book lists

Dinosaur Book List for All Ages

By Betsy Farquhar | Jun 20, 2018

Is your child keenly aware that a new Jurassic Park movie is hitting the big screen this week? As if kids needed more motivation to be interested ...

Fairy Tales (and More!) for Summer: A Booklist for Family Read Alouds

By Betsy Farquhar | Jun 12, 2018

Lovely, Literary, and Light-hearted: Fairy Tales are a Perfect Match for Summer Fun Looking for some fun, low commitment reading for this summer? Perhaps you ...

Rapid Fire: Five Recent YA

By Hayley Morell | May 30, 2018

Reading YA takes time. Books often stretch to 400 plus pages, and sometimes at the end of the day, those 400 pages aren't worth an ...

Summer Fun Booklist: Full of Activities and Things to Do!

By Betsy Farquhar | May 25, 2018

Summer Days Ahead The glorious weeks of summer are upon us (if you live in the Southeast) or soon to be (if you live in ...

Marvelous Math for Middle Grades

By Betsy Farquhar | May 7, 2018

The Language of the Universe The language of the universe is math. Little else in the natural world reflects such a unique combination of truth, ...

Mega List of Bible Reviews!

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 11, 2018

Here in one handy post are all the children's Bibles reviewed over the last six years by RedeemedReader, with links. I (Janie) started reviewing children’s ...

Picture Book Biographies Booklist!

By Betsy Farquhar | Mar 27, 2018

Picture Book Biographies = Fantastic, Diverse Resources Picture book biographies are one of the best ways to introduce a person from history. Why? They bring ...

Learning to Lead: Another RedeemedReader Booklist!

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 22, 2018

In his Confessions, Augustine wrote this on the subject of "time": “I understand well enough what time is, so long as no one asks me.” ...

Pie-Themed Picture Books for Pi/Pie Day!

By Betsy Farquhar | Mar 12, 2018

"Pi/Pie Day" is coming up on March 14th! Check out one of the pie-themed picture books below from your local library to enjoy with your ...

Nonfiction Picture Books Round-up: Biographies, Science, and Words

By Betsy Farquhar | Mar 8, 2018

A round-up of 2018 nonfiction picture books on all sorts of subjects and for all sorts of ages! The Great Dictionary Caper by Judy Sierra and ...

Black History Month Nonfiction Book List

By Betsy Farquhar | Feb 15, 2018

Black History Month Nonfiction Book List It's a month full of book lists here at Redeemed Reader! We hope you enjoyed our Love and Laughter ...

Here Be Dragons: Mega Fantasy and Sci-Fi Booklist! (All ages)

By Betsy Farquhar | Jan 24, 2018

A mega fantasy and sci-fi booklist with books for all ages and all types of fantasy lovers (even those who don't think they ARE fantasy ...

2018 Reading Challenge for Kids and Teens (with printable!)

By Betsy Farquhar | Dec 19, 2017

The 2018 Reading Challenge for Kids and Teens Our 2018 Reading Challenge for Kids and Teens is back and better than ever! We’ve changed it ...

Worthy YA: the Best Teen Reads of 2017

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 15, 2017

The world of Young-Adult publishing can be dicey territory for Christian readers. Nowhere are the latest cultural trends more vigorously promoted than in books marketed ...

The Literary Nightstand

By Betsy Farquhar | Dec 8, 2017

The Literary Nightstand: Our Professional Reading The Literary Nightstand is a peek into what's on our professional nightstands. Most of us here at Redeemed Reader ...

Giant Christmas and Advent Book List for All Ages

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 24, 2017

We love Christmas and Advent at Redeemed Reader, and we've reviewed lots of related resources over the years. Advent begins on December 1, and the ...

2017 Winter Book Fair List: Books for Everyone!

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 18, 2017

2017 Winter Book Fair Books for Everyone on Your Christmas List! It's that time of the year again: Christmas is coming, and all the special ...

Mystery Book List for Elementary, Tweens, and Teens!

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 7, 2017

Calling all mystery lovers! Mystery book list for all ages! Whether or not you're planning to see Murder on the Orient Express this month, you likely have ...

Word Shapers: 4 Men Who Influenced the English Language

By Betsy Farquhar | Oct 16, 2017

Word Shaper: Someone who shapes, and changes, words. We associate envy with the color green. Why? William Shakespeare. In America, we write "color" instead of ...

Reformation Church History Book List

By Betsy Farquhar | Oct 9, 2017

Happy 500th birthday to the Protestant Reformation! 500 years ago this month, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door in Wittenburg. Of course, the ...

10 New Picture Books for All Ages, All Interests, Fact and Fiction!

By Betsy Farquhar | Oct 2, 2017

New picture books! Brand, spanking, new! Beautiful, silly, thoughtful, informative, and downright fun. Take a look! (Several of these made it onto our Back-to-School ...

