Finding Good Books for You and Your Kids: Sources and Lists

By Anna Mussmann

Regular readers of this blog have no doubt noticed that it’s been slow lately. As in, for the last five months. I am still finding it difficult to juggle three kids and my writing time. However, the baby has recently started napping at the same time as the big kids’ quiet hour, which is amazing. And promising!

Meanwhile, I’ve been reading more than usual. The children and I have also been getting to the library fairly regularly. I have fond memories of browsing the local library shelves when I was a kid. Usually I gravitated to my favorite authors--Bill Peet and Beatrix Potter in the early days, then Louisa May Alcott or Eloise Jarvis McGraw, among others. Now that I’m a parent, I’m a bit more leery of browsing.

So many of the picture books are just. . . meh. Many are filled with badly-behaved children trying to figure out how to get their way. There’s a lot of B-level writing and mediocre illustrations. There are weird, well-intentioned allegories obviously intended to help kids process various tragedies.

For us, it works best to find most of our new reads by consulting book lists and then putting those titles on holds. We have been able to enjoy a wealth of wonderful stories this way.

Here is a compendium of sources I find helpful as I select books for my children (and, later in the post, you'll find sources I use for my own reading life too). I thought it might be useful to you as well.

A Lutheran Ladies' Summer Reading Challenge

By Deac. Mary J. Moerbe

Summer reading challenges first caught my eye once my children started to read. Suddenly a challenge for them could mean an easier time for me. But now I’ve grown very fond of the summer reading challenge precisely because it is something I can do for myself.

As a young mother, I hear the phrase “take care of yourself” frequently. Frankly, it reminds me of a joke: “Out of all my body parts I feel like my eyes are in the best shape. I do at least a thousand eye-rolls a day.” If I always knew how to take care of myself, I wouldn’t be in such need for self-care. And if I had time to pursue what I wanted to, I wouldn’t need to be reminded to do so.

Reading, however, is both outlet and inlet. Out flow the noise and frustrations of the moment. Out flow the multitasking, decision-making, and multi-relational aspects of the day. In flows a renewed awareness of detail, relationship, character development, and the passage of time.

A reading challenge need not hinge on the prescription of others that one ought to read such-and-so-many books. It can be both extremely personal and entirely open, tailorable to one’s own needs and situations.

Here’s a set of summer reading challenges that I made up for you to consider this year. There are neither prizes nor pressure, just the promise that the house will be ok if you read a while today. The people in your house may seem a little less demanding if you can find a little space in a book and a little time for yourself. And you may really benefit from just having your feet up and your eyes off a screen.

Ultimately, the challenge in a summer reading challenge isn’t finding and reading books. The challenge is choosing to seek personal time, personal  development, and emotional catharsis. It’s a reason to get out of the house to go to the library or to pursue a little literary retail therapy.

Reading friends, I can’t raise a glass to you all. That would have disastrous consequences! I can, however, raise a page, a paragraph, and the footrest of our recliner, wishing you all the very best this summer and always. May all the blessings of Christ be yours, as well as a girls’ summer reading challenge, if you are up for it.

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Mary J. Moerbe is an LCMS deaconess and writer. She blogs to encourage Lutherans to write at “Meet, Write, and Salutary,” and her books can be found on the website of Concordia Publishing House.

What We're Reading (November)

Every now and then, we share what some of the SDMW writers have been reading lately. What about you? Do you have any titles to recommend? 

(NOTE: speaking of books, there is still time to sign up for the SDMW Advent book exchange!).

Join Us for another Advent Book Exchange

Hi Everyone!

We all need the humanizing influence of good stories, and once again, SDMW will be hosting an Advent book exchange. Join us if you would like to share a favorite book with a fellow Lutheran lady (and receive a book in return!).

Like last year, the rules are simple; but we’ve tweaked them a bit. Here is how to participate:

1. Fill out the participation form at the end of this post no later than November 23rd. 

2. I will email you with your recipient’s mailing address and her comments about her favorite types of stories. Choose a story-driven book (i.e., novel, memoir, or nonfiction narrative) that is in good reading condition and reasonably cheerful (avoid anything excessively disturbing. The overall message should be hopeful even if the characters experience suffering). Feel free to include a note explaining why you love this book. 

3. Send a book to your lovely recipient no later than December 9th (you will have two weeks in which to do this). You should include your email address with the book so that the recipient can let you know she got your gift. 

Are you in? It will be fun!

Here is the form:

What We're Reading (July Issue)

I have two really, really good books to recommend (and other SDMW writers have titles to share as well). What about you? Anything we should add to our book lists?

What We're Reading (May 2017)

Need ideas for your summer reading list? Here's the May edition of "What We're Reading." What about you? We'd love to see your recommendations in the comments.