The Christian Bookworm

March Reading

2026-04-13T05:00:00.038-08:00

GROWN-UP READS:

📖 Bible study: Nothing specific other than what I was covering through church, Becoming a Girl of Grace, and my (not finished) morning read, Hidden Mysteries and the Bible.

📖 Always On my Mind (Christian, fiction, book 4 in the Christiansen Family series)... l was really looking forward to this one (so much DRAMA!!) and it did not disappoint!
📖 Make Your Own (secular, nonfiction, cookbook)... We've been looking forward to this cookbook for so long! We are all very happy with it. The first thing we made was chili cheese fries using this cheese sauce and everyone loved it.
📖 Pearl in the Sand (Christian, Biblical fiction)... I read this biblical fiction about Rahab of Jericho with my church book club. I wouldn't have chosen this for myself and didn't like it very much. This is the 4th Biblical fiction book I've tried and it's the 3rd that felt to sexual for a Christian novel! Is that a fluke or is this a thing? Would love your thoughts if you're a Biblical fiction reader.
📖 Relationships 101 (Christian, nonfiction)... My focus this year is love, you know? This short, powerful book gave me a lot of inspiration in this area!
📖 Restoration series: #1 Last Light, #2 Night Light (Christian, fiction)... This EMP aftermath/survival series was on a list of great books for Christian teens so I wanted to give it a try. It is a murder mystery (not super graphic though) and does talk about edgier subjects (teens getting drunk and high, a man selling pornography) but through a Christian lens. I'll finish the series before deciding if I'll give it to my teens someday.

📚 Plus applicable sections of Mom Heart Moments and The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS...

📖 The Blossoming Summer (secular by a Christian author, middle grade, fiction)... I liked this WWII home front family story- a great one for Indigenous Peoples Month, too!
📖 A Boy and a Bear in a Boat (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I read this one because one of my children picked it as their library book. I didn't love it and neither did the kiddo.
📖 The Castle in the Attic (secular, middle grade, fiction)... Not my very favorite but overall fine. Reminds me of a less rude Indian in the Cupboard.
📖 The Children of Willow Farm (secular, middle grade, fiction, The Good and the Beautiful Book list selection)... One of my kids has been excited about this out-of-print pig book for years and my dad finallyfound a copy! The pigs don't come in until pretty far into the book but I still think it'll be a hit.
📖 Freedom Train (secular, middle grade, historical fiction, TGTB book list)... This Harriet Tubman book was a quick skim for me. I appreciated the Faith content.
📖 In 27 Days (secular, YA, fiction)... I did like this creative YA novel but don't plan to add it to our lists. Parents will want to know there's a lot of kissing and a few minor language issues like "BS," the acronym not the full word.
📖 Nicki: My Journal (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I enjoyed this 1999 American Girl story and will try the longer Nicki story, too.
📖 The Scourge (secular, middle grade, Speculative fiction)... I liked this middle grade dystopian/epidemic kinda book. It had the caste system, friendship, and adventure of The Hunger Games but without the violence. There's also a kiss. I'm putting it on our 8th grade list.
📖 The Secret Keepers (secular, middle grade, fiction)... This 15-hour-long audio book is by the author the Mysterious Benedict Society series we love. The first three chapters I was not feeling it but then I loved it to the end and couldn'twait to listenagain! My oldest loved it, too.
📖 Summerhill Secrets #1: Whispers Down the Lane (Christian, YA, Amish fiction)... This was the exact dramatic YA novel I would have loved as a teen. This was intense subject matter (a friend's alcoholic father has been beating her and the teenage MC is trying to figure out how to handle the situationwith integrity) but I felt it was handled well, from a realistic Christian teen perspective. I will try book 2, too.
📖 Who Was Harry Houdini? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... I was glad one of my children chose this library book because I had fun learning about Houdini.

📚 PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom // Eric Carle's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Favorite read this month: Always On My Mind or The Secret Keepers

*I used Amazon Affiliates links in this post. If you make an Amazon purchase I make a small referral commission at no additional cost to you.

Kindred & Co

2026-04-06T05:00:00.049-08:00

We recently went to an event in Post Falls, Idaho and ended the event with a stop in Kindred & Co.

This was such a cool, quirky bookstore! Even the light fixtures were unique and fascinating. I really appreciate that in our sea of blank rectangles these days. There were also a few beautiful workspaces and reading areas I didn't photograph.

There was a pretty standard curation of secular titles but we were happy to see a small faith-based fiction shelf! I even learned about a new book in the Deep Haven series which I plan to continue the Christiansen Family series with! The Fox Family?! You know I love a family saga.

I almost got a peppermint tea in the café but decided I probably shouldn't drink tea before starting the drive back home.

My husband did find the finance section disappointing but we were all quite enchanted by the children's section!

The pirate ship chandelier among cloud lights! The dollhouse bookshelves! Peter Pan, right? 😍

We purcased a lovely new copy of King Arthur, a nonfiction on the history and breeding of dogs, and the first Nancy Drew book... but I was hoping one of my kids would choose this beautiful Peter Pan since the cover was so pretty and the room was so inspiring!

As is the case in so many modern bookstores, we did see a few book covers we didn't love. We didn't see any in the children's section though and I very much appreciated that. Overall it would be a fun visit for most.

Bookish links- April 2026

2026-04-01T05:00:00.079-08:00

April new releases I'm excited about: The Bookshop of 99 Doors // Capable // The Girl Upstairs // The Lost Story of Via Belle // The Lumber Barron's Wife // Raising Gen Alpha // Witness Protection // The secular book Yesteryear sounds so good if reviews tell me it's clean!

7 scintillating Amnesia romances

Why is it so hard to find Christian books for teens?

Things that caught my eye in the Christianbook.com Easter mailer: Women of the Bible cover // Wonder Bible audio player... what a wonderful gift for, say, a not-so-techy grandmother with poor eyesight // this lovely pallet art // Bible memory verse coloring cards

Easy book sleeve sewing tutorial

I'm currently making my way through the Christiansen Family series and then I'll start the accompanying Deep Haven series. I was so excited to see that the later Deep Have books start a new family, the Fox family!

I also want to read the Timeless series.

I always love seeing Amy's books-and-coffee dates with her sister! I need a bookstore date, too.

Where to get free books // Where to buy cheap books

My list of Christian fiction books by year has already grown so much as I've been prioritizing historical fiction in 2026.

