallie Mae // The Deep End of Love // The Inklings Detective Agency // Miss Beth Bettencourt // These Empty Places 

My personal recommendations for Asian American & Pacific Islander Month- part 1, part 2

Look at this Anne of Green Gables birthday party! 

Bookish loose leaf tea infusers- 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Rediscovering the classics through faith 

I am tempted by all these beautiful book fabrics to sew 97,534 things! 

I have been alternating between audio books and YouTube videos during my afternoon grading sessions. A few bookish YouTube videos I enjoyed last month: Faith's book tour // Oceana's 5-star Christian romance reads // Books Katie loves // 7 Christian books that will strengthen your faith 

Love this Kindle cover 

What a fun Narnia movie night! 

16 novels with heroines who uncovered secrets

How sweet is this little Grandma reading knickknack? (Amy, you'll need this! :D)  

Club31's Mother's Day reading guide

I have no good reason to purchase this bookish washi tape. 50% of me is frugal and sees no reason but 50% of me is coming up with all kinds of projects. 

Tyndale's creation books 

2026 Christian Book Award winners 

This isn't Christian book-specific but Lynn recently shared an all-mystery bookstore, Murder by the Book 

I recently saw a few Beatrix Potter designs from a modest fashion influencer and had fun delighting in the Fabled website- Peter Rabbit reading earrings //  Cottontail necklace  // this pin I'd wear every mother's day // Peter Rabbit necklace 

7 charming summer romances 

What are your thoughts on remote page turners for e-readers? I feel like, "Wow, how convenient.  But have we really fallen so far, that gently swiping is too much for us and we're convinced we simply MUST purchase just one more piece of electronic plastic to help us move less? But also, wow, how convenient!" 

Tyndale Kids summer preview

Non-book favorites this month: long walks // this song // my current writing project // being home as much as possible after being out/traveling so much in March and April // watercolor painting // The board game Spy Alley with my loves // finally fully catching up our family Christmas scrapbook!! // Writing and coloring creative letters to my cousin (Amanda, whose stories are in Blessed by Birth) who is recovering in the hospital and could use your prayer! 

Christian fiction about writers

✒️The All American (historical fiction)... The protagonistsin this delightful coming-of-age story are Bertha and Flossie, and the writer is their father. We see his writing life through their eyes which I thought was great!

✒️Catching the Wind (historical fiction, time slip)... This WWII novel features a journalist attempting to reunite a brother and sister who Were separated during the Holocaust.

✒️The Christmas Book Flood (historical fiction, Christmas)... This was a great WWII Christmas story about the start of the Icelandic book Flood tradition and a new author protagonist.

✒️Dear Mr Knightley (general fiction, epistolary)... This is a retelling of the classic Daddy Long Legs, about a journalism major writing letters to her anonymous benefactor. 

✒️Even Now (romance)... This is a lost Loves romance story in which one of our protagonists is a journalist/war correspondent.

✒️Ladies of the Lake (historical fiction, time slip)... I adore this wonderful book! Our main character is a writer who is mentored by LM Montgomery... delightful!

✒️Meet Me in the Margins (romance)... I'm not much of a romance fan but this was a lot of fun. Our MC is writing a secret fiction novel and quickly hides at her serious, literary publishing house workplace only to find it covered in anonymous editing notes. Then, she starts falling for her anonymous editor and things get a bit complicated. 

✒️The Perfect Rom-Com (romance)... Bryony is a ghost writer wanting to write her own stories and dealing with complicatedfeelings for her literary agent, Jack, along the way.

✒️Plot Twist (romance)... Olivia is a greeting card writer attempting to become a screenwriter in this one but it's the unique structure I enjoyed. We just revisit the same one day of each year for about ten years. I really surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this rom-com.

✒️The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck (romance)... I always think of Shoshanna Gabriel when I think about this one. Sarah Hollenbeck is famous for her steamy, spicy, open-door romance novels... and then she becomes a Christian. And falls for her new pastor.

✒️Shadows of Swanford Abbey (historical fiction)... This is such a delightful historical fiction murder mystery. Our main character is not actually the writer herself but I really enjoyed the story and felt it deserved a spot here.

