Media Matters

 Animated 2025 movie from Angel Studios. Animated musical story of the biblical David, starting with his childhood and ending with his becoming the king. Quite well done! There is some imagery that could be scary for younger viewers. Recommend for ages 7+?

 Book by Katherine Reay. A charming modern retelling of Daddy-Long-Legs. Squeaky clean.

 Book series by Beth Brower. The series starts a bit slow, but it will hook you soon enough. Absolutely charming!

 Book by Kate Stradling. This was a delightful fantasy, very loosely based on Beowulf, and it is full of magic, mystery, and romance. It was completely clean, great for teens as well as adults. (Mature content Note: There is an odious character who owns a brothel and threatens to force the girls into his service.)

 Book by Sheri Dew. These biographical snippets paint a picture of a man who was truly remarkable in countless ways. His optimism, intelligence, kindness, curiosity, discipline, sincerity, faith, leadership, and so on are unmatched.

 Book by Amanda Dykes. This is my 4th Amanda Dykes book, and I have to say she is so consistent in her storytelling. Another beautiful historical mystery with a hint of slow building romance, this time with the added bonus of fictional letters, screenplays, interview transcripts, etc to help tell the story. My only complaint with this author is the slow pacing and overly wordy moments. It could have been edited tighter. Some quotes: “The papers ask when I’ll settle down and marry, as if everything before marriage is just . . . biding time. But . . . Didn’t God make this time, too? Isn’t there just as much purpose here? If He made it, how could it have less purpose than whatever’s on the other side of marriage? Or on the other side of anything, for that matter. A career, or children, or some measure of success or other. How could the ‘now’ have any less purpose than whatever’s on the other side?” She shook her head. “I think God made each moment and each moment matters.” Getting to ...

 This 2022 movie is charming! It explores themes of grief, courage, and sacrifice in an engaging plot with endearing characters. Recommended age 8+ for scary situations. “The purpose of a lighthouse is not to keep ships safe. If we wanted to keep them safe, we wouldn’t let them leave the harbor. The purpose of a lighthouse is to guide them on their journey.” “We don’t always give you what you want. But we always give you what you need.”

 Book by The Arbinger Institute. Rather than a typical nonfiction self-help book, this book teaches its principles through a fictional story where the characters then apply those principles to various situations in their lives. It made the book quite a fast read, and I absolutely felt the truth of what was being taught. Its basic premise is that more important than behavior is the motive or desire or “way of being” behind it. (Two people could do the same outward actions, but for very different reasons.) In any given moment we are seeing others either as people or as objects. And that way of seeing others affects how we view and react to everything else. There are countless applications for the principles in this book: marriage, parenting, community, business, politics, leadership, etc. As divisive and contemptuous as our current society is, these principles are sorely needed. This would be a good companion book to Arthur Brooks’ Love Your Enemies.

 Picture book by Maya Ajmera. What a lovely book! It introduces people of faith around the world based on what they have in common: praying, chanting and singing, reading holy books, listening and learning, cleansing, holy places, holidays and festivals, marking important events, religious clothing, food and drink, caring for and helping others, etc. The book features actual photographs of children practicing their various faiths. This would be a great way to both learn about other religions, and also a great discussion starter about how your religion practices these things. To that end, it would be fun to take pictures of your family members practicing their faith and insert them between the corresponding pages of your family’s copy of the book.

 Picture book by Dr. Seuss. I love this story about a foolish king and a brave boy and the magic inherent in owning your mistakes and apologizing. This is a longer Dr. Seuss story with no rhyming, and very well written. “If you won’t even say you’re sorry, you’re no sort of a king at all.”

 Picture book by Susan Wojciechowski. A story about grief and healing and kindness and of course Jesus. Definitely wordy and for older kids and adults.

 Picture book by Dr. Seuss. A fabulous commentary on the arms race and war in general, with a cliffhanger ending where you don’t know if the bombs get dropped or not. This is obviously aimed at older readers.

 Book by Heather Dixon. A YA retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. It has romance (clean), strong family relationships, and a creepy villain to root against. You could definitely have some good conversations with your teen about relationship red flags/green flags as you read.

 Book by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown. This story is about a seventh grade boy with an eye disease who loves drawing comic books and a girl who is learning to be her best self as she accepts challenges from her terminally ill brother. It’s full of heart, friendship, bravery, and metaphors about “seeing” people and situations more clearly. I appreciated that it didn’t go for the cliched unrealistic endings, and instead it was more nuanced.

 The animated movie and the live action movie are quite similar and definitely worth watching! Lots of great themes to discuss! Note: there is a series of books by the same title, and although the movie is very loosely based on the books, the plot and tone are quite different. I personally much preferred the movies, as the books contained a decent amount of potty humor.

 Book by Sarah Eden. Very fun historical romance audiobook that will also shock you in regard to the lack of rights for women and those diagnosed with mental illness. A clean read suitable for teens. Note: this is technically the 2nd in a series, but it totally works as a standalone.

Book by Kathryn Erskine. This novel is written from the POV of an 11 year old girl with Asperger’s, which was eye opening. IMO, the audiobook really helps to solidify her voice. It is sad but hopeful. TW: school shooting, death/grief

 Book by Jessie Janowitz. This was a charming middle grade contemporary fiction novel about a boy who deals with moving to a small town by starting a doughnut business. Along with a good story, the book includes business tips and recipes.

 Book by Megan Walker. A fun and squeaky clean regency romance.

 Book by Jennifer Nielsen. Compelling historical fiction (Polish resistance in WW2) based on a true story! (Definitely read the author’s note at the end.)