Reflections

SRC, Week 5: Time Travel Devotional

By emily | Jul 15, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

SRC Week 4, Teen List: Out of the Silent Planet

By Hayley Morell | Jul 12, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

By emily | Jul 8, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

SRC, Week 4: The House of Arden

By Hayley Morell | Jul 7, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

By emily | Jun 28, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

By emily | Jun 26, 2014

Hey all! I'm working on a rather lengthy article for World Magazine right now about literature for teens. I will be talking with a family ...

By emily | Jun 24, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

SRC, Week 2: Rush Revere and the First Patriots

By emily | Jun 24, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

By Janie Cheaney | Jun 22, 2014

**Please note: We've added an alternate reading option for this week. Spy for the Night Riders: Martin Luther (Trailblazer Books #3)by Dave and Neta Jackson. ...

SRC, Week 1 (Teen list): The Dragon’s Tooth by N. D. Wilson

By emily | Jun 21, 2014

Welcome Teens! Who's finished the first book??! Not me!!! And that's totally OK, because we've got another week before we post our discussion on The ...

By emily | Jun 17, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

SRC, Week 1: Chitty Chitty And The Race Against Time

By Betsy Farquhar | Jun 16, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

The Fault in Our Stars: Coffee and Conversations

By emily | Jun 9, 2014

Introduction This Friday, The Fault in Our Stars hit movie screens across America. It was a big book (Time Magazine's #1 fiction book of 2012), ...

2014 Summer Reading Challenge…For the Whole Family

By emily | May 27, 2014

Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...

Raising “Wild” Readers

By Megan Saben | May 21, 2014

How do you teach the pleasure of reading to non-readers? Convinced by research studies and personal experience that worksheets and conventional methods of teaching literary ...

Thinking Christianly–about Everything

By Janie Cheaney | May 7, 2014

Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series, by various authors. Crossway, 2012-2016, 110-140 pages each. Age/interest level: 16-up. This fall, bright, committed Christian students will pack ...

Divergent: Coffee and Conversation

By emily | Apr 19, 2014

A few weeks ago, Veronica Roth's book Divergent hit the big screen. In God's providence, that morning I also happened to be in the same town ...

Introducing Shakespeare’s Plays to Children

By Megan Saben | Apr 2, 2014

Should you wait until your children are in high school before expecting them to tackle Shakespeare? Why not start them young, while they love learning ...

Ukraine: Lessons in Liberty and Compassion, Part 3

By Hayley Morell | Mar 27, 2014

In this third part of our series, Hayley shares a list of nonfiction titles that encompass both Ukraine and Russia. (Here are links to part ...

Easter devotional: Why Easter?

By Megan Saben | Mar 24, 2014

Compared to the proliferation of Christmas-themed titles, the availability of books about Easter is sparse. As we noted last year, many of them focus ...

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 ...

Portrait of the Fantacist as a Young Man: Carpet People

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 28, 2014

The Carpet People, written and illustrated by Terry Pratchett. Clarion, 2013, 261 pages. Age/interest level: 11-up Sir Terry Pratchett, grand old man of fantasy/science fiction, ...

ALA Midwinter Conference Reflections

By Betsy Farquhar | Jan 30, 2014

Among children's literature lovers like ourselves, very little else holds the mystique of the ALA Youth Media Awards. The ALA holds two major national events ...

Live From Philly! Betsy Tweets the ALA Youth Media Awards

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 27, 2014

Since Friday, unhealthy Betsy's been rubbing elbows at the American Library Association winter conference in Philadelphia. This morning she got up super early to snag ...

The Spiritual World of The Hobbit + Giveaway

By Hayley Morell | Jan 23, 2014

(Giveaway is now closed) The ever-increasing popularity of Middle Earth has brought a profusion of books written about both J. R.R. Tolkien and his created ...

Nurturing a young reader’s literary tastes

By Megan Saben | Jan 9, 2014

Parents with avid readers often find themselves with a dilemma: after my child has read all the age-appropriate books, where do we go from here? ...

C. S. Lewis at War: Radio Theatre for Teens and Adults

By emily | Dec 21, 2013

C. S. Lewis at War: The Dramatic Story Behind Mere Christianity (Radio Theatre) by C.S. Lewis and Paul McCusker. Tyndale Entertainment, 2013. Ages 12 and ...

The Narnia Dilemma

By Megan Saben | Dec 19, 2013

As we celebrate my firstborn’s seventh birthday soon, my husband and I are looking forward to introducing our children to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. ...