✒️Shaped by the Waves (general fiction)... Christina Suzann Nelson is a favorite of mine and I thought this one was fantastic but debated adding it to the list. Our main character is not the writer and is actually  receiving portions of an anonymous manuscript throughout the book.

✒️The Summer of Yes (romance)... Kelsey sets off on a road trip in hopes of writing the exclusive biography of a dying celebrity... but of course hijinks ensue.

✒️Truth Stained Lies (suspense)... Our writer in this suspense thriller is actually a true crime blogger! This one is not a cute cozy mystery but a true suspense- beware.

✒️When Twilight Breaks (historical fiction)... How could we not have a WWII war correspondent on the list?! Here it is, a delightful tale by Sarah Sundin with a delightful cover, too. Our female protagonist is the journalist. The male protagonist is not a writer but he's a linguistics academic so this is good for that Light academia feel.

✒️The Words We Lost (romance)... I loved this book so much, about a eoman who has struggled with reading (her job!) since the death of her writer best friend. There's so much depth and richness in this one I'd like to re-read. I also loved the sequel, The Roads We Follow, and plan to read the third. 

Great Christian books for 4th graders

📚Adventures of Lily Lapp (fiction)... My little Amish fiction fan and I have read the first two books in this series so far and she's definitely looking forward to the next one. This one will probably appeal most to girls. 
📘Concord Cunningham: The Scripture Sleuth (fiction)... I was surprised by how much one of my kids loved this one, I guess because I expected it to be too dated. 
📔Decisions, Decisions (nonfiction)... This is kind if like choose your own adventure meets devotional, but with very obvious consequences for the wrong choice. Some of my kids found this one to be very fun. 
📗The Drummer Boy (fiction, Christmas)... We loved this short dystopian Christmas story, in a place where the name of Jesus is never spoken. 
📘Everyone a Child Should Know (nonfiction)... We loved this book of short, mini biographies of people important to Christian history. We read this in our homeschool morning time years ago, just one short biography at a time, and all loved it! 
📕Fiasco in Florida (fiction)... This time travel adventure story was the first in a series but I haven't gotten to the next one yet. 
📚Glimmer Girls series (fiction)... This one is definitely girly, but it's a favorite for my girls. I Really appreciate the depth involved (especially in book 4) and the sisters working through struggles with each other. 
📚Imagine series (fiction)... This is a Biblical fiction time travel adventure situation my kids really liked. 
📚In Grandma's Attic series (fiction)... I wondered if this one would be too preachy but my daughter's really loved it and one has read this series multiple times. This is another that will likely appeal most to girls.
📘Indescribable (nonfiction)... We loved this devotional full of science and nature facts tied into scripture and thoughts on the Christian life. This was an excellent way to start homeschool mornings for a while and we loved the sequel and atlas book, too. 
📔Love Does for Kids (nonfiction)... Bob Goff is a fantastic storyteller and this was a fantastic book of short little stories inspiring us to love people well. 
📕One Wintry Night (fiction, Christmas)... We did this as a Christmas read- aloud a few years back and then I moved it into our fourth grade shelves. This is another good one. 
📚Prince Warriors series (fiction)... My kids loved this fantasy series by Priscilla Shirer and all of them have read the series multiple times. 
📗The Serpent Slayer (fiction)... I loved this one, another kind of time travel Bible fiction adventure story. 
📘Stand-Up Guys (nonfiction)... Mini biographies of inspiring Christian figures- specifically focused on males. 

March Reading

GROWN-UP READS:

📖 Bible study: Nothing specific other than what I was covering through church, Becoming a Girl of Grace, and my (not finished) morning read, Hidden Mysteries and the Bible. 

📖 Always On my Mind (Christian, fiction, book 4 in the Christiansen Family series)... l was really looking forward to this one (so much DRAMA!!) and it did not disappoint!
📖 Make Your Own (secular, nonfiction, cookbook)... We've been looking forward to this cookbook for so long! We are all very happy with it. The first thing we made was chili cheese fries using this cheese sauce and everyone loved it. 
📖 Pearl in the Sand (Christian, Biblical fiction)... I read this biblical fiction about Rahab of Jericho with my church book club. I wouldn't have chosen this for myself and didn't like it very much. This is the 4th Biblical fiction book I've tried and it's the 3rd that felt to sexual for a Christian novel! Is that a fluke or is this a thing? Would love your thoughts if you're a Biblical fiction reader. 
📖 Relationships 101 (Christian, nonfiction)... My focus this year is love, you know? This short, powerful book gave me a lot of inspiration in this area! 
📖 Restoration series: #1 Last Light, #2 Night Light (Christian, fiction)... This EMP aftermath/survival series was on a list of great books for Christian teens so I wanted to give it a try. It is a murder mystery (not super graphic though) and does talk about edgier subjects (teens getting drunk and high, a man selling pornography) but through a Christian lens. I'll finish the series before deciding if I'll give it to my teens someday.

