Let’s chat about some great devotional books our family has enjoyed. I LOVE character study books. I have seen my children grow in their faith and understanding of how the scriptures apply to their lives on a real and meaningful basis through the books and stories we have read over the years.
This is one of my favorite topics and I am passionate about intentionally providing excellent devotional books for the children. I wrote about some of our choices for the younger ages in an earlier WFMW post. This evening I went through my shelves and realized I have several books that are especially appealing to boys. That said, I must note that with five children (two of whom are girls) it is imperative that our reading is accessible to both the male and female listeners. These books have been enjoyed by the girls and boys alike in our family.
Now I share them with you.
Devotional Books for Boys
The Power of One by Ron Luce. The edition I have is a gift book. Amazon links to a new one that is being published in July.
This is a powerful book full of personal stories of teens who face real instances of peer pressure. Very inspiring. I am definitely going to look for additional books by Ron Luce. Luce is the President and Founder of Teen Mania Ministries, a Christian youth organization that reaches millions of young people worldwide.
Tiger and Tom (and other stories for boys) by J. E. White. I found this little treasure at a curriculum sale one year. The stories were originally gathered from church papers in the 1870′s and many of them powerfully illustrate the consequences of sinful life choices.
What do I do now, Lord by Chris Jones. This book was in a big box of library cast offs. Always looking to connect with my active boys, I immediately grabbed this when I saw the sub title: Devotions for Boys. Each of the individual stories feature a young boy facing real-life problems — fears, friends, bullies, getting along with parents – and end with a scripture and prayer. I read this to Joshua (age 14) years ago and recently picked it up to read to Daniel (age 11). It’s perfect for the pre-teen (or younger) boy.
Her Mother’s Bible & Hedge Fence The Golden Text Series by Isabella Alden. This is another collection that was written in the 1800′s. In each story a young boy reads a portion of scripture that has been highlighted by his grandmother. God teaches him what the verse means and how it should be applied to his life. It was moving to see how his understanding of scripture grew through out the book. A classic.
Building of the Rock five book devotional series. Joel Beeke and Diana Kleyn have taken a selection of real life incidents and fictional narratives and developed them into a series of devotional books for children aged 7-12. We devoured all five of these books and were eager for more. The stories include a mixture of historical adventure, childhood experiences, remarkable instances of conversion and dramatic, rescues from danger. There is a question and scripture reference at the end of each story.
How God Used a Thunderstorm
How God Stopped the Pirates
How God Used a Snowdrift
How God Used a Drought and an Umbrella
How God Sent a Dog to Save a Family
There you have it, just a few of our favorites. If you have a devotional book that your family loves, please leave a comment. Amazon is just a few clicks away and I am always eager to build our faith/life lessons library.
Stop by Rocks in My Dryer for other Works for Me Wednesday posts.
Kathy
Project 366 – Day 141
Thank you! A great help!
Hey Kathy,
We have a read a couple books in the Lightkeeper series.
We have all really enjoyed them, and they have led to some interesting discussion. This last time, many of the boys (Wycliffe, Calvin, & Hus), all said they had been priests for many years before they became Christians. We talked for a couple of nights about that.
There are 7 books;
10 Boys/Girls Who Made History
10 Boy/Girls who Made a Difference
10 Boys/Girls who Did not Give In
10 Boys Who Changed the World
(there are different books for the boys/girls versions, they are not together.)
The books are by Irene Howat and we would certainly recommend them.
Thanks for the tip on my erroneous link. I fixed it.
Tina
Kathy,
Such a helpful post! Thanks for sharing your favorites along with the fact that even your daughters can “safely” participate in these devotions. That’s the tidbit I needed to hear:) God bless you!
What a great list. I had not seen most of these- now I’ll be on the lookout.
We enjoy Lamplighter books quite a bit. Though they are not devotional in nature they are Christian moral literature with great heroes and vocabulary, too. The Hedge of Thorns and the Golden Thread are two of our favorite. Some of the books are quite short and others are novels.
What a great post! Would any of these books be good for my 3 year old son?Blessings!
Hi,
I grew up as a reluctant reader. Now I write action-adventures & mysteries, especially for boys 8 and up, that kids hate to put down. My web site is at http://www.maxbooks.9k.com and my Books for Boys blog is at http://booksandboys.blogspot.com
Ranked by Accelerated Reader
Max Elliot Anderson
I’m always looking for good books for my 9 year old son. Thanks for the suggestions.
Wonderful resources, Katherine. Love you, AK
Thanks for the recommendations… always nice to hear about a good book
I’m going to have to get busy and try some of these….and Tina’s list too.