Clean rom-com books

Have any of you tried any of these bookish games?

Fantastic graphic novels your children will love

Adorable bookish mugs

Crystal's favorite devotionals and Christian books for women // for teens

The best Biblical fiction according to Goodreads

Janssen's favorite books on home organization

Okay where are you, adults who loved the American Girl Samantha books? They're releasing an adult version in October! Samantha: The Next Chapter. I hope they do this with all my old favorite girls!

This Kindle case is so delightfully spring-y!

Christian fiction exploring sister dynamics

2026-03-30T05:00:00.017-08:00

All That We Carried... This one is a very character-driven novel. We see two sisters (who couldn't be more different) hiking to commemorate their parents' death and working through years of relationship strain together.

The Baxter Family... This series makes it onto nearly every list but that's only because it's such a long drama series that it tackles nearly every topic! There are four sisters in this series and the books mostly cover all kinds of dynamics and dramas but the sisters' relationships with each other do take center stage from time to time.

Bitter and Sweet... This one features a very painful, bitter sister relationship in relation to a family business.

The Heart Between Us... Two sisters on an international adventure, one as she learns to live again post-heart-transplant, one in an attempt to keep her life from falling apart.

House of Secrets... Three sisters, together in their family's summer house, unraveling the events of a serious childhood trauma.

I'll Be Seeing You... In this time slip we see two sisters who love the same boy and the painful decisions made as a result.

The Roads We Follow... This second novel, about a mother and her daughters on a road trip, works just fine as a stand-alone novel. We see sisters supporting each other through hard times, resenting each other for the roles they all live in, hiding things from each other, and of course having a bit of fun, too.

The Spice King... This book's heroine is the primary caregiver for her blind sister, although that isn't the primary focus of the book. I really enjoyed their relationship. We saw quite a bit of it and I would happily have read about it even more.

Things I Never Told You... I heard the author describe her Thatcher Sisters novel as "Little Women gone wrong" and I can see it. The sisters in this one are so dysfunctional!

The Way It Should Be... In this one, one sister takes kinship care custody of her addict sister's children during rehabilitation. There's a lot to unpack in this one, as you can imagine, and I thought it was very well-done.

Name a great (middle grade) book about...

2026-03-23T05:00:00.001-08:00

Art: The Restorationists series (Christian) for fiction, The Mona Lisa Has Vanished (secular) for nonfiction. Both!!

Books: The Edge of Everywhen (Christian)
Cooking: Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids (secular)
Dance: Shadow of His Hand (Christian)
Education: Rosa Takes a Chance (Christian)
Fire: The Angel Tree (one character's family's house just burned down pre-book) (secular)
Grandmother: Life Behind the Wall (Christian)
Home: Key House (Christian)
Influencer: I don't know of any... but I love this subject and will happily take recommendations!
Japanese internment: Sylvia and Aki (secular)
Kidnapping: Vanished (Christian)
Libraries: Lumber Camp Library (secular)
Moving: Best Family Ever (Christian)
New baby: Heartbeat (secular)
Ocean: Iceberg (secular)
Paris: The Family Under the Bridge (secular)
Quilting: Canada Goose Quilt (secular)
Road trip: Road Trip Rescue (Christian)
Sickness: Small Steps (secular)
Theft: Escape at 10,000 Feet (secular)
University:
Vikings: Guts & Glory, Vikings edition (secular)
WWII: Hunger Winter (Christian)
Xenophobia: Echo (secular)
Yellow cover: The Tanglewood 's Secret (Christian)
Zoo: The Elephant in the Garden (secular)

February reads

2026-03-16T05:00:00.064-08:00

Lots of great reads in February! Two fun things- I realized while listening to my audio book on the 14th that I happened to be listening a book called The HEART Between Us on Valentine's Day... then when I later read a physical chapter of Always On my Mind (Didn't finish by the end of February), the chapter turned out to be taking place right before (and then the next chapter ON) Valentine's Day! Fun.

I really ramped up my audio book listening this month so I can get my kids' book lists moving again. I have a love-hate relationship with audio books to be honest. They save me time and help me check lots of kid books, which I love... but I've also always loved quiet and time to think/reflect/be. I don't think I'll utilize them beyond road trips once I'm done building my kids' book lists.

GROWN-UP READS:

📖 Bible study: Still working through Genesis. Ready for an Old Testament break though, I think.

📖 The Heart Between Us (Christian, contemporary fiction)... This book was not at all what I was expecting because the cover looks so playful. It was so relationship-focused, which you know I love! Sisters, marriage, friends, boss-employee, so much! But I do have to warn that there is a SA focus. One character experienced the abuse off-page, pre-book, but it's reflected on/mentioned multiple times, enough that you can't just skip a few parts. I didn't add this to our high school lists.

📖 Imagine Heaven (Christian, nonfiction)... I always love a good NDE/ Heaven book but wow, this one is an absolute favorite! It particularly had me thinking a lot about my job (everyone's job) to love my neighbor... my family, my actual neighbors, my cashier, the person who cuts me off in traffic, the person who says something rude to me, everyone. I thought so much about this during and after this book. How do I love people who repeatedly reject my attempts? Is it love if they (at least seemingly) don't want it? Love looks like grace, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, engaged listening, the five lobe languages... what else? Anyway, excellent read for me!
📖 Just Once (Christian, historical fiction)... I really enjoyed this love story. For those who have read/watched The Baxters, this is Hank and Irvel's story! It's just fine as a stand-alond for those who aren't already familiar. I didn't add this to our high school lists.

📖 The Spice King (Christian, historical fiction)... I wanted a historical fiction audio book and saw this one available on Libby. I remembered a ton of Christian bookworms loving it a few years ago so decided to try it. Loved it! Foodies will like this one, too. :) I did add it to our high school list but only because some topics interest some of my crew. I don't think it'll appeal to most high schoolers as Gray is 40.

📖 Theo of Golden (secular, fiction)... My church book club normally reads only faith-focused books but this month someone highly recommended this one. It did contain a few curse words, especially the D word quite a few times, but it was a beautiful story I think anyone who can ignore cursing will love. The bookstore in this book is called The Verbivore and I want to go there just for its name 😆

📚 Plus applicable sections of Mom Heart Moments and The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS...

📖 Arabel's Raven (secular middle grade, fiction, The Good and the Beautiful book list)... I don't personally like funny books but some of my kids will really enjoy this one.