10 True Stories for Teens

By Betsy Farquhar | Aug 28, 2017

10 True Stories for Teens It's hard to beat a good, true story. Something about the it really happened aspect just makes it better, don't you ...

Back-to-School Booklist, 2017 edition (+ Giveaway!)

By Betsy Farquhar | Aug 21, 2017

Have your kids already started school? Or perhaps that's still to come in the next couple of weeks. No matter what stage of back-to-school season you're ...

Get Ready for the Eclipse! Space and Sci-Fi Booklist

By Betsy Farquhar | Aug 16, 2017

Ready for the Eclipse? Have you tested out your eclipse glasses? Do you know where you're going to be on August 21 when the eclipse ...

Wisdom & Wonder Week 6 Booklist

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 24, 2017

Our last Wisdom & Wonder Booklist to help you wrap up your summer! You'll see a couple of repeats from earlier in the summer as ...

Let’s Talk It over: Honesty and Diligence in Literature

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 22, 2017

Janie: This week we’re taking up two major themes in Proverbs: honest work and honest words. At first glance they may not seem to be that closely ...

Wisdom & Wonder Week 5 Booklist

By Janie Cheaney | Jul 18, 2017

Our Proverbs emphasis for week 5 is "Work and Words," (or honesty and diligence, which means basically the same thing without the alliteration). Our booklist ...

Wisdom & Wonder Week 4 Booklist

By Hayley Morell | Jul 11, 2017

Week 4 Theme: Which Path and With Whom Additional Proverbs to Read and Think About 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a ...

Building a Shakespeare Home Library Collection

By Megan Saben | Jun 27, 2017

When you want to enjoy Shakespeare with your children, you can either focus on one play at a time or spread a Shakespeare feast so ...

Wisdom & Wonder Week 3 Booklist

By Megan Saben | Jun 24, 2017

Wisdom & Wonder Week 3 Booklist Weekly Theme: Responding to Correction (Wise-Up #6, 7) Additional Proverbs to Read and Think About 14:12 There is a ...

Wisdom & Wonder Week 2 Booklist

By Betsy Farquhar | Jun 19, 2017

Wisdom & Wonder Week 2 Booklist Weekly Theme: God’s Word is a Treasure Additional Proverbs to Read and Think About 4:23 Keep your heart with ...

Wisdom and Wonder: Linked Reads – Week 1

By Alysha | Jun 13, 2017

This week's theme: Turning to God and Away From Sin To further engage with the theme, here is a list of archived posts that we feel ...

Wisdom and Wonder Booklist – Week 1

By Alysha | Jun 12, 2017

Wisdom & Wonder Week [1] Booklist: Weekly Theme: Turning towards God and Away from Sin Wise-Up #1 (Real Wise Man) and #2 (Heart of the ...

Toward a Positive Multiculturalism in Children’s Books (and a Book List)

By Janie Cheaney | May 17, 2017

It’s no wonder classic children’s books feature characters with racist attitudes—the authors of those books also had some racist attitudes. We looked at the problem ...

Easter List Round-Up, 2017 Edition

By Betsy Farquhar | Apr 10, 2017

Need a last minute gift idea for Easter morning? Want to have some books around that remind your children of the real reason for Easter? ...

Beauty and the Beast Adventure

By Betsy Farquhar | Mar 1, 2017

Join us as we dive into the themes and stories behind Beauty and the Beast during the month of March! And don't worry, it's not just for girls--we ...

Rapid Fire: 10 Recent Award-Winning Picture Books

By Betsy Farquhar | Feb 13, 2017

Rapid Fire: a quick, "rapid fire" list of mini-book reviews. Janie and I love to prognosticate the Newbery Award, discuss possible contenders, and dialogue during the announcement ...

Straight Talk About the Birds and the Bees

By Betsy Farquhar | Feb 5, 2017

This is a review specifically for parents; librarians and teachers may benefit as well, but children should ask their parents first before reading further. This is also ...

40 Books for Dads to Read to Their Kids

By Betsy Farquhar | Dec 26, 2016

Strong father figures, adventures, humor, and general fun await! 40 books for DADS to read to their kids: fantasy, realistic fiction, historical fiction. Humor, adventure, ...

Twelfth Night: Shakespeare’s Christmas Play

By Betsy Farquhar | Dec 12, 2016

Twelfth Night, or What You Will is not exactly a Christmas play, I'll admit. But "Twelfth Night" does refer to the 12th night of the ...

2016 Winter Book Fair: Books For Everyone!

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 18, 2016

2016 Winter Book Fair Books for Everyone On Your Christmas List! We have chosen the best of the best, our personal favorites, and plenty of great ...

Pastor, Blogger, Author, Editor: More Church History Recommendations for the Whole Family!

