Summer is coming soon, and that means that the kids will be officially on summer vacation. Although the pool and enjoying the warm weather is always a great way to keep the kids occupied throughout the summer months, it’s also important to keep kid’s minds engaged while they are out of the classroom.

Need some ideas for books that no only keep the kids entertained, but also strengthen their reading skills and encourage them spiritually? We have some suggestions that would be great to share with your children:

Always Daddy’s Princess by Karen Kingsbury, illustrated by Valeria Docampo

From New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, a new children’s book about a very special father-daughter relationship.

A new children’s book by New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury poignantly captures the unique bonds of a daddy-daughter relationship and chronicles them in a fresh and engaging light. In Always Daddy’s Princess, Kingsbury’s playful, emotive prose follows a girl’s journey from birth to childhood to motherhood, illuminating her father’s supportive presence every step of the way.

Told through tea parties, soccer games, braces, and boys-and enriched by the whisper of God’s scripture on each beautifully illustrated page-young girls and their dads will see the treasured dimensions of their relationships reflected in this story and will be reminded of the many blessings they share.

An inspired addition to popular princess-themed titles, Always Daddy’s Princess offers a rich, spiritual alternative to more secular offerings. Perfect for gift giving and special occasions, this book can serve as a treasured keepsake as well as a compelling reminder of the influence a loving father can have in his daughter’s life and the supportive guidance found in God’s Word.

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Author Christa Kinde and illustrator Anna Early collaborate on Angels All Around, a prequel to the Threshold Series.

On the surface, everything’s quiet. Peaceful as a summer day. Mrs. Naomi Pomeroy and her children are running errands on Main Street—post office, bakery, library, bookstore, pharmacy. Seven-year-old Prissie and her brothers only see what any of us would expect from a small town. But there’s more going on than meets the eye, for an invisible battle rages around them.

Angels All Around is a Threshold Series prequel that takes readers back seven years, to that providential summer day when little Miss Prissie Pomeroy first meets the town’s brand new mailman. Readers of The Blue Door will recognize two of West Edinton’s angels-incognito, Harken Mercer and Milo Leggett. But what makes this story especially special is that it crosses over with Rough and Tumble, the Threshold Series companion story that updates every weekday on my website.

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Sherry Gore is the author of Simply Delicious Amish Cooking and is the editor-in-chief of Cooking & Such magazine. She is also a weekly scribe for the national edition of the 120-year-old Amish newspaper, The Budget. Sherry is a year-round resident of Sarasota, Florida, has three children, and is a member of a Beachy Amish Mennonite church.

As a huge THANK YOU to all my reader friends and those who’ve supported me over the years, I’m giving away an AUTHENTIC hand-stitched, queen size Amish Quilt to celebrate the release of my book Simply Delicious Amish Cooking, which comes out MAY 7 through Zondervan Publishers!

Use the Rafflecopter widget on my blog to enter the contest and who knows, this beautiful Amish quilt could be all yours!

Hi friends. I’m Sherry Gore, and here’s a little peek “behind-the-scenes” about the making of a few cooking videos my publisher is posting online in anticipation of the May 7 release of my book Simply Delicious Amish Cooking.  Hope you enjoy!

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Bobbie and Robert Wolgemuth are co-authors of the new book, Couples of the Bible. Through their shared journey of marriage, fighting cancer, and writing books, the couple have grown not only closer to one another, but closer to God as well. The following piece was originally posted on Christianpost.com.

I loved her for her heart.

From the first February 14th of our courtship, I knew that Valentine’s day was a big deal to the girl I would marry. Heart shaped notes, cards filled with x’s and o’s, poems, Valentine cookies in my dorm mailbox…my Bobbie bubbled over with

love and spilled her Valentine excitement over me.

We’ve been married almost 43 years and the love gifts keep coming from My Valentine…smiles, happy morning hugs and goodnight kisses.

But Valentine’s Day 2012 we were handed a gift we neither asked for nor expected. Although it was mercifully wrapped in the love of God, this gift was presented to us fromthe voice of an oncologist at MD Anderson hospital in Orlando. Dr. Veronica Schimp’s words were straightforward, yet somehow gentle and kind. “Your Bobbie has Stage IV ovarian cancer.”

Tingles raced from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I tried to breathe. Would I lose the love of my life?

After a few hours, I was standing next to Bobbie’s sleeping form in ICU. I leaned over and kissed her.

“Hi, honey,” I whispered.

