Family Read Alouds

*The Green Ember by S. D. Smith

The Green Ember is animal fantasy at its best, filled with gripping action and heartwarming rabbits, all deeply informed by the Christian worldview of its ...
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*Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt’s masterpiece first published 40 years ago, is as timeless as its title characters. *Tuck Everlasting (40th Anniversary Edition) by Natalie Babbitt, ...
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cover of Winter Poems

Winter Poems by Barbara Rogasky and Trina Schart Hyman

Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Scholastic, 1994. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books (ages 4-10)Recommended for: Ages 4 and ...
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*On the Wing by David Elliot

*On the Wing by David Elliot, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander. Candlewick, 2014. 30 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8 Maturity level: 2 (ages 4-8) ...
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Pathfinder by Angie Sage

Pathfinder by Angie Sage. Katherine Tegen Books, 2014. 460 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Maturity Level: 4 (age 10 and up) Pathfinder brings ...
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Christmas Carols for a Kid’s Heart by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada

Christmas Carols for a Kid’s Heart by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada, illustrated by Sergio Martinez. Crossway, 2004. 96 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, ages ...
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*A Light for my Path: An ABC Book Based on Psalm 119 by Davis Carman, illustrated by Alice Ratterree

This book is a "Best of the Best" pick from our Winter Book Fair. CLICK HERE to see more gift ideas! *A Light for My ...
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The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty, read by Jim Weiss

The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss. Greathall Productions, 2004.  Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8 and upMaturity Level: 4 (ages 11-12) ...
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*Nuts to You by Lynne Rae Perkins

Nuts to You, by Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow, 2014. 259 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 (ages 8-10) One-line Summary: Nuts ...
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cover of The Great Turkey Walk

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr

The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr. Square Fish, 2000 (reprint; original pub. date 1998). 208 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades (ages 10-12)Recommended for: Ages ...
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*Carry on Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss.

*Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham. Audiobook read by Jim Weiss, Greathall Productions, 2009. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-12 Maturity Level: Levels 3-5 ...
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Gravity by Jason Chin

Gravity by Jason Chin. Roaring Brook Press, 2014. 32 pages. Reading Level: Picture Books, 0-8Recommended for: All ages Gravity is a complex concept to explain ...
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Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey

Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey. Viking, 1979, 191 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10Maturity Level: 2 (ages 4-8) and up Centerburg Tales is set in ...
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Homer Price cover

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. Viking, 1943. 149 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, 8-10Recommended for: Ages 8-10 McCloskey has transformed his picture book hero, Lentil, ...
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Lentil by Robert McCloskey

Lentil by Robert McCloskey. First published by Viking, 1940. Reading Level: Picture Books, 4-8Recommended for: Ages 4-8 Lentil, McCloskey's first picture book, is now 74 years ...
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*The Warden and the Wolf King

An epic finale to an epic fantasy series. *The Warden and the Wolf King,by Andrew Peterson. Rabbit Room Press, 2014, 519 pages. Reading Level: Young Adult, ages ...
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*The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya by Jane Kelley

*The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, by Jane Kelley. Feiwel & Friends, 2013, 201 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 8-10 Maturity Level: 3 ...
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Baseball Is . . . by Louise Borden

Baseball Is . . . by Louise Borden, illustrated by Raul Colon. Simon and Shuster, 2014. 40 pages. Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8 Maturity ...
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Newbery Buzz: True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp

We're coming down to the wire with our Newbery discussions. The ALA Youth Media Awards (which include the Newbery and Caldecott) will be announced Monday ...
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*Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed

Twelve Kinds of Ice, by Ellen Bryan Obed, illustrated by Barbara McClintock.  Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 64 pages.  Reading level: Middle Grades, Ages 10-12 Maturity Level: ...
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*Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.  Harpers, 2013, 34 pages.  Reading level: Middle Grades, 10-12 Maturity Level: All Bottom line: ...
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How God Used a Thunderstorm by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn

*How God Used a Thunderstorm and Other Devotional Stories  by Joel R. Beeke and Diana Kleyn, illustrated by Jeff Anderson (Building on the Rock Series). ...
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*Little Britches by Ralph Moody

*Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody. Bison Books, 1991. 260 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10, ages 10-12 and upRecommended ...
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Short Summer-Length Devotionals for Families

Summer's Just Around the Corner! My family's summer schedule is quite different from our school year schedule. What with travel, fun in the sun, and ...
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Hobbits, Hot Chocolate, & The Bookshelf Giveaway

The Hobbit Read Along Two weeks from today on Monday, November 5th, our Great Hobbit Read Along Adventure begins!  We'll cover two or three chapters ...
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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen's classic survival novel Hatchet offers a realistic--as opposed to romantic-- view of nature and what it takes to survive in the wild. Hatchet ...
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*Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck

*Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, illustrated by Kelly Murphy.  Dial, 2011, 239 pages.   Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-10 and ...
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A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole

A Nest for Celeste: A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home by Henry Cole.  HarperCollins, 2010, 336 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ...
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He’s Coming!

In the fundamentalist church where I grew up, we never did advent.  I never even understood what the word meant until well into my twenties, ...
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The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers

*The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers

*The Charlatan's Boy, by Jonathan Rogers.  WaterBrook Press, 2010, 305 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 and up Bottom Line: ...
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A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron

A Dog’s Way Home by Bobbie Pyron

A Dog's Way Home, by Bobbie Pyron.  HarperCollins, 2011.  321 pp.  Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: Ages 10-12 Bottom line: When Abby ...
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