By Betsy Farquhar | Oct 31, 2016

We've spent all month reading and learning about church history. It's been such a rich study with interviews and book reviews, but we are not ...

Our 9/11 Book List

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 9, 2016

If you've been with us for the last few months you doubtless saw Betsy's reviews of two recent, highly-regarded middle-grade novels about the worst foreign attack ...

Back-to-School Backpack List (2016)

By The Redeemed Shall Read | Aug 17, 2016

Just in time for the start of a new school year with new pencils, new protractors, new textbooks: our Back-to-School Backpack Booklist! As is our ...

The Summer of Great Family Reads

By Betsy Farquhar | May 27, 2016

For Everything, There is a Season There are patterns in Scripture of both the Lord and his people resting from their labors. Summer is such ...

Ask-a-Librarian: 30 Great “New” Books

By Betsy Farquhar | May 9, 2016

Ask-a-Librarian is an occasional feature in which we answer a reader's email query. Here at Redeemed Reader, we love children's books from all eras and all ...

5 Fun Fairy Tale Reads for February

By Betsy Farquhar | Feb 1, 2016

Love is in the air! Or is it? Despite the myriad of hearts, chocolates, and flowers festooning every available merchandising spot, not everyone wants to ...

Five Family Read Alouds

By Hayley Morell | Jan 29, 2016

Long winter nights and the occasional snow day make for excellent read-aloud weather. Here are five favorites that can be enjoyed by the whole family. ...

The Nutcracker: This is That Time of Year

By Betsy Farquhar | Dec 14, 2015

The Nutcracker ballet is part of many Americans' yearly cultural celebration of Christmas. The music plays everywhere, and even young children often recognize the strains ...

Have an Awesome Thanksgiving

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 23, 2015

In honor of this week's holiday, a book review post from a few years back: *Sarah Gives Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday, by ...

Top 25 Ancient History Resources

By Betsy Farquhar | Sep 6, 2015

Top 25 Ancient History Resources “Ancient History” is primarily concerned with the world during biblical times and the early church. When the children of Israel ...

Story Tea: Picture Books of the Year (+printable)

By Betsy Farquhar | Sep 1, 2015

World magazine has just announced their Children's Books of the Year! Both the Children's Book of the Year and the Picture Book of the ...

Back to School Backpack 2015

By Megan Saben | Aug 10, 2015

Back to School Backpack 2015 Here are some titles to inspire your students in the coming school year! We've collected a few of our favorite ...

By Janie Cheaney | May 19, 2015

Our favorite graduation gift is, of course, books—whether timely, practical, inspirational, or scholarly. We would never recommend sending a young person off to college (or ...

Avengers: Age of Ultron Resources! (+ Printable)

By Betsy Farquhar | May 1, 2015

Emily reviewed Avengers: Age of Ultron at Worldmag.com. If you'll click "Listen" at the bottom of that post, you can also hear hints from ...

By Betsy Farquhar | Apr 15, 2015

It’s spring! Rain, puddles, flowers, ducklings, bunnies, new life, and tea with dinosaurs! Cuddle up with the children in your life, pour a cup of ...

Six Picture Books for Boys Who Can’t Sit Still!

By Megan Saben | Mar 18, 2015

Here are six favorite, irresistible picture books for boys who are competitive, WHO WILL WIN?! love superheroes, Both MARVELous and COMICal hate peas, She ...

By Betsy Farquhar | Mar 12, 2015

Cinderella Read-Alikes for Boys and Girls of All Ages A few of our favorite picture books, chapter books, middle grade titles, young adult reads, and ...

By emily | Dec 23, 2014

Looking for Christmas gifts for the kids and teens in your life? Redeemed Reader has pulled together our best picks in our annual Winter Book Fair. WANT ...

By emily | Oct 11, 2014

Reviewing School Book Lists: Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four. This post by Emily Whitten, co-founder of Redeemed Reader, is the final installment in ...

Picture Book Biographies

By Betsy Farquhar | Oct 6, 2014

Picture Book Biographies Picture book biographies are excellent choices for introducing students of all ages to a particular author or historical figure. Many times they ...

By emily | Sep 4, 2014

Reviewing School Book Lists: Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four. In the previous part of this series, I acquainted our readers with a young ...

By emily | Aug 30, 2014

Are your kids' book bags feeling heavy this fall? How bout a few enjoyable reads to lighten the load? Thanks to each of the Redeemedreader ...

By emily | Aug 23, 2014

Reviewing School Book Lists: Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four. (SUICIDE LIFELINE: 1-800-273-8255) Death of a Son On Monday morning, rumors swirled at Westwood ...

By emily | Aug 6, 2014

Reviewing School Book Lists: Part One. Part Two. Part Three.Part Four. This post by Emily Whitten, co-founder of Redeemed Reader, is part of a series ...

