Home Library … for your Neighborhood?
With libraries everywhere shutting their doors, we readers still crave something to read. Reading can offer legitimate ways to pass the time, take a break from the news headlines, and re-connect with people. If you have books on your shelves you’ve already read, consider loaning them to friends.* Perhaps you may be able to borrow some in return.
*As of this writing, the NIH reports that the coronavirus can live for up to 24 hours on cardboard (longer on plastic/metal). To safely loan/share books, consider the following strategy: put books in a brown paper grocery bag and stick in garage/car/outside for a day. When you drop them off at the recipient’s house, place the bag next to their garage/on the porch under a roof, etc. They can slide the bag in the garage if rain is forecasted. If they refrain from touching the books for another 24 hours, it is reasonable to assume the books may be safely handled. ***This is, of course, not official advice, and you are wise to take whatever precautions you yourself deem necessary. Redeemed Reader is not liable for your actual results with our suggested method.***
Pandemic Patronage: Brainchild of S. D. Smith
But you may decide that this season is just the time to buy some new “library builders,” books that you think are worth owning. (Or, perhaps you are like ourselves; any excuse will do to buy books!)
S. D. Smith (author of the popular Green Ember series) proposed a brilliant idea last week over at StoryWarren: let’s patronize artists during this pandemic, many of whom will suffer significant loss of income during our current social distancing reality. He’s dubbed it “Pandemic Patronage.”
S. D. Smith is proposing that we choose 3 artists to patronize during this season by buying their work. You can read his post for his 3 picks along with how to share this idea on social media.
We can certainly echo Sam’s recommendation for Scott James–we gave his Mission Accomplished Easter family devotional a starred review several years ago. With Easter coming up, this is definitely one to consider!
Will other people suffer loss of income during this time? Absolutely. Can we help everyone? Sadly, no. Will many of us reading this post suffer loss of income? Probably.
And yet. Yet we may, in some small way, be able to help offset some of the economic loss for a few people. If you are going to buy books during the next few weeks, may we echo Sam’s idea and encourage you to buy books from living authors. Plenty of the classics (i.e. books from “dead” authors) are available for free on kindle. Use your book-buying dollars on behalf of those currently writing stories for our enjoyment and edification.
Living Authors and Library Builders
Below is a list of living authors we heartily recommend. I personally own many of these authors’ works and have never regretted having them on my shelves. If my children are going to re-read books, these are terrific options. Many of these authors are also professing Christians.
Titles are linked to Redeemed Reader reviews; you can also search the authors on our website to find all of the works we’ve reviewed by them.
We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the ones below may earn us a commission. Read more here. This means you are also patronizing Redeemed Reader during this pandemic (something we never take for granted and very much appreciate).
Spiritual/Devotional Resources
Catalina Echeverri. The only artist on this list, we think her illustrations of Bible stories are excellent and refreshingly diverse. Consider The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross or see more titles on amazon (we have seen many in person, but we haven’t reviewed them all).
Scott James. As mentioned above, we like his Mission Accomplished Easter devotional!
Marty Machowski. We’re fans of Machowski’s resources for family devotions. We used his Wise Up for our Wisdom & Wonder summer read along, and we regularly recommend The Ology. He also has a fantasy read: Dragon Seed.
Simonetta Carr. Her biographies of famous Christians might be just the thing to read and reflect on. Many of them suffered far more than we are currently suffering (at least, those of us voluntarily self-quarantining here in the United States).
Graphic Novels
Doug TenNapel. We’ve interviewed Doug before; Cardboard and Tommysaurus Rex are both terrific reads.
Ben Hatke. Both his Zita the Spacegirl and Mighty Jack series are great!
Jerry Craft. We thought his Newbery-medal winning debut graphic novel, New Kid, was excellent.
Fantasy
S. D. Smith (of course!). See our review of The Green Ember, but do know that his final book just came out. We haven’t reviewed it yet, but here’s a link to it on amazon.
Cassie Beasley. A terrific feel good read that is bittersweet, Circus Mirandus is a staff favorite.
Emma Fox. Her debut novel, The Arrow and the Crown, is an exciting teen read and a solid debut. Review coming, but here is the amazon link.
Jonathan Auxier. Another universal staff favorite, we all enjoyed his latest, Sweep, but we can also recommend Peter Nimble and Sophie Quire. If you want a scary story, we also like The Night Gardener (amazon link).
Jonathan Rogers. Author of the excellent Wilderking Trilogy and The Charlatan’s Boy, he also has a dynamite video grammar class in case you are looking for some educational resources right now!
Andrew Peterson. Singer-songwriter turned writer, his popular Wingfeather Saga has new pretty covers! Title linked to our review; here is the amazon link for the first book in the new cover.
