This fictional children’s picture book is based on the true story of creative and courageous boys in the village of Koh Panyee in southern Thailand. Author Darshana Khiani relates how the boys are passionate about football (called soccer in Canada and the United States) and long to compete with thei
In this devotional, mother and daughter Linda Green and Sarah Walton invite Christian mothers at any stage on their parenting journey to discover that God’s grace is sufficient in all circumstances. Each woman shares personal anecdotes from her years as a mother. For example, Linda relates the excru
We Are Messengers have blazed an impressive musical journey. The natives of Ireland released their first studio album in 2016, and their latest work, “Where the Joy Is,” marked studio album number four. We Are Messengers is a band for the people. “The goal has always been to engage culture in conver
When someone escapes from Hawaii to Grand Rapids, Mich., you know they had compelling reasons.Such was the experience of Cait West, who details her confusing, oppressive upbringing as a daughter of a heavily patriarchal father and compliant mother in her searing and ultimately soaring debut.From the
Peter Gabriel has been a recording artist for over 50 years, starting as the lead singer of the British band Genesis before going solo in 1977. It has been over 21 years since he released Up, his previous album of new material. Gabriel likes to jump-start his creativity by setting restrictions for h
The verse “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8) connects our spiritual experience to that of food-tasting or feasting. As our basic subsistence, food runs through the Bible, from fruit trees in Eden, manna in the wilderness, bread and fish by the sea of Galilee, to the final feast with Go
Twelve-year-old Hercules Beal hates his name. After all, he’s short and not intrepid like the physically imposing and heroic mythical Hercules. But it’s the name his parents gave him, and now he’s stuck with it. There’s one thing, though, that Hercules (the boy) has in common with Hercules (the myth
Do you remember A Town like Alice with Bryan Brown? If the actor in one of my most beloved stories is in a new Acorn TV show, you can bet I’m watching. Darby and Joan won’t disappoint. The premise is great—and so is the bond of friendship.First, the premise. Co-protagonist Joan Kirkhope chats by pho
Former Harvard University president Drew Gilpin Faust had previously written a beautiful book on the first photographs that came from the killing fields of the Civil War. These photos captured the deep destruction of death that changed the national attitude about dying on American soil. Faust has no
In sparse, lyrical prose, Mitali Perkins—renowned Christian author of young adult novels and children’s picture books such as Bare Tree and Little Wind: A Story for Holy Week and Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border—imagines God creating the world: “One day, Creator came— / to sort
Winsome, humorous, and insightful, this first chapter book in author Kate DiCamillo’s upcoming trilogy for children ages 5-8 explores the wonder and delight of an extraordinary friendship between unlikely partners.Orris the rat is happy to be left alone in a quiet barn in his nest with his treasures
Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-BeingBy Cornelius PlantingaReviewed by Sonya VanderVeen FeddemaThroughout his insightful, accessible exploration of gratitude, Cornelius Plantinga reiterates the amazing fact that “gratitude is the single best predictor of human well-being.”Plantin
As a Korean American mother of two, I’ve made it a priority to fill our shelves at home with children’s books celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander stories and cultures.Over the years, a few titles have become favorites. Here are five books my children ask to read over and over again.Bee-b
In this first book published by the recently launched Reformed Journal Books, author Jeffrey Munroe explores a concept he learned from the late Frederick Buechner, an author and pastor who coined the phrase “the stewardship of pain.” Munroe does so by sharing the stories of people who have experienc
Sarah Arthur, author of numerous nonfiction titles including The Year of Small Things: Radical Faith for the Rest of Us and A Light so Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L’Engle, offers young-adult readers her first novel, a tale of queens and faraway lands and mysterious happenings.Eva Joyce
Many of us know what it’s like to get a letter in the mail informing us that we’ve been chosen to fulfill our civic responsibility as a juror. Some of us have very good reasons why we can’t serve and so we call the court to explain our reasons, or we hope that when we call, the court case has alread
Pandita Paul is on the cusp of her teenage years, but all she wants to do is stay in the past and not move on to the future. She’s especially worried that she’s beginning to forget Ma, who died a few years ago when the family was visiting Ma’s native village in India. To counteract her fear, Pandita
When Swedish band Moon Safari released Himlabacken, Vol. 1 back in 2013 it was reasonable to expect that Vol. 2 would be just around the corner. That was not to be the case, and fans of the band wondered if, perhaps, they were calling it quits. It is tough for independent bands to make it financiall
Journalist Tim Alberta became certain: Evangelicalism had changed.Alberta recounts the words he heard in the receiving line for his dad’s funeral. Here in a Brighton, Mich., church where Alberta had grown up under his dad’s pastorate, he encountered not sympathy—but attacks about why he didn’t share
Based on Ali Novak’s 2014 novel of the same name, this teen drama series narrates the journey of Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez), a 15-year-old who grew up in Manhattan, N.Y., and whose parents and older sister died in a car crash. The orphaned teenager moves to rural Colorado to live with her mothe