📖 Bryce and the Lost Pearl (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... I think this will be a hit with my 7th grader and I'll definitely try book 2.
📖 Frindle (secular, middle grade, fiction)... This was cute and I decided to read it aloud to my kids after I finished it. :)
📖 History Mystery Kids: Fiasco in Florida (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... This was fun and not super deep, the first in a time travel series I suspect some of my kids will love. I always appreciate a book with male and female protagonists.
📖 The Homeless Kitten (secular, chapter book, fiction)... This was cute and sweet, very similar to the other books in this series.
📖 Hotel Flamingo (secular, middle grade, fiction, The Good and the Beautiful Booklist)... I read this one because I thought two of my kids would love it, but then once I was reading it I decided they'd just like it. Correct- they like it, but it wasn't the hit I'd initially hoped it would be.
📖 It's Not About Me (Christian, YA, nonfiction)... I really like Max Lucado's books and I liked this one, too.
📖 The Key House (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... I liked this Christian fiction about two tween brothers. One of the does mistreat his brother but is given wise council about it and does reflect on the situation. Parents should know that there is a sentence where an adult talks about the importance of helping orphans as Christians and does say (without any graphic details) that many girls who leave orphanages turn to prostitution. We will try book 2.
📖 Marvel at the Moon (Christian, middle grade, nonfiction, devotional)... I don't personally get excited about supace stuff but kids who do will love this devotional. Lots of interesting tidbits mixed into each message.
📖 The Mona Lisa Vanishes (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... This nonfiction about art theft was so good!
📖 Nanny Piggins (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I read this at one of my kids' request. I personally didn't care for it so didn't add it to our book list, but I did allow my daughter to read it.
📖 One Wrong Step (secular, middle grade, historical fiction, The Good and the Beautiful book list )... So good! Mt Everest stories do interest me (especially the yeti kind) but I have thoroughly enjoyed each of Jennifer A Nielsen's riveting historical fiction novels so far.
📖 Polar the Titanic Bear (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... This was such a fun angle, to look at the Titanic through the eyes of a stuffed bear who was brought onto the ship. This feels more like a very long picture book than a middle grade novel and was filled with photos.
📖 Sisterhood of Sleuths (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I tried this one because the author's Book Scavenger trilogy was such a hit in our house. This one was fun (Nancy Drew-themed literary history, friendship, research on a light murder-free mystery) but I do like the Book Scavenger trilogy more.
📖 So You're About to be a Teenager (Christian, middle grade, nonfiction)... I liked this book for 12-year-olds. It does explain the basic mechanics of sex in a very short, simple way. It talks quite a lot about purity but in a way that (I feel) is neither shaming nor condemning. Also peer pressure in other ways. Overall good read.
📖 Sophie Mouse #5: The Maple Festival (secular, chapter book, fiction)... This was cute and sweet, one I'm fine with my second grader reading. We've read the first book in the series too but I think that's the only other one and this is book 5.
📖 Welcome to the Bed and Biscuit (secular, chapter book, fiction)... This one, which I checked for pig purposes, was overall cute. It lands around a 3rd-4th grade reading level.
📖 Winnie Dancing On Her Own (secular, chapter book, fiction)... I tried it for the ballet theme and I liked this friendship book fine for third graders but doubt it'll ever be read by my kiddos.

*We all worked through The Ology, Atlas Adventures, Mushrooms & Fungi for Kids, and Home Ec for Everyone in homeschool (along with our regular subjects). I also worked through Becoming a Girl of Grace with two of my girls.

📚 PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: Dozens of Doughnuts // Floss // Richard Scarry's First 100 Words // Stuck // You and Me, Little Bear

Favorite read this month: Imagine Heaven

Name a great (Christian fiction) book about...

2026-03-09T05:00:00.041-08:00

I'm challenging myself to fill it out with no repeats!

Art: Formula of Deception (forensic artist... I'm going to count it!)

Books: Hidden Among the Stars
Cooking: The Divine Proverb of Streusel
Dance: The Italian Ballerina
Education: Moonlight School
Fire: The Lines Between Us
Grandmother: The Lost Manuscript
Home: Bless Your Heart, Rae Sutton
Influencer: All That We Carried
Japanese internment: I haven't read one... but I'd like to!! A secular book I loved was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Kidnapping: Intervention
Libraries: To Love a Beast
Moving: The Prayer Box
New baby: Tending Roses
Ocean: Whose Waves These Are
Paris: Until Leaves Fall in Paris
Quilting: The Hawaiian Quilt
Road trip: The Summer of Yes
Sickness: Over the Edge
Theft: The Light on Halsey Street
University: Dear Mr Knightley
Vikings: The Words We Lost (Admittedly a stretch but they're mentioned by a side character, maybe even more than once!)
WWII: When Twilight Breaks
Xenophobia: Under the Tulip Tree? I don't think this would count but it's the closest I could think of and really is a wonderful book.
Yellow cover: Plot Twist
Zoo: Someone Like You

Let me know if you full this out too, Christian fiction or otherwise :)

Bookish links- March 2026

2026-03-02T05:00:00.060-09:00

March new releases I'm excited about: Lost // Magnitude // Make Your Own cookbook

8 riveting novels to enjoy this spring

I love this sweet reading print!

Christian fiction reading plan, January through June

How to use games in your homeschool

15 easy ways to read more books

Uni the Unicorn pajamas one of my daughters would have loved as a preschooler!

Which is the best book tracking app?

10 transporting historical fiction novels for WWII buffs

A reader lives a thousand lives teacup & saucer

West coast reads to captivate you

Reminder for those of you with little ones in your lives- Dolly Parton sends a free children's book every month for the first five years of life to children in qualifying zipcodes!

I thoroughly enjoyed this England bookstore haul + exploration while cooking a big pot of chili. It was a cloudy winter evening dream come true.

How to place Libby books on hold before they're released

11 second-chance novels that offer a fresh start

You probably know that romance is not my thing but I stumbled upon a Christian romance podcast I thought I'd share in case it's yours!

Romance readers, have you heard of Romance IO for checking on the spice before you start a book?

15 + Christian historical fiction recommendations

Single timeline historical fiction

2026-02-23T05:00:00.033-09:00

Lynn recently shared a great list of historical fiction with only one timeline. I love timeslip novels but I do find them nearly impossible to keep track of in audio format. These are the single-timeline Christian historical fiction novels I have enjoyed over the years. I have limited time before my baby wakes up so I'm going to link to the books and let you read those descriptions rather than trying to type descriptions and running out of time.