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Spring is here and the world is starting to warm up, the trees are getting their leaves back, and your kids are itching to get outside after being cooped up indoors for the winter. Maybe your kids are heading off to Summer Camp in the upcoming months, and you want to make sure that they have the right kind of encouragement and inspiration while they are away from home.

Why not send them off to the great outdoors with God’s Word? The Adventure Bible is perfect for kids who are on the go outside and want to have a companion book that has their same sense of adventure and curiosity. The Adventure Bible’s hard cover is perfect for rugged treks, and the inside illustrations match perfectly with any nature explorer’s sensibility:

And there’s also this super fun backsack they can use to tote their Adventure Bible, water bottle, sunscreen lotion, and more!

How cool are these backsacks?

Whether the kids are exploring the backyard or miles away at camp, give them a companion that won’t ever fail them: the Word of God!

Looking to get a copy of the Adventure Bible? Check out these links:

Find more info and purchase The Adventure Bible
Download more pages from The Adventure Bible
Find more info and purchase The Adventure Bible backsack: Tan Backsack or Purple Backsack

Time has sprung forward, Spring is starting to show in the daffodil’s canary-yellow blooms, and Lent is almost halfway over. That can only mean one thing: Easter is quickly approaching, and this is one of the most joyous occasions for the Church. Christ’s death and resurrection brings us hope, joy, and excitement, and the world around us seems to be rejoicing as well: trees are budding leaves, the sun is warming the ground, and the days start staying around for longer.

This time of year we also celebrate with fun, colorful traditions, like painting eggs and hiding baskets full of treats for children to find. And while candy can be a delicious surprise, wouldn’t it be nice to give something that lasted longer and will have more an impact than a piece of chocolate?

How about giving your kids something that you can share together, is fun and entertaining, and also reminds them what Easter is really about? A book or a Bible can be a perfect gift to give and share with your little ones, and we have a couple suggestions:

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This article is an excerpt from the New York Times bestseller America the Beautiful by Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Carson recently gained national attention for his speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. He is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins and the author of five bestselling books.

Some readers may be thinking, I have worked hard and achieved a lot in my personal life, so why should I worry myself about the well-being of people who are too lazy to take advantage of opportunities to succeed?

However, for every one of those young people we can keep from choosing a self-destructive path, that’s one less person we have to be afraid of or protect our families from, one less person we will have to pay for in the penal system or the welfare system, and one more productive, taxpaying member of society who may discover a new energy source or the cure for cancer. Every person is endowed with God-given abilities, and we must cultivate every ounce of talent we have in order to maintain our pinnacle position in the world.

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Richard Jesse Watson writes about how the scriptures inspire him to create beautiful illustrations that convey God’s word and inspire us to think of God as bigger than we could have ever imagine.

God is so much more than we can fathom. And yet, He reveals Himself to us little by little as we are able to receive it.

I think it is so cool, and so unlike the human bent toward power-grasping, that Jesus said, “Unless you become as a little child, you cannot even see the Kingdom of God. Wow.

Psalm 23 speaks to a child so clearly: You are like a little lamb, and God, The Good Shepherd, will take care of you.  But it also speaks comfort to the been-around-the-block adult as well. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…”

Throughout my life I have found comfort in this elegant, relevant Psalm. When our kids were young, we used to read Psalm 23 to them and draw pictures together to illustrate the imagery of the psalm.

Here is a painting that I did with my son, Jesse, dreaming of being a brave shepherd like the psalm’s author, David, tending his sheep.

I gave Jesse permanent marker pens and let him finish the painting. I left the room to keep from art directing. When I returned he had drawn David with his sling and lots of swords and arrows, battling the giant, Goliath. He also added a Boy Scout tent to suggest to me that we go camping.

When I was illustrating this new version of Psalm 23, I asked Jesse again to pose as a shepherd. He now has “little lambs” of his own, and is also a children’s book author and illustrator.

Jesse’s book, Hope For Haiti, is an example of his ongoing love of God’s little lambs.

And here’s a photo of Jesse with Haitian children:

It is clear to me that goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life.  No kidding.

(Photo credit: Sonya Sones)

Richard Jesse Watson has been making books for children since 1984. He collaborated with Ruth Bell Graham on One Wintry Night, and his version of The Night Before Christmas was a New York Times bestseller. Watson won the Golden Kite Award for his picture book, Tom Thumb, and his illustrations have also been selected for the Society of Illustrator’s Annual Exhibits. Richard and his wife, Susi, live in Port Townsend, Washington. Their children are following in his footsteps as writers and illustrators of children’s books. www.RichardJesseWatson.com