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It’s been 5 years since our last round of Meet the Team. It has been an eventful 5 years, so half a decade later, here is our Christmas 2025 edition. Today we are introducing you to our Chief Creative Officer, Megan Saben. (Interview conducted by Hayley.)
As we head into the fall/winter season, what is your beverage of choice?
Either a latte or something creamy and spicy, like homemade chai or golden milk. Or hot herbal tea.
Ooh, I love golden milk. Now, are you the kind of reader who likes to snack while you read? Do you have a favorite holiday snack?
I would love to have the luxury to sit down and snack while reading or to be so coordinated in my timing! Usually I snatch a few minutes of reading while I eat lunch; otherwise I just read as I can. My favorite holiday snack would be anything with good chocolate.
Looking back over 2025, what are some of your favorite books you read this year?
We’ve read some really good titles in our book club. I particularly enjoyed Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, Peace Like a River, Charis in the World of Wonders, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Watership Down, Once a Queen, and Just Like That. I enjoyed listening to the audio of Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan and Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett and re-read The Lively Art of Writing in preparation for writing our book (and hopefully for teaching my boys composition). Excellent resource.
Do you have a favorite book that someone gave you this year?
Well, last Jolabokaflod my husband gave me A History of Children’s Literature in 100 Books and I’m still slowly working my way through that. It’s fascinating!
What new books have you discovered this year that you are looking forward to giving/recommending as gifts?
The Dragon Lord Saga is a great gift for middle grade boys! I’m planning to give my college-age son a copy of The Holy Ghost by John Hendrix (and maybe Jurassic Park); Echo Nova to my 16yo, Code of Silence and Back Before Dark to my 14yo, City Spies and perhaps the third Skunk and Badger book to my 11yo, and How to Train Your Dragon to my 9yo who rides on dragons in his dreams. I may put some extra books under the tree that they’ll all pass around, too! I enjoy finding great titles suggested by my colleagues on the Redeemed Reader website. My husband is receiving a Martyn Lloyd Jones biography and a vintage hard-to-find copy of a later book in the Space Ship series by Louis Slobodkin.
Do you have a favorite Advent book or tradition?
We try to do the Jesse Tree, but NEVER make it all the way through. We love going out as a family to shop for stocking stuffers and look at lights. And we watch Muppet Christmas Carol every year. My husband doesn’t love it as much as I do, but it’s the best Christmas movie EVER.
What is your favorite picture book about Christmas? Beyond picture books, favorite Christmas story?Betsy might mention it, too, but I love Christina’s Carol by Tomie DePaola. I also love Rocks Tell the Story of Christmas, Great Joy, Mortimer’s Christmas Manger, This Is the Star, Twelve Bots of Christmas, and The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza. (Those last three are out of print, unfortunately.) Beyond picture books, nothing beats The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
2025 was a year of changes for our team; what did that look like for you? What are you looking forward to in 2026?
My year opened with the release of my first traditionally published picture book [Hayley here, that would be New House New Home, I’ll say it if Megan doesn’t!] and lots of effort towards author events, which was very new territory for me. Then after fifteen years of meeting in many different locations, the Lord provided a permanent church building for our small congregation. Such a blessing!
I had FIVE boys in baseball last spring (my eldest’s last year, my youngest’s first). My firstborn graduated high school and we launched him to college at Liberty. THEN The Redeemed Reader book came out. One more thing…in November I had the opportunity to visit the librarian/associate professor who led me to understand Truth and Story in children’s literature and to thank him for that. It has truly been a monumental year full of Ebenezers, and I praise God for it. I’m grateful that this fall has been quieter, though never not busy. In 2026 I plan to make bread, get dinner on the table, homeschool however imperfectly, give haircuts, take walks, and see if my agent thinks a few more of my own manuscripts are ready for submission. I wouldn’t mind a quieter year, overall!
Yes, here’s to a quieter 2026! Merry Christmas, Megan, and thank you for your time!
Interested in some of the books Megan mentioned? Take a look at our Amazon storefront for some of her favorites as well as more gift ideas.
Read the Interviews with the Rest of the Team!
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