For more historical fiction, check out my list of Christian fiction by year.

All Things New... 1865
The Barrister and the Letter of Marque... 1818
The Healer's Apprentice... 1386
The Key to Everything... 1947
A Life Once Dreamed... 1880
The Lines Between Us... 1945
The Merchant's Daughter... 1352
The Moonlight School... 1911
No Ocean Too Wide... 1909
Once Upon a Wardrobe... 1950
A Picture of Hope... 1944
The Promise of Dawn... 1909
The Right Kind of Fool... 1934
Shadows of Swanford Abbey... 1820

The Spice King... 1900
Stories That Bind Us... 1963
To Love a Beast... 1886
Until Leaves Fall in Paris... 1940
When the Meadow Blooms... 1925
When Twilight Breaks... 1938
The White City... 1893

January reads

2026-02-16T05:00:00.001-09:00

New year, new reading priorities and plans!

GROWN-UP READS:

📖 Bible study: Genesis! Starting over, working through book by book unless I see the need to move in a different direction.

📖 Following Jesus (Christian, nonfiction)... Wow, what a book! I expected to feel like, 'Eh, not bad.' Instead it was just full if important little gems. I'm reading and hearing the same thing again and again in 2026... Following Jesus means loving his children. Even they're jerks, even when I'm busy, even when our values don't line up.

📖 Knights Templar (secular, nonfiction, history)... I was curious about this group after seeing them pop up on multiple episodes of Unexplained. I learned a lot and overall enjoyed this one but gosh, what a sad ending the Knights had :'(

📖 Ladies of the Lake (Christian, fiction, time slip)... Amy has been recommending this to me for years because it's set partially in Connecticut and I needed that state for my USA list. I wasn't super interested in the plot so put it off a while but WOW, did I love this book! Especially at some point when I went 'Wait, WHAT? Now I want to read this all over again with this in mind!' Amy, THANK YOU for such a fantastic recommendation!

I also finally watched The Baxters with my husband! There were a few differences from the books but overall I liked all three seasons and would watch more if they put out more. He of course didn't adore the show but he did like it fine and would watch more seasons with me.

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS...

📖 Babe the Gallant Pig (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I wasn't a fan of this one but I'm fine with my pig-loving daughter reading it. FYI, lots of stupid and idiot usage in this one.
📖 Beauty (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I really enjoyed this Beauty and the Beast retelling, great for middle schoolers.
📖 Dolphin Tale (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I liked this movie years ago and I'm fine with this book adaptation.
📖 Kindred Dragons (secular, middle grade, graphic novel, fantasy)... This was also an Amy recommendation and I loved it so much! Anne of Green Gables with dragons, very fun.
📖 Mindwar (Christian, YA, Speculative fiction)... This was a very thrilling, fast-paced YA novel partially set in virtual reality. It's not my style but it still kept my attention and I know my son will love it in a few years.
📖 Thoughts for Young Men (Christian, YA, nonfiction)... This was full of valuable wisdom for young men to keep their faith strong but it was definitely a bit intense at times. Probably ideal for 9th ish grade.
📖 Time for Courage (Christian, middle grade, historical fiction)... Loved this sequel to a favorite (Hunger Winter) and so did my middle schooler! But we both almost always love WWII fiction.
📖 Top Secret Files: World War I (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... Again my middle schooler and I both loved this one! We both know a lot about WWII but neither of us knows a ton about WWI so this one was very informative for us.
📖 The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp (secular, middle grade, fiction)... I listened to this while very distracted. I didn't catch anything that concerned me (an adult drank brandy and I believe I heard the word stupid 3x, if those are a firm no for you) but my middle schooler plans to read it and let me know if I missed anything.
📖 Understanding Screen Addiction (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... Good, quick, informative read that isn't anti-technology and offers a balanced view while presenting the facts.

*We all worked through The Ology, Atlas Adventures, and Home Ec for Everyone in homeschool (along with our regular subjects).

📚 PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: Baby Animals (my baby's current favorite... we probably each read this one 30-50 times this month! // Every Neighbor // The Heart Who Wanted to Lasso Thoughts // Mama and Baby (my baby's second favorite) // Pigs to the Rescue // Red Truck

Favorite read this month: Ladies of the Lake!

Bookish links- February 2026

2026-02-02T05:00:00.093-09:00

February new releases I'm excited about: Mists Over the Channel Islands // Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs

My Black History Month recs and Valentines Day picture book recs

Valentines Day gifts from Christianbook.com

Bookish art for over your bathtub: Elegant Woman // Winnie the Pooh // Bubble Bath // // Cat Reading Book in Bathtub // Woman Reading in Jungle Tub // Cozy Cat // Cute Rabbit in a Bathtub // Reading Girl in Bathtub // Home Alone postcard

4 books to read for motherhood

Raggedy Ann book + doll

Ooooh, speaking my language- 34 novels with family dramas and hopeful Christian themes

My husband and I can very much relate about these Biblical lineage lists. 😂 We're aware that they're important. Still, sigh.

I know some of you adore Francine Rivers so maybe you'd like this FR book club.

The books children read matter!

I'm so interested in this book, Embodied Holiness! I have so many big, spiritually motivated reasons for healthy eating and I know this book will probably fascinate me and make me think!

Love this shirt! Every good story whispers His name

This blog is so cool- The Bible Cookbook! (Daniel's Veggie Platter and Jacob's Red Lentil Birthright Stew very much appeal to me)

9 novels with strong female characters

This Paddington Bear tea set is so adorable!

Have you ever read books via Open Library? I never knew about it before last week!

Loved Courtney Walsh's thoughts on you not liking her books.

This is a lovely image for a lovely Charles Spurgeon quote!

15 Christian historical fiction recommendations

5 Fascinating New Releases for February

2026-01-23T05:00:00.001-09:00

I was given five new releases from David C Cook this month and I'm pretty excited about them! If you check these out I'd love to know what you think!

📖 Even If (Christian, nonfiction, memoir)... I enjoyed I Can Only Imagine but I liked Even If even more, probably because of the family element. As a wife, I also really appreciated Shannon's perspective. I will definitely watch the upcoming movie!