📚 Plus applicable sections of Mom Heart Moments and The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS...

📖 The Blossoming Summer (secular by a Christian author, middle grade, fiction)... I liked this WWII home front family story- a great one for Indigenous Peoples Month, too!
📖  A Boy and a Bear in a Boat (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I read this one because one of my children picked it as their library book. I didn't love it and neither did the kiddo.
📖 The Castle in the Attic (secular, middle grade, fiction)... Not my very favorite but overall fine. Reminds me of a less rude Indian in the Cupboard.
📖 The Children of Willow Farm (secular, middle grade, fiction, The Good and the Beautiful Book list selection)... One of my kids has been excited about this out-of-print pig book for years and my dad finallyfound a copy! The pigs don't come in until pretty far into the book but I still think it'll be a hit.
📖 Freedom Train (secular, middle grade, historical fiction, TGTB book list)... This Harriet Tubman book was a quick skim for me. I appreciated the Faith content.
📖 In 27 Days (secular, YA, fiction)... I did like this creative YA novel but don't plan to add it to our lists. Parents will want to know there's a lot of kissing and a few minor language issues like "BS," the acronym not the full word.
📖 Nicki: My Journal (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I enjoyed this 1999 American Girl story and will try the longer Nicki story, too.
📖 The Scourge (secular, middle grade, Speculative fiction)... I liked this middle grade dystopian/epidemic kinda book. It had the caste system, friendship, and adventure of The Hunger Games but without the violence. There's also a kiss. I'm putting it on our 8th grade list.
📖 The Secret Keepers (secular, middle grade, fiction)... This 15-hour-long audio book is by the author the Mysterious Benedict Society series we love. The first three chapters I was not feeling it but then I loved it to the end and couldn'twait to listenagain! My oldest loved it, too.
📖 Summerhill Secrets #1: Whispers Down the Lane  (Christian, YA, Amish fiction)... This was the exact dramatic YA novel I would have loved as a teen. This was intense subject matter (a friend's alcoholic father has been beating her and the teenage MC is trying to figure out how to handle the situationwith integrity) but I felt it was handled well, from a realistic Christian teen perspective. I will try book 2, too.
📖 Who Was Harry Houdini? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... I was glad one of my children chose this library book because I had fun learning about Houdini. 

📚 PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom // Eric Carle's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 

Favorite read this month: Always On My Mind or The Secret Keepers 

*I used Amazon Affiliates links in this post. If you make an Amazon purchase I make a small referral commission at no additional cost to you. 

Kindred & Co

We recently went to an event in Post Falls, Idaho and ended the event with a stop in Kindred & Co. 

This was such a cool, quirky bookstore! Even the light fixtures were unique and fascinating. I really appreciate that in our sea of blank rectangles these days. There were also a few beautiful workspaces and reading areas I didn't photograph. 

 

There was a pretty standard curation of secular titles but we were happy to see a small faith-based fiction shelf! I even learned about a new book in the Deep Haven series which I plan to continue the Christiansen Family series with! The Fox Family?! You know I love a family saga. 

I almost got a peppermint tea in the café but decided I probably shouldn't drink tea before starting the drive back home.

My husband did find the finance section disappointing but we were all quite enchanted by the children's section! 

The pirate ship chandelier among cloud lights! The dollhouse bookshelves! Peter Pan, right? 😍

We purcased a lovely new copy of King Arthur, a nonfiction on the history and breeding of dogs, and the first Nancy Drew book... but I was hoping one of my kids would choose this beautiful Peter Pan since the cover was so pretty and the room was so inspiring! 

As is the case in so many modern bookstores, we did see a few book covers we didn't love. We didn't see any in the children's section though and I very much appreciated that. Overall it would be a fun visit for most.