Curling up with a good book is a simple pleasure in life. A good book makes holiday travel less stressful. It’s always nice to have something you are looking forward to reading. Books make great gifts! Of course, I am honored whenever you choose to purchase one of my books to give to a friend. Here are some other book recommendations to buy your family and friends for Christmas, beginning with my all-time favorite book of the year: Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos.
I cannot say enough about this story of the U.S. Navy’s famous aviator duo Tom Hudner and Jesse Brown and the Marines they fought to defend in the Korean War. I read Devotion because it is Ethan’s favorite war book. That says a lot because he has read dozens and dozens of thick WWII novels and books about various wars. I read Devotion to connect with my son’s fascination with the military, and in so doing, I found myself immersed in a story I could not put down. It’s my favorite read of 2017!
Read this book. We would live in a much better world if our young people held up the ideals in Devotion.
My co-author of Growing Up Social, Dr. Gary Chapman has teamed up with Dr. Ed Shaw and Deborah Barr to bring us Keep Love Alive as Memories Fade: The 5 Love Languages and the Alzheimer’s Journey. Perhaps you (or someone close to you) are part of the fifteen million Americans who are caregivers to a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Christmas may be an especially difficult time.
Can speaking the love languages even help individuals, couples, and caregivers who are dealing with the day-to-day devastating effects of Alzheimer’s? This may be the perfect gift for someone who needs a ray of hope as they are caring for a loved one.
In this graphic novel from Focus on the Family, your child will have a different superhero to look up to:
Captain Absolutely: Defending Truth, Justice, and Lots More Truuuth! If you follow Adventures in Odyssey (an awesome radio drama we love!), you’ll know that the quirky Wooton Bassett writes these comic books. Captain Absolutely is pitted against his ultimate nemesis, the notorious Dr. Relative. Recommended for ages 8 – 12 years. My 8-year-old daughter Lucy has spent many nights with her light on, reading just one more page of Captain Absolutely!
Dr. David Jeremiah has a wonderful study Bible geared for kids, Airship Genesis: Legendary Bible Adventure Kids Study Bible. I really like the study features such as the “Mission Overviews” which provides the background and main theme and purpose for each book in the Bible. We adults have a lot to learn from it as well!
There are “Rupert Reports” the AI unit which explains items in the Bible such as a cubit, shekel, the covenant, etc.
There are also audio adventures to listen to – to get your kids even more connected with the Word of God!
Dannah Gresh has a book to help your tween girl understand real beauty, Secret Keeper Girl: The Power of Modesty for Tweens. This is a super fun book filled with photos, fun graphics, and catchy phrases that will make your girl smile. As I wrote in praise for the book, “Dannah’s funny examples and BFF tone will make this an easy read for your tween. It will equip you to have conversations, not confrontations, about hot topics like mini-skirts.” You might want to give this book to your daughter with a gift card to go shopping together.
My daughters love this series from Bible Belles‘ author Erin Weidemann. These beautifully illustrated books are perfect for toddlers, preschoolers and elementary age kids. This series of Bible heroes for girls includes:
Erin has created books that teach our girls about true beauty. The mission of Bible Belles? To have girls obsessed with God’s Word: built up, firmly rooted in His truth, so that they know exactly who they are, but more importantly, to whom they belong. I love that!