📖 Every Neighbor: Greeting Everyone With God's Love (Christian, picture book, nonfiction)... This picture book is a fun look at God's children all over the globe (learning to say hello in various languages was of course fun) that combines world culture with a gentle reminder of the call to love our neighbor. We'll re-read this one often, I'm sure!

📖 Fake ID (Christian, nonfiction)... I've been thinking A LOT over the past few months about technology, especially AI, both as a parent and as a person, and specifically as a Christian. I still have a lot of questions and unknowns but this book came to me at just the right time and has me thinking so much. You should know that gender dysphoria is discussed in the beginning so be aware of that if you'replanningto hand it to your teens.

📖 The Heart Who Wanted to Lasso Thoughts (Christian, picture book, fiction)... This was a cute picture book to illustrate the concept of monitoring our thought life. It's not my favorite style but it's a good message we'll probably revisit often over the years.

📖 A Journey With Jesus (Christian, nonfiction)... Okay if you've ever wondered about those tours of Biblical places but also had no desire to travel overseas, this one is for you. Bob Goff created a really cool, immersion experience with this one as it also includes videos. I did enjoy quickly working through it on my own for this review but I'm so excited to do this one with my husband and really discuss and dissect it all together!

* I received a free copy of each of these books in exchange for my honest opinion.

5-Star Reads of 2016

2026-01-19T15:39:00.000-09:00

I'm seeing so much 2016 nostalgia online and I thought I'd share my book-specific version.

At the start of 2016 I was pregnant with my third baby, then parenting 3 under 4. I was writing at naptime every day and still blogging for income. I was incredibly busy but still had time to read and write a fair amount, I think because I still used a flip phone! These were my 5-star reads that year.

- Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson
- One Born Every Minute by Maria Dore
- Miracles From Heaven by Christy Beam
- Hope Unfolding by Becky Thompson
- The Midwife's Here by Linda Farley
- Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis
- Braving It All by James Campbell
- Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist
- The Mother Letters by Amber C Haines
- Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
- Love Unending by Becky Thompson
- Operation Christmas Child by Franklin Graham

Winter activities we love

2026-01-16T05:00:00.001-09:00

I'm starting to hear rumblings from family and friends who are growing weary of winter weather. Winter is my personal favorite so I thought I'd share things we love about it in hopes of helping! (I have to do the same thing for myself in the summer)

- Reading, of course. Bonus points if this includes a favorite blanket and a mug of tea or cocoa
- Bundling up for chilly walks (snow crunching under my boots is one of my favorite sensory experiences) or snowplay
- Soup for every lunch + quite a lot of dinners
- Wearing the coziest hoodies, flannels, sweatshirts, sweaters, and socks!
- Cozy hobbies (puzzles, sewing, knitting, drawing, painting, etc) with music or an audio book in the background
- Board game / movie nights with the people we love
- Baking
- Writing
- Learning about a subject that fascinates us
- Warm baths

December Reading

2026-01-09T13:40:00.000-09:00

This was a great reading month for me, I guess because we were on a school break the whole time.

GROWN-UP READS:

📖 Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale (Christian, historical fiction, 🎄)... I love Amanda Dykes' lovely writing style! This one was very short but it was a good one.
📖 The Christmas Book Flood (Christian, historical fiction, 🎄)... This sweet, bookish Christmas novela was set in WWII Iceland. I enjoyed it- it felt so incredibly cozy!
📖 Evergreen (Christian, fiction, 🎄)... This was book 3.5 in the Christiansen Family series and it was focused on parents John and Ingrid in their first Christmas as empty nesters. It was of course a little sad in some ways but I loved it!
📖 Marley Madison short mysteries 1-3 (Christian, fiction, mystery)... This is Christina Suzann Nelson's new mystery series. The deaths were a bit much but they were not shown on-page. I am more sensitive to suspense these days and probably won't read the next set (but ill still read her main body of work.
📖 Mr. Nicholas (Christian, fiction, 🎄)... This was sweet, about a man kind of getting to know his son with Down Syndrome for the first time- of course duringthe Christmas season. This had some depth and richness to it I really loved. I can see why it was a Christy Award winner!
📖 Tidings of Comfort and Joy (Christian, fiction, 🎄, historical fiction)... I liked this grandmother-grandmother Christmas novela. This was my second Davis Bunn Christmas story and I'll absolutely try more in the future!
📖 Unwrapping the Names of Jesus (Christian, nonfiction, 🎄)... I read this one with my church book club. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it was still a good read.

* My mom and I abandoned our buddy read, The Gift of Christmas Present, this year, because of a rape storyline we weren't expecting in a Christmas novela.

📚 Plus applicable sections of The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS

📖 Arcade and the Triple T Token (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... I didn't expect this book to have so many lovely messages and moments! I enjoyed it and know some of my kids will really enjoy it, too. I'll definitely try book two.
📖 The Case for Heaven (Christian, middle grade, nonfiction)... This was such a great book! I really love books about Heaven and this one was quite moving.
📖 I Saw Three Ships (secular, middle grade, fiction, 🎄)... I've been curious about this one for years because Sarah Clarkson recommends the author for fans of Anne of Green Gables. I did enjoy this very short Christmas read and added it to my kids' shelves.
📖 The Trees Kneel at Christmas (Christian, chapter book)... This was a short, sweet Christmas story by the author of the Betsy Tacy stories.
📖 A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone, the World's First National Park (secular, middle grade, nonfiction, history)... This was a great nonfiction, full of details + color photos, and now I hope we can take our kidsto Yellowstone one day soon!
📖 Who Were the Beatles? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction, history)... One of my kids is taking a music appreciation course and is really into music history in general right now. The history of rock n roll gets talked about in this one and we had some great conversation about the various changes in music over the years.

*I also read part of Stella by Starlight as a buddy read with one of my kids and The Angel Tree & Adoration at the Manger as read-alouds all together.

PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: God's Animals, my baby's current favorite// The Golden Hour // The Wonderful Book // all of these Christmas picture books

Favorite reads this month: Evergreen and The Case for Heaven

Christian fiction that takes place primarily in the workplace

2026-01-09T05:00:00.000-09:00

I really enjoy exploring settings through fiction. I like traveling through books, I like time traveling through books, and I like exploring different jobs through books. Here are a few books that focus fairly heavily on the protagonists workplace as a setting.

Bookshop by the Sea... This is the first of many very obvious bookshop stories because, well, it's a favorite setting of mine.