Reading Rapunzel

By Megan Saben | Nov 21, 2013

Today I'm going to demonstrate a close reading of one version of a classic fairy tale. My favorite book to use in demonstrating the illustrative ...

By Betsy Farquhar | Nov 15, 2013

For our purposes, wordless books are either entirely wordless or have very little text. A classic example is Peter Spier's Noah's Ark which begins with ...

How NOT to Read a Picture Book

By Megan Saben | Nov 7, 2013

Ten guaranteed ways to destroy a good picture book (without a Sharpie or a bonfire) Always read in the same tone of voice, without expression or ...

The Power of a Picture

By Janie Cheaney | Nov 5, 2013

It’s picture book month! And boy, do we have a lot of picture books to talk about. I keep hearing that the pb market is ...

Taking a Look at “Blink”–with Our Own YA Readers

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 13, 2013

This fall, Zondervan Publishers is introducing a new imprint called “Blink.” According to Zondervan marketing v-p Chrisynethia Floyd, “They are for anyone, regardless of faith ...

City of Bones: Movie Review

By Hayley Morell | Aug 24, 2013

As the cinematic version of City of Bones hits theaters this week,

Beowulf: Legend, Worldview, and Contemporary Narratives

By Betsy Farquhar | Aug 19, 2013

When I used to teach high school British Literature back in the day, Beowulf was always our first big study. It's first chronologically, and it's ...

By Megan Saben | Aug 5, 2013

Help, I have too many books! Even for a bibliophile, this is not only possible, it has been reality at our house. Lately the Lord ...

Lemonade and Lit, Week 7: Klavan Discussion

By emily | Jul 27, 2013

Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...

By emily | Jul 26, 2013

THANK YOU It's been a fun couple of months during our Summer Reading Challenge, and my family has enjoyed reading along with you all. We're ...

Summer Reading Challenge: One Family’s Experience

By Betsy Farquhar | Jul 25, 2013

As we end our Summer Reading Challenge, I thought it would be fun for you--our readers--to hear a personal reflection from me on how our ...

Lemonade and Lit, Week 6: The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan

By emily | Jul 20, 2013

Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...

Lemonade and Lit, Week 5: Beauty Discussion

By emily | Jul 13, 2013

Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...

Lemonade and Lit, Week 4: Debate on Sexuality in Booked

By emily | Jul 6, 2013

Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...

Lemonade and Lit Read Along, Week 1: Booked by Karen Swallow Prior

By emily | Jun 15, 2013

Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...

Adult-Teen Summer Reading, Introduction: Conversation and a Contest!

By emily | Jun 8, 2013

Other Lemonade and Lit posts: Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, ...

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 ...

Around the World in 60 Days: Summer Reading Challenge for Kids

By emily | May 23, 2013

***The Book Giveaway below is over (click here to see who won), but the reading adventure is just beginning! Feel free to enter your name ...

Christian Romance: part of a well-balanced “book diet”?

By Betsy Farquhar | May 20, 2013

A Balanced "Book Diet" Reading is like eating: you need a variety of wholesome ingredients, a little sugar, and a little moderation across the board. ...

By Janie Cheaney | May 17, 2013

In 1868, after a grueling Civil War that defined America (by almost destroying it), novelist and critic John DeForest wrote a piece for The Nation ...

Hail and Farewell, Part 2: Russell Hoban

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 30, 2013

As noted in last Tuesday’s post,I encountered Maurice Sendak when I was myself a child. My acquaintance with Russell Hoban had to wait until I ...

Hail and Farewell: Maurice Sendak

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 23, 2013

I first encountered the Latin phrase Ave Atque Vale in a historical novel whose appeal (the novel’s, that is) was almost entirely nostalgic. It means ...

Loving Your Library

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 16, 2013

I’ll bet most of us have warm memories of the local library. I grew up in Dallas, where one of the many benefits of the ...

Church Literacy, Part Two: Welcoming Kids and Adults with Reading Difficulties

By emily | Apr 11, 2013

Last week in Church Literacy, Part One, we heard from a Christian mom who dealt with dyslexia in her son. I hope that gave you ...

Church Literacy, Part One: Interview with Mom of a Dyslexic Child

By emily | Apr 4, 2013

How Is Your Church Affected by Literacy Challenges? How many words do you read in your church worship service? 500 or more? Don't forget to ...

Choosing Your Child’s First REAL Bible: Some Considerations

By Janie Cheaney | Apr 2, 2013

Last Tuesday we looked at a range of new Bible storybooks and early reader “Bibles.” On Friday, we picked our way through the field of ...

Proverbs, Tricksters and Fools

By Megan Saben | Apr 1, 2013

The book of Proverbs is full of instructions for the simple to obtain wisdom and avoid disaster. Stories about tricksters demonstrate common-grace examples of using ...

