We often teach reading, but does our reading teach us? Of course it does – whether we want it to or not! (Which is why I want my kids to read inspirational stories!)
As a Christian mom, I’m very sensitive to this fact. I want my children to be dwelling on things that are beautiful, wholesome, lovely, and right, just as Philippians 4:8 instructs us. This means we need to be careful with what we are reading, not just that it’s free of wicked or evil things, but also that it is teaching righteous things.
Books absolutely develop who we are. They resonate deeply in our souls. We find ourselves becoming more like beloved characters without even knowing we had the desire to do so. Which means we must be diligent in our choosing. Not just any book will do–only those which are excellent and worthy of praise.
Inspirational Stories that Teach Moral Lessons for Kids
Sugar Creek Gang
The tales and travels of the Sugar Creek Gang have passed the test of time, delighting young readers for more than fifty years. Great mysteries for kids with a message, The Sugar Creek Gang series chronicles the faith-building adventures of a group of fun-loving, courageous Christian boys. Your kids will be thrilled, chilled, and inspired to grow as they follow the legendary escapades of Bill Collins, Dragonfly, and the rest of the gang as they struggle with the application of their Christian faith to the adventure of life. And of course, my boys think they are the best books ever!
The Moody Series
I think they are up to 8 in this series now. It all starts with Summer with The Moodys, a wonderfully wholesome story about a homeschool family’s everyday life. When my daughter first read these books, she adored knowing that other families homeschooled and had some things in common with her. (I guess real-life friends don’t seal the deal like those in books?)
The Children’s Character Building Collection
We bought these a few years ago at a homeschool convention and they are used in our home all the time. The stories are short, but mighty, packing in great lessons that will tug at your child’s heart. The issues are ones that all kids face, making the books a wonderful asset to your home.
From the publisher, “Each of these delightful volumes is full of Biblical truth, presented in the most winsome possible stories, sure to warm the heart and teach the mind of every family member.”
Chosen Daughter Series
Take a journey through history with this 5-book set that features virtuous daughters, spanning decades and continents. Your children will be blessed by their faithfulness to God, kindness toward others, and willingness to help.
Lightkeepers Series: Boy Set or Girl Set
My kids love these books. There is a set available for girls or boys, including kids who changed the world, didn’t give in, made a difference, made history, and used their talents. As a bonus, you’ll learn history as you explore the incredible character of these men and women.
In Grandma’s Attic
A young girl delights in her grandmother’s stories of days gone by, sparked by keepsakes and simple questions, Grandma shares marvelous stories of mischief, discovery, and laughter, such as the time she accidentally lost the family buggy. Again, my daughter cannot get enough of these books. A true treasure. There are 4 in the series. You’re going to want to grab them all.
The Basket of Flowers
James, the king’s gardener, teaches his 15-year-old daughter Mary all the principles of godliness through his flowers. She is falsely accused of stealing, and the penalty is death. Mary remembers what her father had taught her: it is better to die for the truth than to live for a lie, and the worst pillow to sleep on is the pillow of a guilty conscience! This story will change your life forever!
Teddy’s Button
Teddy’s Button is a must-read for all children. It’s a story that will open a child’s understanding of the spiritual battle within as Teddy learns that he is his own worst enemy! As a stubborn boy and girl refuse to back down from their selfish pride, one of the many lessons they learn is that they cannot win battles by force and hate, but by carrying the banner of love. Through this charming story, Amy LeFeuvre helps children understand the spiritual battle that rages in their souls, and that parents and children are on the same side!
If you’d like to use inspirational stories like these to make your own homeschool reading curriculum, click here to find out how!
What other inspirational stories do you encourage your kids to read?
Rebekah says
My daughter is 5.5 and reading on 3rd grade level books like American Girl chapter books. I am always searching for wholesome books at her readability level but that aren’t too above her in content appropriateness. Would you give me advice on whether these books you recommend would work for her at this age? Thanks.
Kim Sorgius says
My advice is to stick with picture books at this age. There are many challenging picture books to read, but few contain the same level of mature content as chapter books. Many of the easier chapter books have such simple language that they are actually a LOWER reading level than the picture books that people steer clear of. 🙂
Jennifer Sudik says
Do you happen to have a good list of picture books?
Kim Sorgius says
I don’t personally, but I really love this book. It offers great suggestions: http://amzn.to/1X29FBF
Gwen says
We have quite a few of the series you mentioned, but I have never heard of the Chosen Daughter series- Thank you so much for sharing it 🙂
Cecilia says
Thank you for this post and all of your wonderful resources. I admire you so much, you are a faithful servant of the Lord, keep up the good work. I did want to share that when my girls where younger we used Beautiful Feet’s guide Teaching Character through Literature. I only used the guide for the younger ages, but they also have one for older kids. We enjoyed all of the books very much.
Kim Sorgius says
We’ve used some resources from them, but not that one. Sounds great!
Sunshine says
Hi! Thanks for the list – I love getting new books to read with the kids. 🙂 We love the Grandma’s Attic Series – I thought you might like to know that there are actually (at least) 9 in the series. We have that many anyway. 🙂
Kim Sorgius says
What?!?!?! How did I not know this?
Kimberly O'Connor says
Can you tell me the titles of the other (at least) 5 books in The Grandma’s Attic series??
Suzanne says
You can find all the titles listed here 🙂
http://www.librarything.com/series/Grandma%27s+Attic
-Suzanne@Not Consumed
Curri says
Thank-you for this list Kim!! We love the Moody’s series too 🙂 Will be checking out all these others you mentioned…so glad to know of more “good” books. Some we also enjoy are the Millers series…Wisdom with the Miller’s,etc. Also, the Little Lights Series, with titles like Will You Pass The Salt ( Hudson Taylor), etc. You can find those at cbd.com ?