Catching Christmas... Our hero is a cab driver so our workplace setting here is a taxi cab.

The Lost Manuscript... Our protagonist here is teaching in a college while searching for a lost historical manuscript and I think about this book all the time!

Love and a Little White Lie... The workplace in this story is a church... but the employee is secretly a non-believer! This one was fun.

Meet Me in the Margins... So much of this fun book took place in a publishing house with a little taking place at a convention. This one was also really fun.

The Printed Letter Bookshop... This is, of course, another bookshop story!

The Ringmaster's Wife... This traveling circus time slip takes the workplace all over the map and all through time!

The Second Story Bookshop... The title of course makes it obvious that this one is set in a bookshop.

A Skeleton in God's Closet... an archeological dig is a pretty cool book setting, if you ask me. This one had me hooked through the very end.

Tacos for Two... I really enjoyed this romcom, set primarily in a taco truck!

These Tangled Threads... I hesitated to put this one in this list. A good portion of this book is spent on the move, attempting to locate one of the weavers needed to complete a project.

Things I Never Told You... A big part of Peyton's story takes place in her party planning office or the high school where she coaches volleyball.

To Love a Beast... This Beauty and the Beast Retelling is set in the beast's large estate, mostly in the home library our book binder Belle is working in.

Until Leaves Fall in Paris... Another bookshop, this one in Paris!

The Wedding Dress Christmas... This story will mean more to you if you read The Wedding Dress (which I loved!) first. This one takes place primarily in a wedding Dress shop in Tennessee.

The Words Between Us... This is another bookstore setting. This one was a bit edgier than most Christian fiction but I did enjoy it.

Bookish links- January 2026

2026-01-01T05:00:00.061-09:00

I loved the above hygge illustration from this book! It's not at all a fully hygge book but I adored this page.

January new releases I'm excited about: The Lies We Trade

Most anticipated Christian fiction of 2026, at least according to Goodreads!

I personally prefer a paper reading journal but this is another fun way to track books read this year! Dash Into Learning put out a free printable reading tracker, too.

I always love seeing everyone's bookish favorites this time of year! Family Fiction // Money Saving Mom // From Our Bookshelf

Starting a church children's library

Reading art I love: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

I love this cute Little Critter shirt.

I loved Hannah's list of her top ten Christian fiction heroines and now I want to make my own!

I'm very curious about this game, The Bible is Funny. Have any of you ever played?

I read this first book when it first came out but I'm ready to dive into the whole series this year!

Sweet Paddington Bear nursery!

Historical fiction: yesterday's pain, tomorrow's promise

I wish I had room for this sweet reading nook shelf!

Best purses to fit a Kindle Paperwhite

I saw this puzzle in a toy store last month: Brambly Hedge Winter Story... I love the Brambly Hedge books and love this puzzle!

Crystal's secret to reading 20-30 minutes every night

6 faith-building books to start your new year right

2025 Favorites and Goals

2025-12-31T06:31:00.002-09:00

Bookish 2025 goals:

✔️ Continue slow daily Bible study

✔️ Read 50 YA/middle grade novels

✔️ Read one book set in a state not already on my location list (I read Hawaiian Quilt which was of course set in Hawaii)

✔️ Start nightly bedtime books back up. (We've missed a few nights here and there when Baby was exhausted and over it but otherwise we've read a board book or two each night )

General bookish favorites

Favorite bookish blog: All my old favorites but also discovered Faith Fiction and Fairytales

Favorite bookish podcast: I don't think I listened to any podcasts this year!

Favorite bookish YouTube channel: All my old favorites + Kay's Library

Favorite bookstore: I went to 13 bookstores this year, in 3 different states and in 7 different towns. My favorite for its collection was The Sower Christian bookstore in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho but my favorite for atmosphere/esthetic was Auntie's in Spokane, Washington (video here!)

Favorite book-to-movie (or show) adaptation: I guess I'll say The Hobbit!

Grown-up Favorites

Favorite 2025 release: The Christmas Book Flood? I didn't read many 2025 releases.

Favorite author: Susan May Warren or Nicole Deese... I think I'm leaning towards SMW just because I'm loving the Christiansen books so much but I did really love the ND books I read, too.

Favorite Bible study resource: How to Study the Bible Intentionally

Favorite Christmas book: Evergreen

Favorite cookbook: Sweet Indulgence

Favorite general/contemporary fiction: The Roads We Follow

Favorite health book: The Aging Brain

Favorite historical fiction: I didn't read very much historical fiction this year! Im torn between Bespoke and The Christmas Book Flood.

Favorite history: Bomber Mafia

Favorite homeschool book: Pocketful of Pinecones

Favorite marriage book: In Unison

Favorite memoir: I Still Believe

Favorite mothering book: The Wonder Weeks

Favorite nonfiction: Habits of the Household

Favorite pregnancy/postpartum book: The First 40 Days

Favorite Romance: The Lost Manuscript

Favorite secular fiction: Didn't read any this year!

Favorite secular nonfiction: Disease-Proof Your Child

Favorite series: The Christiansen Family books... I read the prequel and then books 1-3.5

Favorite suspense: I Think I Was Murdered

Favorite time slip: These Tangled Threads

YA & Middle Grade Favorites

Favorite 2025 release: The Bug Bandits

Favorite author: Kathy Kacer, I think?

Favorite Bible Study resource: Not Consumed

Favorite biography: Bonhoeffer

Favorite Christmas book: The Paper Bag Christmas

Favorite dystopian: The Hadley Academy for the Improbably Gifted

Favorite general/contemporary fiction: Emmy in the Key of Code

Favorite fantasy: Beyond Mulberry Glen

Favorite graphic novel: The Mythmakers

Favorite historical fiction: Kate and the Spies

Favorite history: A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone, the World's First National Park

Favorite nonfiction: The Case for Heaven: Young Reader Edition

Favorite read-aloud: The Misadventured Summer of Tumbleweed Thompson

Favorite series: Life Behind the Wall series

Favorite suspense: A Game Most Foul

Favorite TGTB book list selection: The High Cheese

Bookish 2026 goals:

- Deep Bible study of two books of the Bible (maybe more? But I'm so slow and plan to go for history & details so we'll see!)
- Read at least 52 physical/Kindle (not audio) books this year
- Complete 50+ YA/middle grade novels
- Read more (5+) historical fiction/timeslip novels

- Write a Christmas read-aloud for my kids

Spokane, Washington

2025-12-22T05:00:00.001-09:00

My family and I recently attended an event in Spokane, Washington. We didn't actually have as much time to explore (and Christmas shop!) as I had hoped and expected to but some of us did manage to squeeze a few things in so I thought I'd share those here.

