On My Bookshelf

As a mom, the kindergarten teacher in me is coming out full force and it is so much fun. During pregnancy, one of the very first "nesting" moments was pulling out all the children's books from the closet and getting this nicely arranged on their own bookshelf in our writing room. I was inspired by my favorite librarian who I had the pleasure of working with way back when to make the shelves come to life in a beautiful way. Past experience of decorating window displays for retail also came into handy, and the children's shelf in our home is one of my favorite spots.

Even more than what it looks like is what it holds.

It's that time again... time to share the stories we've read and wisdom we've gained in the last year. It's fun to share young readers with you this time, too! Be sure to check out my list for 12 Books of 2025 for adults as well!

12. Let's Go! Bible Adventures by Valerie Ellis

If a little one in your circle loves all things that go - firetrucks, submarines, tractors, mail trucks, ice cream trucks. If they love cars and trucks so much they don't want to read anything but these kinds of books, but you really want them to hear truth, then Let's Go! Bible Adventures is a great book to read with them. Valerie is so gifted, making truth so sticky for our young readers. ...and our full-grown men who love things that go, too (I'm married to one, and he gave this book his stamp of approval too for our library! A tractor on the cover is all it took, but the writing really impressed him too.)

11. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean

As Christian parents, we get “the Sunday stuff,” going to church and praying before meals. Then, before we know it, the week gets going and we’re focused on “the Monday stuff,” like school and playtimes and meals and errands and groceries and practice and living everyday life. How do we connect “the Sunday stuff” with “the Monday stuff”? This is a question ‘Dubs and I have been thinking and praying through for our family. We don’t always get it right, but for us, Pete the Cat is one of the things that would be categorized in “the Monday stuff.” Connecting this to a deeper truth is how we can teach our kids to practice the presence of God every day.

I'm sharing a few ideas of how to connect the stories our kids love to the deeper, spiritual truths they need to know. This time, it's Pete the Cat and he's stepping in a lot of messy piles! Read more here!

10. Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis

Since our daughter joined our family this Spring, we have spent many nights reading together on the front porch. Sometimes inside, but mostly on the porch. She loves looking at the trees and giggling with her Mommy to her Daddy's British accent as he reads Narnia.

I find myself like a child again, and with every word and scene with Aslan the lion, something inside says, "Read the lion part again! I want to hear the lion part again!"

C.S. Lewis does a brilliant job inviting us into the adventure of faith with Christ, and if we want our children to become good readers, they need to see us as adults reading. Even more, creating a family reading time - on the porch or before bed or after dinner, whatever works best for you - is a great way to establish a rhythm of reading and learning together. Intentionally choose stories which point to the truth of God's Word and these times together can also serve as a fun, interactive Bible lesson.

9. Winnie the Pooh

In the car, audio books have been great to keep the crying minimal. Spotify or music streaming and podcast platforms have a lot of audio books for children to enjoy. I've found the only tricky part is finding the engaging/animated ones. (Some are read fairly flat and don't retain my attention, let alone a little one's, very well.) One Will and I get a kick out of is Winnie the Pooh. First of all, the voices take me back to childhood, but the songs and dialogue are pretty funny. Will and I sing Pooh's song often around meal times or during our morning workout:

Gotta love the lovable Pooh bear and his love for honey!

8. The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer

Living on a farm, I've been intentional to teach our daughter from the start about bugs. Mainly because I can't have kids who are afraid of flies or bumblebees, grasshoppers or caterpillars. We have so many! So, when I saw this book at a public library, I snatched it, and it is such a fun book to read. There is an entire collection including: The Big Book of the Blue, The Big Book of Belonging, The Big Book of Nature Art, The Big Book of Beasts.

7. Baby Believer Series by Danielle Hitchen, Art by Jessica Blanchard

These books are beautiful but also such a great way to teach your child basic skills like alphabet or counting, opposites or movement, the anatomy, colors, shapes, emotions all through scripture. Because they are board books, they are great for little ones to hold with their clumsy, and often super-tight, grasps.

