Today, I am excited to introduce you to my favorite read-aloud for Lent and Easter.
Amon’s Adventure is a wonderful adventure story that will leave your kids begging for just one more chapter.
Amon is a 13 year-old boy during the time of Christ’s persecution, and in this fictional tale, his father has been accused of a terrible crime. It’s up to Amon to navigate the tension in his local community and clear his father’s name.
If you want to breathe some life into your family’s experience of Lent and Easter… this story is a great way to do just that. I highly recommend it as a family read-aloud for kids 8+.
It’s intense, so I suggest previewing each chapter if you’re reading it aloud to kids younger than that.
The author, Arnold Ytreeide, is visiting with me today on the newest episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, and learning more about where this book came for was such a delight!
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- Where this book (and those in his Jotham’s Journey series) came from
- Ideas for how best to use this book during Lent
- How (and why) he tells a story we all know… in a brand new way
I also answer a listener question about… whether or not you really want to be reading aloud above a child’s own reading level. The answer is both yes and no. Listen to find out more.
Listener Guide
Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast:
- 1:01 Reading above a child’s ability
- 4:54 Kids don’t want to listen to a book?
- 6:16 An Easter story
- 7:57 A story of ultimate love
- 9:46 Meet Arnold Ytreeide
- 11:17 How Arnie began writing books for children
- 14:21 Amon is born
- 15:33 Pacing reading during Lent
- 16:48 The research process
- 22:40 The characters take off
- 23:51 The power of stories to shape faith
- 25:54 A sense of hope
- 29:06 A reading from Amon …
- 34:37 King’s Ransom?
- 35:46 Let the Kids Speak
Links from this episode:
- Seabiscuit
- Arnold Ytreeide’s website
- Special features for Amon’s Adventure
Quotes to remember:
“This is a powerful adventure story that is going to help your family make preparing for Easter both meaningful and transformational.” – Sarah Mackenzie
“I started writing Jotham… he started doing things, and I just had to follow him around. Pretty soon, I had a chapter… and then another chapter… and another… and it just kept building … I wrote this out of love for my kids.” – Arnold Ytreeide
Books from this episode:
(All links are affiliate links.)
You’ll also enjoy:
- Easter Basket Ideas for Young Readers
- Your Job is to Plant the Seed, a Conversation with Sally Lloyd Jones
- Finding Allies in Imagination, S.D. Smith
More free resources and booklists
Get the best episodes and reources
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