I always pay attention to downtown outdoor art and architecture when I travel. Downtown Spokane has some seriously gorgeous old architecture. I will warn though that this downtown area does not feel safe for me as a woman unless my husband is with us.

The only thing I had time to do downtown was nine minutes in Auntie's Bookstore, almost exclusively spent un the children'ssection. I would have loved a longer adventure in here (is there a Christian section?!) but maybe next time. How fun are these teas?! Chapters Tea Co.

The first evening had along enough break that we were able to run over to the mall. We live in a rural small town so travel often involves errands we can't do back home lol😆

We got new planners + a stocking stuffer at Barnes & Noble, got a stocking stuffer at a Pokémon card store, and spent a few minutes browsing Faithful Chocolates & Christian Bookstore.

We primarily eat food brought from home / prepped in our Airbnb these days but we did get a few things at Huckleberry's and we had planned for our last dinner to come from Method since we didn't have the airbnb kitchen anymore. My husband got the spicy ranch rice bowl, my son and I got chili (he got his over rice, I got mine without), and my girls got Blue Magic smoothie bowls. We also split cannellini cookie dough cups as an afternoon snack with apples. Everyone liked their meal.

There are Little Free Libraries all over Spokane but only three it made sense to check out.

The event was very cool and overall it was a fun, though very hectic trip. We'll be back, and next time we'll explore a bit more!

I also have a previous Spokane post here.

November Reads

2025-12-15T05:00:00.016-09:00

November was a weird reading month for me. I didn't finish very many kid books but I got through a lot of adult books.

GROWN-UP READS
📖 Bible study: This is strange but I was super excited about Bible study yet didn't actually do ANY! I spent all of my November my Bible study time preparing my new Bible study binder. I'm so excited about it though!
📖 1% Better (Christian, nonfiction, memoir)... This was an interesting book about the first person with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman race. There were a few things I didn't love but it was an overall good read. It did contain a few curse words.
📖 The Aging Brain (Christian, nonfiction, health)... Having just lost one of our parents to dementia in the last year + two grandparents before that, I'm extra aware of how badly we'd like to avoid dementia/Alzheimers. We want to be our best selves for as long as possible and this book was so full of powerful research to help us out with that. I sometimes do worry about how much damage was done to our young bodies & brains in the 90s and 00s but I do my best to make the healthiest choices for us now and trust that it's at least prolonging anything it won't prevent.
📖 All That We Carried (Christian, fiction)... I only chose this book for its autumnal setting but it was exactly the kind of deep, rich, character-driven family dynamic story I love!

📖 Pocketful of Pinecones (Christian, fiction)... This one will mostly just appeal to fellow idealistic homeschool moms with a Charlotte Mason focus. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next one.
📖 Praise Her at the Gates (Christian, nonfiction)... I joined a book club in my new church and this was the November read. Not one of us liked it.

📖 These Tangled Threads (Christian, historical fiction, time slip)... I need to give trigger warnings for this one but wow, I really liked it! I am ready for lots more time slip now.

📖 When I Fall in Love (Christian, fiction)... This is book 3 in the Christiansen family series and I loved it! I am very excited too Casper and Raina's story next.

📚 Plus applicable sections of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS
(Why was November such a terrible month for these?!)

📖 The Grand Teton Stampede (secular, fiction)... This one was fun, and especially because I've been to the Grand Tetons and had the most beautiful picnic at Jenny Lake. :)

📖 Horse Diaries: Black Cloud (secular, middle grade, fiction)... Part of this made me pretty sad but I was fine with my daughter reading it.
📖 Paper Bag Christmas (Christian, YA, Christmas, fiction)... This was a very moving book I'll definitely pass along to my kids as young teens.

*I also read part of Stella by Starlight as a buddy read with one of my kids and we all worked through The Ology, Atlas Adventures, and Home Ec for Everyone in homeschool (along with our regular subjects).

PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: God Gave Us Thankful Hearts

Nutcracker Party 2025

2025-12-12T05:00:00.001-09:00

Last week we had our annual Nutcracker Party! We'd love to attend the Nutcracker ballet each year but tickets are expensive and we have a young baby even if they weren't. We make our own fun instead and watch the DVD each year instead!

This year we had friends over and they watched with us so we went all out! You can watch a little YouTube short here.

Favorite Nutcracker books: board book // Mary Engelbreit picture book // Jan Brett picture book

Favorite Nutcracker resources: DVD // The Nutcracker Comes to America // Inquisikids podcast episode // sweaters // Isabelle DVD

I also saw an adorable Nutcracker themed display in a Hallmark Store window this month and thought I'd share!

Christmas Bucket List

2025-12-08T13:30:00.002-09:00

We're already making great progress on our Christmas season bucket list. It's te most wonderful time of the year! (Except for when it isn't, in which case I'm very sorry for what you are going through. There's no shame in feeling less than merry during a painful season. I just prayed for peace to wash over you and I really hope it does 💙)

We completed everything on our autumn bucket list except for the Christmas graphic novel for my kids. I just couldn't seem to make time for it!

I did attempt to complete my silly autumn book bingo but I'm doubtful that I actually caught every mention. I found it to be an overall nuisance and I won't do it again!

Scarecrow:

Blanket:

Hot chocolate:

Coffee: The Second Story Bookshop: Gray made coffee at halftime. "It was a noisy affair with the loud grinding of beans and low hiss of steaming cream."

Pumpkin flavored anything:

Gloves:

Pumpkin patch:

Scarf:

Pinecone:

Cinnamon:

Soup: Briony's new thing is lobster bisque in The Perfect Rom-Com

Crisp or chilly air: All That We Carried... The air is always chilly in this October hike!

Tea:

Baking:

Trees: The Second Story Bookshop... Shelby admires maple trees lining the street.

Fog:

Apple orchard:

Harvest festival:

Wind:

Football: The Second Story Bookshop: Shelby's family cheered about a Cowboys touchdown after their Thanksgiving meal.

Fireplace: The Second Story Bookshop: Gray stacked logs in the fireplace and nursed the flame until it caught.