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 1, 2014

Our primary Summer Reading Challenge targets "middle grade" readers (typically ages 9-12) and "teen" readers (ages 13 and up), but we know there are many ...

New Teen Summer Reading Books!

By emily | Jun 6, 2014

New Plans After taking a second look at our teen Summer Reading Challenge books (Reading List #2), we have decided to take two of our ...

Gifts for Grads, 3rd Edition

By Janie Cheaney | May 9, 2014

If you have a high school or college graduate, you’re thinking about how fast time flies and how bittersweet the occasion of this very special ...

Librarians’ List: Easy/Leveled Readers, part 2

By Betsy Farquhar | Mar 19, 2014

Lovable/Quirky Main Character Frances books by Lillian Hoban Arthur books by Lillian Hoban Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik Penny books by Kevin Henkes ...

Ukraine: Lessons in Liberty and Compassion, Pt. 2

By Hayley Morell | Mar 15, 2014

Last week, we began our Ukrainian series with a personal reflection from our executive assistant, Hayley. Having recently visited orphans in Ukraine, Hayley gave us insight ...

Librarians’ List: Easy/Leveled Readers, part 1

By Betsy Farquhar | Mar 8, 2014

Oh, those early (slow) reading sessions when your son or daughter labors to sound out each and every phoneme…. It seems to take forever to ...

Presidents’ Day: a Librarians’ List

By Betsy Farquhar | Feb 12, 2014

Presidents' Day is one of those weird little holidays: school children rejoice in their day off, and lots of people don't give it another thought. ...

Valentine’s Day

By Megan Saben | Feb 8, 2014

As Christians we are called to practice so many forms of love besides the romantic kind. Themes for Valentine's Day can be broadened to emphasize ...

Librarians’ List: Favorite Picture Books of 2013

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 23, 2013

It's time for another Librarians' List! Since it's picture book month, we're indulging our list-making hobbies and bringing you yet another list of our favorites. ...

Character in the Midst of Diversity: 8 Titles to Note

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 20, 2013

2013 has given us lots of excellent diverse picture book titles: books about minority cultures, folktale retellings, and books by (or illustrated by) people of ...

Librarians’ List: 25 Picture Book Retro Reads

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 16, 2013

We've been spending quite a bit of time this month looking at newer picture books--many of them published in 2013. But today we're taking a ...

Our Favorite Science Book Picks (and a Printable List!)

By Betsy Farquhar | Sep 30, 2013

We've thrown a lot of titles at you during our Science September for science-related informational texts. Because we know many of you, like us, love ...

Interesting Picture Book Biographies (Librarians’ List)

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 5, 2013

Many people think picture books should be left behind in the preschool years. Megan and I heartily disagree with that sentiment, and we invite you ...

100 Great Adventure Books for Kids: Summer Read Along Book Lists are Here!

By Betsy Farquhar | Jun 3, 2013

***To read the next post in this series, see our Summer Reading Challenge, Week 1: Around the World by Matt Phelan.*** Summer Reading Challenge June ...

Gifts for Grads: Our Picks

By Janie Cheaney | May 9, 2013

For a parent, there’s nothing scarier than sending a high school graduate out into the world—and in fact, the world looks pretty scary these days. ...

The Real George Washington

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 21, 2013

When did history get so complicated? Not too long ago, “The father of his country” was a monumental figure deserving nothing but praise. Now, depending ...

Kids and 9/11

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 7, 2012

To our children it’s already history, but to us it seems like “only yesterday.” Too soon, really, to come to an informed conclusion about what ...

How Our Gardens Grow

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 21, 2012

Planting a garden is an exercise in faith—the assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Young children are fascinated with ...

Graduation Gifts for Teens

By emily | Apr 16, 2012

We're fast approaching graduation day at many schools, so I thought it might be worth tossing out a few books to brighten your celebrations. 1. ...

Africa: A Literary Adventure and Podcast!

By emily | Feb 16, 2012

This month my local public library is offering a marionette show of African folktales starring Anansi the spider. It's a unique way to celebrate Black ...

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 7, 2012

My first exposure to Charles Dickens was the original Classics Illustrated edition of A Tale of Two Cities. The last panel of Sidney Carton climbing ...

By emily | Dec 22, 2011

Ah, winter...Christmas parties, New Years resolutions, dashing through the snow to Grandma's house with a minivan full of sugar-crazed kids. What better time for a ...

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 16, 2011

The December 21 opening of The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn, should focus attention not only on the boy from Belgium ...

By emily | Nov 14, 2011

Books To Consider Buying We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below earn us ...

By emily | Jun 27, 2011

Here it is: my 4th of July round-up! Books about the Revolutionary War era recommended for ages 4-12, arranged from youngest to oldest. Saving the ...