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On another note, we’ve recently enjoyed some great new children’s books. I downloaded several Audible titles to listen to on our commute over the past two weeks. The kids have asked for more mysteries, devotionals, and Bible stories. One of their favorites is the Action Bible. It was around $20 but so worth every penny. The stories are exciting for kids while being completely age-appropriate. We also got Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, which tends to be conducive to quieter rides. My kids are asking great questions, and we’ve all experienced a deeper faith as a result of our conversations. I feel that God is really blessing that time we get to spend together. If you’d like to try Audible, you can get two free audiobooks with my link.

Wondering what to read with your kids lately? I’ve been trying to read more middle-grades and young adult novels this month. The only movie I could find in any of our packed boxes was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, so it’s been our only entertainment for a few days. Thus, I’m kind of in that mode. Plus, now that school is back in session, I want to keep up with what my students are reading for the purposes of class discussion. One of my students allowed me to borrow his copy of James Patterson’s Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. Priced just over $5 for the paperback, this is a steal and belongs on the shelf of any middle schooler who feels a little out of sorts with the whole social scene. It starts out pretty slow, and I wouldn’t have finished it except for the fact that I knew my students would ask me about it. Around the middle of the story, there are some major reasons to continue reading! When I talked with my students about it, one of them told me that he had his suspicions about that situation all along. This led to a natural teachable moment about inference and prediction skills! Several students have borrowed the title from our school’s library, as well as the digital copies we offer. I’m glad that I had a chance to talk with them about it.

A new title with a similar feel is O.K. Is Great by David Tiefenthaler. This middle grades book that has a humorous appeal. The popular style of cartoonish-pages accompanied by teenage angst is in high demand right now. In that regard, O.K. Is Great doesn’t disappoint. The book contains some crude humor and silly situations, but you probably saw that coming with a story about a middle school boy named O.K. His antics cracked me up at times, and then sometimes made me feel very sad for him. The teenage years are so hard! My daughter read some of the book, too, and remarked that she didn’t like the illustrations. That comment made me wonder if the book would actually be more polished without the cartoons. Having just moved from the city to a rural area, I could relate to O.K.’s parents more than I expected. It was clear that Tiefenthaler has a good rapport with middle grade students; the writing style and sense of humor present in O.K. is Great seems spot-on with that age group. Look for a giveaway coming soon!