6. Wild Faith by Valerie Ellis

Valerie does it again, bringing spiritual truths to our children, meeting them right where they are - in their interests. This time with animals! Adults will enjoy reading this one too and learning fun facts about the animals while connecting a deeper truth to practice and live out together. For example, she shares about how the owl's eyes enlarge in the dark to take in more light and connects this to when we are in dark or confusing places how gratitude enlarges our vision and allows us to take in more of God's presence and peace. She then provides a fun activity like going into a closet or a dark room and practicing this together.

At our house, we're having a lot of fun learning about flamingos and red kangaroos and octopuses, lace coral, capybara, meerkats, glass frogs, sloths, crabs, and so many more! God's creation is astounding. The more I learn, the more I'm humbled to remember of all, we are His prized possession. These were "good" but we were created and deemed "very good." I want my kids to soak this truth in, and this book is one way to help them do it.

5. Bedtime Blessings for Little Ones by Emily Lex

This is such a sweet book, great to have next to the glider or rocking chair in the nursery or wherever you hold your little one. Emily Lex has written many great books and this time she brings her artwork and love for scripture to help us share a verse and a declaration of truth over our little one. It's so very important kids know their identity in Christ, and this book helps us return to this more regularly since each page takes only one minute or less to read!

If you have a little one or know someone who does, consider adding this one to your library.

4. Names of Jesus Ornament Book with Advent Devotionals

This is such a special book - beautiful, meaningful and practical. In this board book, there is a short devotional for each name of Jesus and an ornament to hang on the tree after reading it. This is a fun way to teach our kids and remind ourselves who we celebrate at Christmas, Jesus, and why He is the Messiah and called Immanuel, Light of the World, Prince of Peace, Good Shepherd, Savior.

There are seven ornaments/devotions. You can choose what works best for your family. Maybe read 2 a week for the first three weeks of Advent and the last one, being Savior, on the fourth week to really soak it in and review all of them together on Christmas Day. Or, do 1 each day in the week leading up to Christmas or over Christmas break. There's really no right or wrong way to do it, just have fun and celebrate the gift of Christmas, Jesus, together.

3, 2. A Goodnight for Mr. Coleman / Grace Heard a Whisper by Kathy Izard

It makes the top of the list because after reading The Hundred Story Home, I couldn't wait to tell Will about it. He stopped me mid-sentence, "Wait, you mean the book you started last night at bed? You already finished It?" Yeah... the last two sentences of the prologue gripped my heart. Kathy wrote,

Kathy's journey of learning to trust the words God was whispering to her heart led her to a greater purpose than she could ever have imagined, helping provide homes for homeless in Charlotte, NC. Through this seemingly impossible "build an ark" task, God revealed Himself to her in a powerful and personal way. Her faith became real.

She helps us see homelessness not just as an issue in our communities but with compassion as we see the people impacted - the families impacted. I've been so touched by her story, she's joining us in a few weeks on the podcast and I so hope you'll tune in and be encouraged to listen and trust the whispers God is stirring inside of you.

Additionally, she has written Trust the Whisper as well as two children's books to pair with these to help young hearts see how they can serve the homeless in their community and learn to hear God and trust the whispers He is telling them. You'll want to read A Goodnight for Mr. Coleman and Grace Heard a Whisper for yourself and with a child in your circle!

1. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

This has been our favorite children's Bible, and I would challenge adults to read it, too. Sally Lloyd-Jones does a beautiful job of not just telling Bible stories in isolation, but pointing out how "every story whispers [Christ's] name." In doing so, we can help ourselves and our children see more clearly how the Old Testament connects, and indeed points to, the New Testament. The stories are short and easy to read to littles who have short-attention spans.

Reading cultivates curiosity. Let's be curious and intentionally choose to learn from people who have fruit present in their lives. In doing this, our strength builds and our joy is renewed. Making time to read uplifting stories offers peace that God is moving all around us, and we are able to rest in His truth and connection with others.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.