Make This a Summer to . . . Read

 

As you think about  making this a Summer to read with your grandchildren , you may wonder what books are out there and make great titles to include in your Summer Reading List. Well, there are many, many wonderful books, but the following are a few of my favorites. Let's start with books for preschool and early elementary age children.

• Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children If we want the children we love to learn to walk closely with God, they need to learn to talk with Him. Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children is designed to help children - preschool through Middle School age - learn to do exactly this by praying the Psalms back to God. In this book you will find 52 weeks of Scripture prayers from the Book of Psalms and space for children to record their own prayer requests and how God answers. With Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children the children you love will learn how to talk with God - and will make their way through the Book of Psalms in a thoughtful way as well. Just imagine what it would be like to do this with the children you love - especially now, during the stay-at-home orders and changes to life our grandchildren/children are experiencing.

• Friends With God Story Bible: Why God Loves People Like Me - I reviewed this wonderful children's Bible (you will find my review at this link), but want to add, this is a story Bible my grandsons love (even the ten-year old). I tend to read one account each sleep-over night (once a week) and the boys always ask for another! The art is amazing - full of color and engaging - and I LOVE how this book tells the true accounts of real people in the Bible through first-person perspective. Unique and wonderful!
• From Group Publishing we find a wonderful set of five board books - Best of Li'l Buddies Board Book Set. Group describes them in this way; "Little ones will be delighted to meet these five Li'l Buddies - Decker, Skyler, Bubba, Abbee and Tina. They'll love these winsome characters, each of whom reinforces a key Bible truth in age-appropriate ways . . .
  
   God made them (From Head to Toe, God Made Me) God is always for them (Mad, Glad, or Sad, God Is for Me) God is always with them (Everywhere I Go, God Is With Me) God will always love them (All Day Long, God Loves Me) God made them for a reason (Here’s the Reason God Made Me). Packed with vibrant full-color illustrations and relationship-reinforcing Bible truths, little ones will delight in these engaging stories as they discover how special they are to God and parents/grandparents will love watching these lessons sink deep into the hearts and minds of the children they love." I agree! These board books are fun and a great way to start important conversations with the little ones in particular.
• Another series from Group - this time for early elementary
  
  age children - is their Best of Buddies Storybook Set. Group says; "Children will discover they are unique creations of God. And they'll love joining Decker, Skyler, Bubba, Abbee and Tina as these buddies celebrate their God-given talents and discover five important life-changing lessons - God made them for a reason (I’ve Got This!) God is always with them (Is Anyone Out There?) God made them (I Was Born for This!) God will always love them (Uh-Oh! I Did It Again!) God is always for them (I Can Do Anything!) Packed with vibrant full-color illustrations and relationship reinforcing Bible truths, children will delight in these engaging stories as they draw closer to Jesus." 
• A favorite book of mine to read to my grandchildren when they were young has to be - I'm Going to Give You a Bear Hug! . . . and the title makes it
  
  clear why! This book you read - and hug your way through as you read - and your grandchildren will be laughing by the end! You'll find my review of this book at the following link.
• This is another book I LOVE - The Lord's Prayer: Words of Hope and Happiness. The illustrations are beautiful and it is such a lovely way to introduce grandchildren to the beauty of the Lord's Prayer. You'll find my full review of this book at the following link.
  
• God's Great Love for You is another book I LOVE from Zonderkidz! You will find my full review at this link - it is a wonderful book to give to your grandchildren - of any age. Yes, it is primarily written for little ones, but the truth of this book is one even your older grandchildren need to be reminded is true for them as well.
  

I could go on and on recommending books for little ones from Zonderkidz, but another publisher also has some of my favorite titles, so the next few will be from Sterling Children's Books - not a "Christian" publisher, but the stories are fun and have so many wonderful lessons which we are able to talk about with our grandchildren. The first is just fun - and funny. The publisher even had to go to a second printing, because this book is so excellent.

• A Couch for Llama is a story which will make you laugh and has illustrations full of detail and sure to delight! You will find my full review at this link - it will give you an opportunity to talk about helping others, sharing and giving to others rather than throwing things away.
• Again, I could go on and on recommending books I love, but will put just one more for this age - it is simply for fun. Yes, it is not only okay, but encouraged to read (or in this case sing) books just for the fun of it. Do Your Ears Hang Low? has a basset hound in it and we love bassets at my house; plus the song is just fun! (If you do not know it, check it out online, so you will be able to sing this story to your grandchildren!) You will find my full review at this link.
• I do have a couple books I wrote for children to enjoy - the
  
  first is based on bedtime stories I told to my grandsons when they were younger and the second is about our cat. I am certain the children you love will enjoy both books! The Little Ginormous, Humongous, Hairy, One-Eyed Monsters' Adventures and A Family of
  
  Her Own for Candy

This series is for all ages - preschool through elementary - and even teens and adults will enjoy them - the Life on the Goldilocks Planet series. This series will introduce the ones you love to animals - some you've never heard of before with full color photos, fun facts, plus quotes from scientists and activities to engage all of you as you learn how God is real and God and science do go together! You will find them in our bookstore.

Okay, now a few books for upper elementary and teen grandchildren. My grandson who is ten loves to code, which means any book on coding is a great book for him. Now days so many of our older grandchildren are learning to code, so giving them a book and then talking with them about what they would use coding for and how they might use it to let others know about Jesus is just one way to have a great conversation with them. 

• Check out this book from Sterling Children's Books -  How to Code: A Step-By-Step Guide to Computer Coding and you will find my full review at this link. 
• There is a wonderful series of chapter books about a boy named Bash. These books are from Lifeway and are clearly written to challenge and help children grow in their walk with God - and very well written to do this. You will find my review for Bash and the Chocolate Milk Cows at this link.
• A sweet friend wrote a wonderful series about angels which your older grandchildren will enjoy - The Threshold Series . . . The Blue Door, The Hidden Deep and The Broken Window. You will find  my reviews at the following link as well as links for additional titles she wrote and you are able to download for free.
• One last title for older grandchildren is actually several titles - anything in the "Case for" series. We want our grandchildren to be able to confidently believe Jesus is real and the Bible is true. These books cover Case for Grace for Kids which you will find my full review at this link, and The Case for Grace Student Edition

Well, these are some of my favorites - but I have LOTS of favorite books for sure! What are some of the books you would recommend for grandparents to include on their Summer Book Reading List?

 #grandmas #handingdowntheconfidentfaith #itmatterswhatwedo #grandparentingonpurpose