Faith • Stories • Inspiration
If you’re raising kids in a Christian home, there’s a good chance this question has floated through your kitchen sometime in December:
I’m writing with the preteen years in mind—roughly ages 9–13—because those years are a kind of bridge. Children at this stage are innocent enough to receive truth with enthusiasm and old enough to understand that choices carry weight. They are asking three questions that never truly go away: Who am I? Whose am I? What is my strength for? Holidays can either drown those questions in noise or quietly answer them with belonging and purpose. Thanksgiving is a beautiful time to choose the second path.
As a Christian author writing for ages 9–13, I’m grateful for tools like Lexile and grade bands. They help estimate difficulty. But numbers are not shepherds. Reading levels can guide the eyes; they can’t carry the soul. If I had to put my whole view in one sentence, it would be this: let the numbers serve love, never replace it.
A Christian Parenting Guide for Ages 9–13 Here’s something you may have noticed at your own table: when the villain starts talking, kids lean in. Heroes are steady; they keep promises and carry the light. But villains say the quiet parts out loud. They sing the tempting melody—why it feels good, why it looks easy, […]
This guide unpacks that pattern so you can recognize “Narnia-like” qualities without chasing lists. Instead of hunting title by title, you’ll learn to spot the signals—on page one, in a single chapter, at your kitchen table—so you can choose stories that help your child love what is good, resist what is false, and walk toward the Light.
When the evenings turn brisk and the porch lights flicker on, it’s the perfect season to curl up with stories where lanterns glow against the dark and courage wins the day. If you’re choosing fall reads for kids (especially the 9–13 range) and want adventure without nihilism, these ten Christian fantasy authors deliver worlds where […]
Turn Halloween into a step on your child’s faith journey. A Christian parent’s guide to costumes, candy, and the “scary stuff”—using story to aim hearts toward the Light.
This young-reader age group is innocent enough to listen with enthusiasm and old enough to understand the significance of God’s plan for them. I’ve seen it again and again in school visits, book clubs, and living rooms: nine-, ten-, eleven-year-olds who still lean forward when you read aloud, who still ask honest questions, who still […]
Is fantasy dangerous for Christians—or can it actually strengthen faith? It’s a fair question. We are told to guard our hearts, to test everything, to hold fast to what is good. At the same time, we live in a world where children hunger for wonder, where stories can carry truth further than a lecture ever will. The point of this essay is not to wave away concern. It’s to place that concern on solid ground: the danger isn’t the existence of imagination; it’s the direction of imagination.
Should Christians read fantasy? It’s one of the questions parents ask most—and one of the most misunderstood.
This guide offers a clear, practical framework you can use tonight—without turning storytime into a lecture. We’ll define both terms, compare them through ten worldview “lenses,” and finish with concrete ways to choose well, read well, and talk well with kids and teens.
Christian fantasy isn’t just castles and quests. At its best, it trains a young reader’s moral imagination—to love what is good, to recognize lies that sound almost true, and to hope even when chapters get dark. The ten authors below (listed alphabetically by last name) are actively shaping the genre for families, teachers, and homeschoolers […]
Christian parents often ask two big questions: “Is fantasy okay for my child?” and “Where do I start?” This long-form guide is meant to answer both with care, depth, and a practical plan you can use tonight. It’s written from a Christian author’s perspective, with an emphasis on preteens (roughly ages 8–13), but the frameworks […]
Age-by-age questions, Scripture tie-ins, and a simple routine you can start tonight. As a Christian fantasy author, I love hearing how families read together—on the couch after dinner, a few pages before bed, or chapter swaps on a road trip. Reading with your child isn’t just a cozy habit; it’s discipleship. Stories give kids a […]
The Lexile System by MetaMetrics is a powerful tool that provides readers and educators with away to accurately measure reading ability and match readers to books that are appropriate fortheir skill level. By assigning a numerical Lexile measure followed by an “L” to both readers andtexts, this system helps ensure that students are reading materials […]
When people hear that I’m a Christian fantasy author, especially for younger readers, the first question I usually get is: Why fantasy? Why not just write Bible stories or devotionals for kids? It’s a fair question. After all, the Bible already gives us the greatest stories ever told. But here’s my heart: fantasy doesn’t replace […]
When I write fantasy stories, I don’t just make things up out of thin air. I look around me — at the rivers, the old towns, the stories passed down — and those pieces of history help me imagine new worlds. One of the places that inspires me most is right here in Marengo County, […]
Stories Are God’s Teaching Tool From parables in the New Testament to the epic narratives of the Old Testament, God has been using stories to teach truth since the beginning. Jesus didn’t hand out bullet points—He told stories. For children, stories are more than entertainment. They are windows into faith, tools for moral development, and […]
When you think of Christian children’s books, you might picture simple moral tales or Bible stories. But what if those same values could live inside an adventurous, imaginative world—one that kids can’t put down? That’s exactly what Christian children’s author G.B. Sollie has done with The Swamp Witch Chronicles. His stories don’t just teach faith—they live […]
Telling Stories & Taking the Grandkids to School When you hear the Voice of God speaking to you through your granddaughter you better listen! That is where I found myself one morning as Mary Evelyn and Lucy piled into the backseat of my car with their backpacks, scrambling to get to school on time and […]
Writers write, Creatives create, and Imagineers imagine. As a young Industrial Design student back in the day, Disney was an extremely attractive employment destination, in part because they touted the Imagineering aspect of what they accomplished. It was very appealing. I always assumed they had even made up the term, but in fact, they borrowed […]
Have you ever been whisked away into a fantastical land where witches soar with vultures and magic spells abound? As I ponder the intricate dance of blending enchanting realms with profound spiritual truths, I realize it is not easy! How do you harmonize imaginary worlds with meaningful messages of faith? Let’s explore the power of […]