Boots: All That We Carried... they may be hiking boots, but they're boots!

Rain: Second Story Bookshop: Shelby follows Gray in her car as he walks in the rain

Leaves: A chipmunk ran across some leaves in All That We Carried

Sweater:

Bookish links- December 2025

2025-12-01T05:00:00.119-09:00

Current Christmas reads: Unwrapping the Names of Jesus with my book club // The Gift of Christmas Present with my mom // The Angel Tree and a Christmas hymn study with my kids

New Christmas Christian fiction

Love these Grinch pajamas! This grown-up version, too.

Advent reads to prepare your heart for Christmas

Bible tabs I ordered for the Bible study binder I'm now keeping for myself after reading How to Study the Bible Intentionally

Book-themed Nintendo Switch game I secretly want to try, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book!

When we have our annual Nutcracker viewing party this year, I'll set out a copy of The Nutcracker + a charcuterie board and call it good. I don't want to spend a bunch of money on extra items but I do enjoy the online equivalent of window shopping. Examples: this painting // this mug // this snowglobe // this (organic cotton) dress // this sweatshirt // this fabric

Tyndale's Christmas book advent calendar

Old Christmas posts- Christmas fiction by location // Holiday picture books about GIVING gifts // our favorite Christmas leveled readers (How is that it?! More to come!)

This was a fascinating watch- When did reading become a performance?

I am still enjoying creating short videos as a creative endeavor and have a few fun Christmas videos planned for my little YouTube channel this month!

Kindle Unlimited readers, you can now read Tessa Afshar Biblical fiction for free!

Everyday Reading's new printable advent reading calendar is quite cute and she has so many great items on her bookish gift guide for this year

5 small books that make great stocking stuffers

I recently spotted this poetry book teapot and promptly Googled it. So cute!

Here's my ever-growing list of Christian Christmas fiction by location

Look at this beautiful storybook library

Christmas school... Bedtime History Podcast holiday episodes // Inquisikids did some great episodes on Christmas in various countries in 2023

If you're in the market for a new Christmas picture book, consider The Golden Hour. I am so happy with this Christmas picture book set at Westminster Abbey. The illustrations are simply lovely that makes this a nice one to set out and display, but the story plays with historical fiction in a way that of course delights me. It's a bit long for my youngest this year and probably best for the older picture book crowd but I shared it with my seven-year-old and look forward to sharing it with my youngest for many Christmas seasons to come! I enjoyed the writing and look forward to trying Carrie Brownell's other children's book, too. *I received a free copy from Bookmonkey but these honest opinions are my own.

Christmas School 2025

2025-11-25T21:16:00.001-09:00

We don't take much of a summer break over here but we always take December off from our normal school routine. We still do independent reading which everyone does every day/night here, occasional math lessons, and occasional handwriting pages but mostly we focus on memory-making holiday activities together. Here are our 2025 Christmas school plans:

👨‍🍳 Baking holiday treats (mostly from Sweet Indulgence)
🎨 Christmas decoration and gift art projects
📖 Read-aloud of The Angel Tree (plus our Christmas picture books we've been re-collecting after losing every book we owned)
🎶 Hymn Bible study by Not Consumed
✍️ Journaling about holiday fun
🎧 Sonlight's Christmas podcasts

Plus lots of free time to play, watch movies, play games, hang out as a family, pursue non-Christmas activities, etc.

We're all very excited.

Creston, British Columbia

2025-11-14T05:00:00.002-09:00

Over the weekend my family and I made our first international trip! We've done so much USA traveling (long-time readers likely came here back when we were full-time RVers) but this was a whole new experience for us.

I'm detailing it all below but you can also just watch a quick YouTube short if you're interested but not that interested.

First, passports. We first started this process in 2013. We got our passport photos taken and started filling out applications, then moved further from the Canadian border and stopped pursuing it all. We kept having babies and then even when we moved up north again we never pursued it because of the cost for each new child.

But!

A few months ago we learned two very helpful tidbits
1- A passport card, good only for driving and not for flying, is much cheaper than a full passport that allows you to fly
2- Children under 14 can accompany their passport wielding parents for FREE using only a birth certificate

That changed everything!

We had passport photos taken (Hubby used Walgreens and had to have his remade because they sized it wrong, I used Staples with no problems) and we took those + our applications to a post office to complete the process. FYI, they do take your original birth certificate (+ marriage license, in my case) and mail that in. The paperwork said 6-8 weeks but we both got our passport cards + documents in 3 weeks.

After carefully triple-checking checking the website for what's allowed to cross borders, we packed lunches and hit the road!

For this first trip we stopped in Creston, British Columbia. It was a cute small town and a perfect place to practice international travel. It was very similar to the US with only minor adjustments (kilometers per hour instead of miles per hour, for example) that I am sure will gradually be more profound as we travel up the country/across provinces in the future.

Saddest story: Creston has not one but two bookstores and we missed both of them, not realizing they closed at 4pm! :(
Epilogue: I announced before we left that I hoped to find a Canada fridge magnet or Christmas tree ornament, a 100% cotton touristy sweatshirt, and maybe a mug. I came home with none of the above.

Fun things:
- Customs was super easy both ways, 10-15 minutes with no problems
- We didn't stay for the show but we walked past a band setting up for their show- an ACDC cover band called BCDC!
- We recognized about 10-50% of the brands represented in each grocery story aisle, and quite a few of the brands we did recognize had different labels! (Many with French subtitles)
- Overall the processed food seems slightly "healthier" in Canada... better oils, fewer additives, etc
- I saw a Canadian version of a redneck and I'd love to know what they're called! He was essentially a USA redneck (dirty pants, work boots, inappropriate joke to the cashier, belly poking out of shirt) but his shirt had a Canadian flag instead of a US flag.
- Bathrooms are called washrooms.
- Only our border patrol person had an accent.

Canada books we have loved: The Adventures of Phillippe (middle grade secular) // Anne of Green Gables (middle grade, secular) // Good Morning, Sunshine (picture book, secular) // Juddie (middle grade, secular) // The Meeting Place (adult, Christian) // Mystery at Chilkoot Pass (middle grade, secular) // No Ocean Too Wide (adult. Christian) // Out of the Woods (picture book, secular) // Owls in the Family (middle grade, secular) // The Trumpet of the Swan (middle grade, secular)

Have you been to Canada? What places do you recommend?