In my last article (Click here for Part 1) I addressed some of the issues that surround so many of the popular fictions books.
So, what about good books? What are some books that cause us to focus on “pure, right and noble” thoughts?
In this post I hope to offer some good fiction books that help you exercise your imagination and “provoke [you] to good works”.
I’ve read all these books (or had them read to me!) at some point or another and I’m pretty sure I still agree with them, however,
don’t take my word for it! Perhaps my beliefs have changed or maybe we believe differently.
So let's start...
“The Miller Family Series” by Mildred A. Martin
Most of the books in this series are geared toward children ages 6-13. I can still remember my mom reading these stories aloud to us kids. We were able to relate with them and learn from their mistakes (sometimes we laughed because we had already made the same mistake). Even though most of the stories are fiction they are very similar to real life events that do happen.
(Click here to read more about the Millers series)
“Crown and Covenant Series” by Douglas Bond
These are some other books that my mom has read aloud to us kids. We were older for these books and they are recommended for 10-14 year olds but I think they would be suitable for 12- up (they are great if you are looking for a fast read!). They can be a bit intense for some children but it depends on their personality (Lydia and I tend to get scared easier then Naomi or Emily).
“The Crown & Covenant Series follows the lives of the M’kethe family as they endure persecution in 17th-century Scotland and later flee to colonial America. Doulas Bond weaves together fictional characters with historical from Scottish Covenanting history” (Description on back cover of the first book)
Something I liked about these books was how Mr. M’kethe teaches Duncan (his son) about the difference between war and defending yourself.
We only have the first three books but there are more. I would recommend these to boys and girls.
“The Peleg Chronicles” by Matthew Christian Harding
Unlike C&C Series (the first 3 books cover the span of a few years) the Peleg Chronicles only covers 3 days or so. I am looking at both stacks of books right now and they are nearly the same size!
We read these aloud as a family just recently (if you haven’t guessed by now- we read books as a family sometimes, haha). My mom, dad, Naomi and I all took turns reading them aloud but everyone prefers my mom’s voice.
These books were recommended to us by some friends and we all enjoyed the books (that’s ages 11-40ish). Another plus is that these books are interesting to boys as well as girls.
The characters in this book offer a variety of beliefs, personality, age and “type” (some are giants, others are dwarfs and some are average people).
Staged in the time of Peleg (Genesis 10:15) The main Character is Mcdoogle, a very kind, very tall man (not a giant- he's only 7') who believes in “The God of Noah”.
The books do have “witch” in them but the whole idea is presented in a biblical way (God is still all powerful, no “good” magic, no details etc…). Yes the drawings on the covers are creepy but they aren’t bad.
We all liked how the characters would quote scripture in their regular speech (even things that weren’t written at the time! But the principles were there and He IS the same yesterday, today and forever!)
Overall, these books are enjoyable, thought provoking and great read alouds. But they are so hard to put down! You may be stuck reading for hours!
(Click to read more!)
Keepers of the Faith offers some good books (I’ve only read a few but Naomi has read more). They sell books that have been out of print for a while. The characters are Godly and strive to love God with all their hearts but they still make mistakes- they are still human.
I have read:
Ester Ried- “Ester Ried was originally published in 1870. It was one of Mrs. Alden's earliest books and became her most popular work. It is the story of a young woman (18) who claims to be a Christian, but shows a lack of love, patience, and concern for her younger siblings. The workload at home is heavy. She often complains, and is irritable most of the time.
The story is about her spiritual awakening to the Lord, and what it means to be a servant with a sweet and willing spirit.
After "awakening" she realizes what a different effect she might have had on her younger brothers and sisters had she acted
like a real Christian. God expects certain behavior from those who claim His name. This is an excellent story and would be a great book for older sisters to read!”
Jessie Wells- “[Jessie Wells] was Mrs. Alden's second book and was written in 1867. We think it is one of her best. It is the story of a teenage girl who has made a profession in Christ, but there seems to be no evidence of it in her life. She decides to get serious about her walk with Christ.
Another thread woven into the story is Jessie's unbelieving brother. She turns her prayers and toward home and winning those closest to her. It makes a difference. This is an excellent story for everyone, but especially for young ladies.”
“Least said, soonest mended”- “What a title! What a story! Some of the advice given by the wise mother to her daughter who loved to talk is:
". . . the main part of the good and evil that we do in our lives is done with the tongue."
Mind you, it's 'least said, soonest mended,' in the long run."
"What's said can never be unsaid."
The dangers of too much talk are clearly pointed out, and the dire consequences which follow such talk are clearly shown
in the lives of the characters, in particular, the main character, a sweet girl named Kitty. Idle words, passing compliments, and sometimes too much admiration and praise spoken by others may also be a source of trouble in a young person's life as it was in this story. "Least said, soonest mended" is a profound phrase you will not want to forget! We made a plaque to hang
up as a constant reminder to say less rather than more. Great story”
I’ve read a few of their other books but I cannot remember their titles! Sorry! I do remember the stories though…
I noticed that a few of the books have dispensationalism type doctrine that is really weird…Example; one of the books uses the verse “May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if you, O Jerusalem, are not my highest joy” (from Psalm 137) was used to mean ‘if our church building does not bring us greater joy than any other place then we are doing something wrong’- this was
from one of the books that I do not remember the name of. Thought it was strange.
(If you want to browse the books they offer- click here)
These are just a few suggestions- I would’ve liked to offer more but seeing as how I am already behind by 5 days in writing this post… this is as good as it gets!
Maybe I’ll have time for more later.
Happy Reading,
Bethany
(p.s. Part 3 will be suggestions for good non-fiction reading!)