Oz the Great and Powerful: Discussion Questions

By emily | Mar 14, 2013

Introduction Last week I had the happy opportunity of watching Disney's new Oz the Great and Powerful. I had to turn around a review that ...

Coffee and Controversy (with a cup of kindness!): Should Christians Read/Watch Stories Involving Witches and Wizards?

By emily | Feb 28, 2013

Next week, Lord willing, I'm headed to a screening of OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, a new Disney movie set to hit theaters March 8. ...

ALA Awards: Newberys and Caldecotts, Splendors and Glooms

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 26, 2013

One month ago was “Oscar night for Librarians,” when the American Library Association announced their “best of” picks for children’s literature. We’ve given some space ...

Home Mission: Letter to the Helpless Mom

By emily | Feb 22, 2013

Today some of my dear friends in the blogging world stop to honor and encourage a beautiful and brave woman of God. Our sweet sister-in-Christ, ...

Words and Pictures: a Talk with Doug TenNapel

By Janie Cheaney | Feb 20, 2013

Yesterday we reviewed two graphic novels by a rising star in the world of "comics" who also happens to be a Christian and a homeschooling ...

What is Virtuous Romance? A Discussion with Gina Dalfonzo and Rea Berg

By emily | Feb 13, 2013

What is Virtuous Romance? Tonight at dinner, my husband, two daughters and I had our first conversation about...boys. They had curled up with daddy on ...

The 2013 ALA Youth Media Awards: It’s the Bomb!

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 29, 2013

Only total kidlit geeks would do this: click the live webcast link on the American Library Association website and watch an hour of book geeks ...

Identity and Revolution, part 2

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 25, 2013

Last week we looked at some YA titles that celebrated the “coming out” of gay and lesbian characters. “Young Adult” has traditionally been the accepted ...

Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

By emily | Jan 24, 2013

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. Crown and Covenant, 2012. 154 pgs. An Anomaly In the 1990's, Rosaria Butterfield was ...

The Roe Effect

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 22, 2013

On Friday I wrote about the treatment of homosexuality in youth literature, a topic I’m not quite done with. We notice more novels that normalize ...

Identity and Revolution, part 1

By Janie Cheaney | Jan 18, 2013

“We will triumph with our tongues. We own our lips—who is our master?” Psalm 12:4 We live in an age where reality can be easily ...

Grace and Law and Two Silver Candlesticks

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 21, 2012

I love musicals—always have, ever since my sister and I sang along to original cast recordings and movie soundtracks for Rogers & Hammerstein and Lerner ...

Audiobooks and Caricatures (Hobbit Read Along Finale, pt. 2)

By emily | Dec 13, 2012

Today is the release date of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit! But you probably already know that if you've been on our Hobbit journey. It's been ...

Other Lives: Reading and Watching Anna Karenina

By Janie Cheaney | Dec 7, 2012

The latest movie version of Anna Karenina is not for family viewing, because it deals with "adult" themes more graphically than it needs to. The ...

Hobbit Radio Theater Finalists

By emily | Nov 29, 2012

The entries are in! As you probably know, we're running a contest in which kids were invited to record themselves reading a few pages of ...

Hobbit Read Along, Week 4: How to Make Hobbit Feet and More!

By emily | Nov 26, 2012

Now that the turkey feathers have settled, it's time to get back to The Hobbit! In case you're running behind, here's a recap: 1) Introduction, ...

Hobbit Read Along, Week 2: Finding God in Tolkien’s Villains

By emily | Nov 12, 2012

Welcome to Week 2 of our Hobbit Read Along! (If you missed it, here's Week One.) How's the reading going at your house (or school ...

Hobbit Read Along, Week 1: How to Read For an Audience

By emily | Nov 5, 2012

Are you interested in joining our Hobbit Read Along? Sign up to receive weekly emails during the event either below or in the comments of ...

Hobbits, Hot Chocolate, & The Bookshelf Giveaway

By emily | Oct 22, 2012

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 ...

Charlotte Mason and Living Libraries: An Invitation

By emily | Oct 11, 2012

On Monday, we posted a list of book and library resources from Christian librarians Betsy and Megan at . Today, however, I'd like you to ...

God’s Time to Make a Change

By Janie Cheaney | Oct 2, 2012

I was alive during the Civil Rights struggles of the mid-50s and 60s, but wasn't personally affected by them. So the history of those years ...

The Long Truth of Short Stories

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 29, 2012

Non-writers, or writers who don’t do fiction, often have a misconception about fictional forms. Short stories are seen as an apprenticeship of sorts—you start out ...

