What I Read and Our Homeschool Read Alouds ll June 2026

 Nonfiction:

Miracles in the Hallways by Irene T. Lopez

What do miracles look like in everyday situations?  Walking the halls of a public school in California, for example?  As a well respected administrator, Lopez has an incredible eye for seeing these miracles and encouraging those around her.  Miracles in the Hallway is a beautifully written account of some of the ways she's seen God move in her schools and students' lives.  It's an incredible reminder to invite the Holy Spirit into our every day situations and allow Him to guide us for His glory.  This beautifully written account of the way the Lord is working in the every day would make an encouraging gift for anyone serving in the classroom.

The School of Obedience by Andrew Murray

As we see from Scripture, Christ was our example of full obedience to God.  He followed God's plan of redemption even to death on the cross.  In The School of Obedience, Murray lays out Christ's total surrender and how we as Christians are to follow in His steps.  This book is small, but mighty.  It's dense, thorough, and thoughtful.  Rather than presenting obedience as legalism, Murray shows the true freedom that comes from obedience and how it draws us into the fullness of Christ.

Outdated by Jonathan Pokluda

Pokluda spends each chapter addressing a myth about dating and expounding on the truth of what makes a successful relationship.  Some of the myths touch on communication, breakups, staying together, living together, the relevance of marriage, etc.  Our current hookup culture tends to send mixed messages to our teens and young adults so I've been looking for a helpful resource in this direction.  Pokluda speaks with a lot of honesty and hope about what makes a healthy dating viewpoint, and I tended to agree with him on most everything.  This is a title that I'll be adding to our teens personal growth reading list.

Fiction:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Fanny Price comes to Mansfield Park as a young girl.  There her Aunt and Uncle raise her as one of their own.  Well, not quite one of their own.  She must know her place.  Still they endeavor to give her advantages that she wouldn't otherwise know.  She develops a special bond with her cousin, Edmond, and the two grow to be the most sensible of the cousins.  Over time, Fanny is approached by a wealthy suitor.  However, his playboy reputation precedes him and common sense Fanny will have nothing to do with him.  At the same time, Edmond falls for the suitor's sister, who is just as fanciful and wrapped in the seductions of wealth and image.  Fanny and Edmond must navigate their emotions, wealth, and societal expectations to find where their hearts can truly be at rest.  This is the first time I've read Mansfield Park, but felt that it's quite possibly Jane Austen's finest.  Though one of her longer novels, she writes the characters and their struggles so accurately; I couldn't put it down.  It was a page turner from beginning to end.

A Whale of the Wild by Rosanne Parry

Part of the Voice of the Wilderness series, Vega must help her family find salmon in order to survive.  But when an earthquake and tsunami separate her and her brother from the rest of the family, they must do everything they can to be reunited.  I love the way these books are written.  Parry does an incredible job of weaving fact and fiction to create a compelling story.  And in the back of the book, the author includes a tremendous amount of non-fiction concerning the animals and environment that she writes about.  These books would make wonderful unit studies for any homeschooler and treasured read alouds for any family.

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

A fresh look at the classic myth of Cupid and Psyche, Till We Have Faces centers on Psyche's older sister, Orual, and her bond with her young sister.  When Psyche is sacrificed to appease the gods, Orual goes to the forest to gather her bones and return them home for burial. But there she find Psyche alive and married to a god.  However, as far as Orual can see Psyche is being held captive by delusions, and Orual sets out to free her.  This sets off a chain of events which will alter the girls' lives forever.  This is outside my usual genre, but I couldn't put it down.  C.S. Lewis did a masterful job of taking a classic myth and crafting a gripping tale.  This book reminds us that things aren't always as they appear and even the best of intentions sometimes aren't enough.

Read Aluds:

Jungle of Bones by Ben Mikaelsen

Dylan Barstow seems to always find himself in trouble.  Embittered by his father's untimely death, Dylan is determined to live life on his own terms.  But one day when he goes too far, he finds himself on a plan with his militant uncle traveling to a country that he's never even heard of.  Uncle Todd takes Dylan to Papua New Guinea in search of Dylan's grandfather's WWII fighter plane shot down by enemy fire.  Along the way, Dylan learns what true courage looks like and what it means to fight for a good cause.  There's a little bit of language in this one, but it was early edited out by reading aloud. What I really appreciated about this title was the redemption arc of Dylan's story.  Through the course of the book, he takes a hard look at how his choices are affecting his family, and determines to make a change for the better.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Meet Holling Hoodhood, seventh grader just trying to survive middle school.  But Wednesday afternoons with Mrs. Baker prove to be a roadblock.  While half the class goes to catechism and the other half goes to Hebrew school, Holling is stuck in Mrs. Baker's class reading Shakespeare.  Over the course of the school year 1967-68, he and Mrs. Baker form an unlikely friendship against the background of the Vietnam War.  Wednesday Wars beautifully combines the everyday adventures of middle school with the impact of war on a torn nation.  As the book goes on, Mrs. Baker herself is impacted by the disappearance of her husband.  Several of the characters go on a deep, personal journey throughout the year ... touching on themes of human nature through the characters of Shakespeare.  Wednesday Wars is a comedic look at middle school life, intergenerational friendships, and the lessons we learn about ourselves.