Amy says
I second the Miller series!
Curri says
Another awesome one…A Penny’s Worth of Character!
Tara says
Hi,
My two are huge readers and I simply cannot keep up with the amount of books they read. Of course, I’m quite picky about what they read and love some of the suggestions you have.
We have many horse books, as in Pony Pals, but I’m wondering if you know of any dog books. My youngest is desperate for some Christian books about dogs and I can’t seem to find any.
Any help from anyone would be appreciated.
Thanks. 🙂
Kim Sorgius says
One option would be the Moody series. While there are people in the book, there is a dog in the story.
These are not Christian, but I like them: http://amzn.to/1I9xG7W They focus on history and breeds.
Tara says
Thanks, I’ll have a look.
Janeene says
Patricia St John has a lovely Christian book with a dog. I believe it’s called Friska. She had another one with a kitten too.
Janeene says
Patricia St John has a lovely Christian book with a dog. I believe it’s called Friska. She had another one with a kitten too.
Kim says
My daughter loves pony pals! We just finished a book from the series- Animal ark. My daughter is six and is OBSESSED with animals so I thought I thought this might help. Animal Ark is the name of the family’s vet business. They work with all kinds of animals (kind of cool). Just in case though- the book we just read a lamb did get bit by a dog and was pregnant and they both died. My daughter was sad but has been around things like that before- if your children have not… you might want to wait or explain. It literally was about two paragraphs and that’s it!! Hope this helps!
Valerie says
What a great list! We have been looking for chapter books with good morals and I can’t wait to check these out. We recently discovered the Imagination Station books and I love the Christian values in those and that my kids are picking up some history at the same time.
Janeene says
This is great! I’m ordering grandma’s attic and Teddy’s button now. Thank you for this list. Please keep adding to it. I really believe books are a way we help train up our child and impart things to them. Even Jesus spoke parables to help us. Thank you.
Trena says
Love Teddy’s Button and The Basket of Flowers (all all Lamplighter books we’ve read). My girls love the In Grandma’s Attic series, too.
Freda says
Great and helpful post thanks!! What do you think about the Cul-de-sac Kids book series? My daughter has read 2 books and so far she loves them.
Kim Sorgius says
We have read a few of those. They are not written from a Christian perspective though, so I didn’t list them here. 🙂
Katherine says
Cul-de-sac Kids books are Christian. Each one teaches a life lesson. They can be found at CBD.com
Just FYI 🙂
Eliza says
An oldie but a goodie that I just feel like I have to mention is the Little Women books by Louisa M Alcott. I have just reread the first two books (Little Women and Good Wives) and am now reading Little Men. I read Little Women as a child and loved it, but I didn’t realise that there were more books in the series! I am learning so much about having a good christian attitude in trying circumstances even now at 30, I wish I had paid more attention when I was a tween/teen!
Another good horse series that promotes working hard and is definitely discourages ‘boy craziness’ is Thoroughbred. It is allabout horse racing, so that might put some people off, but there is a lot of good in these books. They are not written from a specific Christian perspective, but they are still full of wholesome goodness, especially horses! I just devoured the when I was a girl (I started reading them when I was about 8) and now they are our bedtime story books with my son, who also loves them.
Tricia says
I am searching for a book or short story with a book that I remember reading to a younger sibling years ago. Even as an adult, it really taught me something and now I can’t remember it to find it.
All I remember about the story is it is about a child that has either little bugs or other mystical creatures that live in his room and something about them praising and loving the boy they knew as creator. The story was teaching about ‘works’ above love I think and the past I remember was about one of the ‘things’ getting focused solely on carrying a sign praising the boy, I think. I wish I remembered more but just mainly how I felt about it and how much I would love to find it again.
If anyone knows what I might be talking about, I would sure love ideas. Thanks
Erica says
My oldest has just recently developed a love for chapter books and is blowing through them. I’m not familiar with any of these books…are they appropriate content for a seven year old? Thanks!
Katie Bird says
If you haven’t, check out the Priscilla Shirer books “The Prince Warriors.” They are wonderful! We use them as a read a loud and are waiting for book 3. Even my husband has gotten in to them and prefer we read this one while he is home.
Richelle says
Hi Kim! Would you recommend any of these as a read aloud for Kindergarten/High School mix (I know, large age gap ;)?
Kim Sorgius says
I don’t think there is ever a gap that’s too large. Even as an adult I love to hear stories. However, if your kids are currently of the belief that certain levels are below them, it might take some retraining of their thinking!
Richelle says
Thanks, Kim! I do agree and they all love to be read to. I guess what I should have asked is if you feel any of your recommendations might be a bit much for a kindergarten read aloud. They all sound great…many I had not heard of before. Thanks again. Prayers for a fruitful 2017-2018 school year! <3
Kim Sorgius says
Oh, sorry! They are all fine except for maybe Basket of Flowers. That might scare young children if they are sensitive to it. My 5 year old boy was fine. My girls probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it at that age.
Vicki says
Great list. We really loved the six book or so series about Concord Cunningham.
Katie says
What a wonderful list!!!! I am adding each book to my Amazon shopping cart as I read this! I have been so discouraged getting books from the library only to find out that by the 1st or 2nd chapter there always seems to be something in conflict with our Christian faith! It is difficult to thoroughly read every book our kids pick out, so I usually just skim through it, read the summary and hope for the best. Thank you for taking out the guessing work. I am so excited to get started on a wholesome, Christian-based library of my own!