Flannery O’Connor & The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Book Review

By emily | Sep 28, 2012

Our book reviewer today is Autumn, one of our current interns here at Redeemedreader.com. She is a sophomore at a small liberal arts college here ...

What Flannery O’Connor Can Tell Us About Teaching Literature

By Janie Cheaney | Sep 26, 2012

Near the beginning of her essay, “The Teaching of Literature” (in Mystery and Manners), Flannery O’Connor writes that fiction has no dearth of critics, because ...

By emily | Sep 22, 2012

Sign up and find out more HERE. This is just a quick note to say, we're doing lots of behind the scenes work these days ...

Pilgrim’s Progress: Shepherding a Child’s Imagination, pt. 3

By emily | Sep 19, 2012

Today's post is the third part in a series based on my recent talk on shepherding children through their life-long literary journey. You can read ...

Pilgrim’s Progress: Shepherding a Child’s Imagination, pt.2

By emily | Sep 12, 2012

Last week, I introduced our new series based on Pilgrim's Progress. (Here's the original post.) In it, I mentioned our free family devotional guide to ...

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 ...

Dangerous Journey: Shepherding A Child’s Imagination

By emily | Sep 6, 2012

Pilgrim's Progress Party? Next week, I've been asked to lead a Pilgrim's Progress event at a church in South Carolina. One of our devoted readers ...

The Invasion of Fairyland

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 31, 2012

Tuesday’s post about “Twisting Mother Goose” was headed down an alley I didn’t have room to address. So today’s post springs off YA lit-blogger Georgia ...

By emily | Aug 16, 2012

We've already covered a lot of ground on the Fifty Shades trilogy by E. L. James. We interviewed Tim Challies on the theology of pornography, ...

By Janie Cheaney | Aug 14, 2012

In case you haven't noticed, it's back-to-school time. We will observe the season with curriculum-related posts this week and next. First, a look at the ...

By emily | Aug 13, 2012

Janie and I have spent a lot of time preparing for our Fifty Shades trilogy coverage here on the site. In case you missed it, ...

A Death Observed, Part Four

By emily | Aug 2, 2012

This is a short series on my mother's death. It's meant for folks who may be facing the death of their own loved one, with ...

A Death Observed, Part Three

By emily | Jun 21, 2012

In case you missed them, here are Part One and Part Two of this series on my mother's death. One to Two Days Prior to ...

“Do you believe in fairies?”

By Janie Cheaney | May 18, 2012

The Fairy Ring, or Elsie and Frances Fool the World, by Mary Losure. Candlewick, 2012, 168 pages. Age/interest level: 10-14 When Frances Griffith arrived in ...

American Girls: Meet Rebecca

By emily | May 17, 2012

Meet Rebecca (American Girls Collection: Rebecca 1914). by Jacqueline Green. American Girl, 2009. 96 pgs. Ages 8-up. Candlelight for Rebecca (American Girl) by Jacqueline Green. ...

A Death Observed, Part Two

By emily | May 10, 2012

In April, I began this series of reflections on my mother's death. A few weeks before she went to be with the Lord, I received ...

To The Avengers…and Beyond!

By emily | Apr 30, 2012

COMICS: Guy Kryptonite? Why do guys like comics so much? Especially the super-hero variety? It's an enigma I spent quite a lot of energy trying ...

Not-So-Secret Gardens for Kids

By emily | Apr 23, 2012

This week kicks off a fun week here at Redeemedreader: Poetry Week. April is National Poetry Month, after all, and there are some great poetry ...

American Girls

By emily | Apr 12, 2012

The American Girls books are in some ways the premier girls' reading series for girls who are emerging readers. Among conservative families, at least, they ...

A Death Observed, Part One

By emily | Apr 6, 2012

Today is Good Friday, so in meditating on the passion and redemption of Christ, I thought it a suitable time to begin a series on ...

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 27, 2012

We’re wrapping up our conversation (begun here) with Morgan Lee and Caity Kullen on the effect of The Hunger Games on the audience it was ...

Real or Not Real? The Hunger Games Movie is Good For Teens….

By emily | Mar 23, 2012

***SPOILER ALERT: SOME PARTS OF THE END OF THE STORY REVEALED BELOW To read Janie's review of the book, see Hungry. Today, the much anticipated ...

Talking Over the Hunger Games, Part One

By Janie Cheaney | Mar 16, 2012

Since Susanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy (reviewed here) has sparked so much discussion in school cafeterias and dorm rooms (not to mention break rooms and ...