So, what about good books? What are some books that cause us to focus on “pure, right and noble” thoughts?
In this post I hope to offer some good fiction books that help you exercise your imagination and “provoke [you] to good works”.
I’ve read all these books (or had them read to me!) at some point or another and I’m pretty sure I still agree with them, however,
don’t take my word for it! Perhaps my beliefs have changed or maybe we believe differently.
So let's start...
“The Miller Family Series” by Mildred A. Martin
Most of the books in this series are geared toward children ages 6-13. I can still remember my mom reading these stories aloud to us kids. We were able to relate with them and learn from their mistakes (sometimes we laughed because we had already made the same mistake). Even though most of the stories are fiction they are very similar to real life events that do happen.
(Click here to read more about the Millers series)
“Crown and Covenant Series” by Douglas Bond
These are some other books that my mom has read aloud to us kids. We were older for these books and they are recommended for 10-14 year olds but I think they would be suitable for 12- up (they are great if you are looking for a fast read!). They can be a bit intense for some children but it depends on their personality (Lydia and I tend to get scared easier then Naomi or Emily).
“The Crown & Covenant Series follows the lives of the M’kethe family as they endure persecution in 17th-century Scotland and later flee to colonial America. Doulas Bond weaves together fictional characters with historical from Scottish Covenanting history” (Description on back cover of the first book)
Something I liked about these books was how Mr. M’kethe teaches Duncan (his son) about the difference between war and defending yourself.
We only have the first three books but there are more. I would recommend these to boys and girls.
“The Peleg Chronicles” by Matthew Christian Harding
Unlike C&C Series (the first 3 books cover the span of a few years) the Peleg Chronicles only covers 3 days or so. I am looking at both stacks of books right now and they are nearly the same size!
We read these aloud as a family just recently (if you haven’t guessed by now- we read books as a family sometimes, haha). My mom, dad, Naomi and I all took turns reading them aloud but everyone prefers my mom’s voice.
These books were recommended to us by some friends and we all enjoyed the books (that’s ages 11-40ish). Another plus is that these books are interesting to boys as well as girls.
The characters in this book offer a variety of beliefs, personality, age and “type” (some are giants, others are dwarfs and some are average people).
Staged in the time of Peleg (Genesis 10:15) The main Character is Mcdoogle, a very kind, very tall man (not a giant- he's only 7') who believes in “The God of Noah”.
The books do have “witch” in them but the whole idea is presented in a biblical way (God is still all powerful, no “good” magic, no details etc…). Yes the drawings on the covers are creepy but they aren’t bad.
We all liked how the characters would quote scripture in their regular speech (even things that weren’t written at the time! But the principles were there and He IS the same yesterday, today and forever!)
Overall, these books are enjoyable, thought provoking and great read alouds. But they are so hard to put down! You may be stuck reading for hours!
(Click to read more!)
Keepers of the Faith offers some good books (I’ve only read a few but Naomi has read more). They sell books that have been out of print for a while. The characters are Godly and strive to love God with all their hearts but they still make mistakes- they are still human.
I have read:
Ester Ried- “Ester Ried was originally published in 1870. It was one of Mrs. Alden's earliest books and became her most popular work. It is the story of a young woman (18) who claims to be a Christian, but shows a lack of love, patience, and concern for her younger siblings. The workload at home is heavy. She often complains, and is irritable most of the time.
The story is about her spiritual awakening to the Lord, and what it means to be a servant with a sweet and willing spirit.
After "awakening" she realizes what a different effect she might have had on her younger brothers and sisters had she acted
like a real Christian. God expects certain behavior from those who claim His name. This is an excellent story and would be a great book for older sisters to read!”
Jessie Wells- “[Jessie Wells] was Mrs. Alden's second book and was written in 1867. We think it is one of her best. It is the story of a teenage girl who has made a profession in Christ, but there seems to be no evidence of it in her life. She decides to get serious about her walk with Christ.
Another thread woven into the story is Jessie's unbelieving brother. She turns her prayers and toward home and winning those closest to her. It makes a difference. This is an excellent story for everyone, but especially for young ladies.”
“Least said, soonest mended”- “What a title! What a story! Some of the advice given by the wise mother to her daughter who loved to talk is:
". . . the main part of the good and evil that we do in our lives is done with the tongue."
Mind you, it's 'least said, soonest mended,' in the long run."
"What's said can never be unsaid."
The dangers of too much talk are clearly pointed out, and the dire consequences which follow such talk are clearly shown
in the lives of the characters, in particular, the main character, a sweet girl named Kitty. Idle words, passing compliments, and sometimes too much admiration and praise spoken by others may also be a source of trouble in a young person's life as it was in this story. "Least said, soonest mended" is a profound phrase you will not want to forget! We made a plaque to hang
up as a constant reminder to say less rather than more. Great story”
I’ve read a few of their other books but I cannot remember their titles! Sorry! I do remember the stories though…
I noticed that a few of the books have dispensationalism type doctrine that is really weird…Example; one of the books uses the verse “May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if you, O Jerusalem, are not my highest joy” (from Psalm 137) was used to mean ‘if our church building does not bring us greater joy than any other place then we are doing something wrong’- this was
from one of the books that I do not remember the name of. Thought it was strange.
(If you want to browse the books they offer- click here)
These are just a few suggestions- I would’ve liked to offer more but seeing as how I am already behind by 5 days in writing this post… this is as good as it gets!
Maybe I’ll have time for more later.
Happy Reading,
Bethany
(p.s. Part 3 will be suggestions for good non-fiction reading!)
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