N. D. Wilson. The 100 Cupboards series is probably his best in terms of wide audience appeal, but we also like The Ashtown Burials series, too!
Andrew Klavan. Got a teen who’s spending more time than ever playing video games? Try MindWar for a gripping fantasy based on an expert video gamer.
Keith Robinson. For older teens, especially those interested in apologetics and Genesis, consider The Origins Trilogy.
Realistic Fiction (including Historical)
J. B. Cheaney. Did you know our own Janie has written some lovely books for middle grades and teens? We’ve reviewed several: The Middle of Somewhere, I Don’t Know How the Story Ends, and My Friend, the Enemy. She also wrote Wordsmith, a student-directed writing curriculum, in case you are looking for supplemental educational resources right now.
Karina Yan Glaser. Author of the delightful Vanderbeekers Series, she writes warm, cozy books about a family–just the ticket when you’re stuck at home with your family.
Mitali Perkins. For middle grades, consider Tiger Boy or Rickshaw Girl. For teens (and do read reviews for considerations, particularly on the second title), consider You Bring the Distant Near or Forward Me Back to You. For all ages, especially in this time of social distancing, consider her picture book Between Us and Abuela.
Gary D. Schmidt. The Redeemed Reader staff loved his latest, Pay Attention, Carter Jones! But we can also highly recommend The Wednesday Wars and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (amazon link; review coming but do know there are some language considerations with this one).
Related Reading from Redeemed Reader
- More book ideas! Browse our Starred Reviews for our favorites; you’ll find plenty of picture books and other sorts of books than what we’ve listed above.
- “Building a Child’s Personal Library” by Gladys Hunt.
- All of our Christmas gift lists in one place; of course, it’s not the Christmas season. But these gift ideas are still good gift ideas, books we think are worth plunking down some change for.
What other authors can you recommend in the comments?
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So many people have been affected by this pandemic. I hurt for the small businesses in our area that are closing and the hourly workers who are losing jobs.
Authors are impacted differently. Their books can continue to earn revenue long after publication. Also, some of the artists on this list are quite prosperous. Jerry Craft has just won the Newbery Award. His book will be purchased by almost every library book in the country and most schools. The revenues will be huge. There are lots of good reasons to buy “New Kid.” But helping out the author isn’t one of them. There are other established authors on this list who will and should continue to do well.
I love Redeemed Reader. Ya’ll make great suggestions but this one kind of bugged me
I’ll have to respectfully disagree with you, Lou! You’re right that authors’ books can earn revenue for many years, but some of them were expecting (and needing) revenue this spring like everyone else who is suffering loss of income right now. For instance, I know that many of the authors on this list (such as Mitali Perkins) have had to cancel school visits this spring. They sell far more books at those types of events because the students fall in love with them and their work (as they should!), and individuals are more likely to buy the books (instead of just a library or school having one copy, multiple families will own copies). Mitali was mentioning the loss of income just today. Others, such as S. D. Smith, make appearances at conventions like the Great Homeschool Conventions which have also been canceled for this year. That will invariably mean a loss of some income (not to mention the personal connections they get to make with readers.) So it makes sense to us that IF people are going to buy books, they choose living authors this spring (even someone “famous” like Jerry Craft) instead of the classics whose authors are no longer living and financially dependent on the sale of their books. Plenty of people won’t buy books at all, and that’s fine. It’s important to support local small businesses, too. We’re simply encouraging people who do have book dollars to spend, to spend them in support of current authors.
Ditto to that! This quarantine is especially devastating to small press/self-published/indie authors, who rely heavily on school and library visits, book clubs and local book signings in order to sell their work. I also know many fellow authors whose books were released right before or after this virus hit (Scott James and Sam Smith are two of them). Release days represent years of preparation and thousands of hours of labor and love. So YES! If you are able, please support living authors who are doing their best to shine light in dark places. One other small press/indie author I’d highly recommend: K.B. Hoyle, especially her Gateway Chronicles MG/YA fantasy series: think Chronicles of Narnia for teens, with a dash of LOTR and Greek mythology.
So I have a challenge… I love lists like this but my son does not. “They are all just plot armor mom, I know how it ends before I read it.” Are there any good books for teens that aren’t “plot armor”?
Hmm… I don’t think all of those people in this post are guilty of plot armor. Has he read some of these books before? N. D. Wilson’s books are quite complex as are Andrew Klavan’s. Janie’s book _Somebody on This Bus is Going to Be Famous_ definitely doesn’t end like you’d expect. Does he like books that feature lots of character development? Plot twists? Nonfiction?