What Age is the Search for Truth Series suitable for?
I’m told it’s a challenge finding appropriate books for children and young people and I often get asked what age the Search for Truth Series is suitable for. When the idea of writing a fiction novel first began to drift into my thoughts, the age group was one of the first things that I considered. As a child, I had a variety of good, wholesome books to read, and when I got older I was introduced to adult Christian fiction written by authors such as Janette Oke and Lori Wick. My younger brothers, however, had very few options. As teenagers, their Sunday school prizes were generally biographies of great preachers – worthwhile, but not light reading, in many cases. And apparently things haven’t changed very much since then. So, with that in mind, I decided to write for teens, making sure that it was something boys would want to read, though not excluding girls.READ MORE
Visit a Christian bookshop, or google ‘children’s Bibles’ and you’ll be faced with a vast array of sizes, shapes and colours of books. How in the world is someone to choose? How can parents or grandparents find a scripturally-sound and easy-to-understand Bible story book to read with the children in their lives? To save you trawling through everything that’s available, I’ve asked some of my friends with young children for their favourite children’s Bibles.
One of the best compliments I get is when someone tells me ‘My son/niece/grandchild isn’t a reader, but I gave him/her your book and they couldn’t put it down. They want to know when the next one is coming out.’ I absolutely love hearing stories like this! Reading a good book is my favourite thing to do. I love knowing that I can play a part in helping others find the pleasure that can be found in bringing words on a page to life.
As I was rummaging through and half-heartedly attempting to sort out some boxes in our storage room one day, I pulled back the lid on one particular box and caught a glimpse of some special childhood friends. Laughing, I lifted out ‘The Best Mistake Ever’ by Richard Scarry and sank onto the floor to read. Huckle Cat, sent by his mother to the shop for butter, cream, apples, potatoes and oranges, had forgotten to take the shopping list. His friend Lowly Worm happened to be at the shop and so Huckle, on Lowly’s advice, arrived home with peanut butter, ice cream, apple pie, potato crisps and orange juice instead. Frustrated Mother Cat could see no use for party food, but quickly changed her mind with the arrival of unexpected guests.
In this post, I chat to fellow children’s author, Eunice Wilkie, about her new release, Princess Precious and the Great King of Everything. This is a beautiful book with great biblical lessons. Little ‘princesses’ are going to love it!
Exactly 100 years ago today, veterinary surgeon and author James Alfred Wight, better known by his pen name, James Herriot, was born. James’ books, based on his life as a country vet, are educational and entertaining, providing an insight into rural life in 1930s and 1940s Yorkshire, and rich with colourful descriptions of people and places. He was an author with a skilful ability to transport his readers to the scene, as though they were standing beside him, listening to the farmer speaking with a thick Yorkshire accent, feeling the biting wind sweeping down from the fells, experiencing the sights and smells of the barn.