It’s always interesting to look back over the year and reflect. 2020 was an especially eventful year, and we thought it might be fun to see what YOU, our readers, enjoyed most from Redeemed Reader each month. What, in other words, were the most popular posts in 2020? Looking back, we can see the movement from New Year’s optimism and reflection to obvious February themes (Black History Month, romance, Presidents’ Day) to the start of the pandemic to race relations and more. And some family favorite continue to be popular. MOST POPULAR FOR 2020 (YTD) REVIEWS: The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, The Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan, Ghost…

As 2020 draws to an end, we know we’ve added a lot of new readers. So, squeaking in for very last minute Christmas ideas, here is our last Meet the Team, Christmas 2020 edition! We wrap up with Hayley, our administrative assistant and staff writer, answering her own questions! 1. What are some books you’d like to give this year? Picture Book: I’m giving my nieces The Simple Art of Flying, but then I found out my friends hadn’t read Narnia —so they received The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe instead! YA: I might or might not have influenced the gift of R. J. Anderson’s newest novel, Nomad, for a YA…

Two versions of “The Night before Christmas” and one classic trickster tale make great additions to under-the-tree reading. Fun for ages 4-up. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Loren Long. Harper, 2020, 32 pages. ’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through four different houses scattered over the globe, four families are slumbering away. Each double-page spread shifts among a snowy country home, a one-bedroom trailer, a city brownstone, and a Moroccan-like dwelling under the palms. Santa, a “right jolly old elf” with something of a garden-gnomish look about him, visits them all as spying parents lurks in the background. Young readers will enjoy picking out…

As 2020 draws to an end, we know we’ve added a lot of new readers. So, just in time for last minute Christmas ideas, here is Meet the Team, Christmas 2020 edition! Hayley plays interviewer to introduce the Redeemed Reader team. Today let’s chat with our Associate Editor and Staff Writer, Megan Saben. 1. What are some books you’d like to give this year? Picture Book: The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz. A friend gave it to me as a baby gift for my firstborn thirteen years ago, and it’s still a fun read-aloud! I also gave a copy of A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker and hunted down a used copy (in good…

As 2020 draws to an end, we know we’ve added a lot of new readers. So, just in time for last minute Christmas ideas, here is Meet the Team, Christmas 2020 edition! Hayley plays interviewer to introduce the Redeemed Reader team. We continue today with our very own Managing Editor and Staff Writer, Betsy Farquhar. 1. What are some books you’d like to give this year? Chapter Book It’s a chapter book, but I’ll be passing on Skunk and Badger to my twin niece and nephew. They’re turning 6 in January and are the perfect age for this gem. MG/YA It’s crazy to think that all three of my children…

Theologically solid Baby Believer series is a beautiful way to introduce littles to Scripture and church doctrine. From Eden to Bethlehem by Danielle Hitchen, illustrated by Jessica Blanchard. Harvest Kids, 2018, unpaged. We Believe by Danielle Hitchen, illustrated by Jessica Blanchard. Harvest Kids, 2020, unpaged. Cover image of We Believe Reading Level: Board books, ages 0-4 Recommended For: Ages 0-4 My first introduction to Hitchen and Blanchard’s theologically solid series for little hands and short attention spans was Psalms of Praise. We used it regularly when I was co-teaching the preschool Sunday School class, because the children’s innate wiggles needed an outlet before the Bible story. Psalms of Praise consists…

A charming middle grade debut featuring a fractious, poetic parrot and a lonely little boy. *The Simple Art of Flying by Cory Leonardo. Aladdin, 2019. 384 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-12 Recommended For: Middle Grades, ages 8-12 Alastair is bound and determined to escape the pet shop. Even though it’s the only world he knows, he dreams of flying off with his little sister to a better life. (Based on a Florida postcard, of course; what could go wrong?). But life doesn’t always go as planned, and Alastair isn’t the only one facing the unexpected. Lonely old Mrs. Plopky writes letters to her late husband as a way…

As 2020 draws to an end, we know we’ve added a lot of new readers. So, just in time for last minute Christmas ideas, here is Meet the Team, Christmas 2020 edition! Hayley plays interviewer to introduce the Redeemed Reader team. Today we’re starting off with our editorial advisor and senior staff writer, Janie B. Cheaney. 1. What are some books you’d like to give this year? Picture book: I’m not giving any for Christmas, but last spring I gave my youngest granddaughter a copy of Hank Finds an Egg–one of my favorite wordless picture books. A beautiful picture book for Christmas is Julie Berry’s Long Ago on a Silent Night. Middle…

Wishes andWellingtons is a light-hearted Victorian fantasy about being careful what you wish for. Wishes and Wellingtons by Julie Berry. Sourcebooks, 2020, 363 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-1 To call Maeve Merritt “feisty” is an understatement. She’s the terror of Miss Salamanca’s School for Upright Young Ladies, and most particularly of Miss Salamanca herself. Not that Maeve isn’t upright in her own way, but she’s obstreperous to a fault and won’t back down even when she could be a little more conciliatory. Her best friend and roommate Alice Bromley is a perfect foil, tempering some of Maeve’s excess. Unfortunately Alice isn’t around when Maeve…

Are you looking at another holiday stuck at home? Do you have family members scattered across the country? Megan and I both are looking at another holiday spent in our own homes without our beloved family members. Thanksgiving was one day. Christmas, though, usually means days and days of fellowship and family time with our loved ones. But you know what? Our family members are also looking at the same scenario: many of them won’t be traveling either. So, Megan and I are sending “Quarantine Boxes” as Christmas gifts this year: boxes full of treats, activities, and cheer that will offer “at-home” enjoyment and memories. What’s included in a Quarantine…