Though at this time I am currently unmarried with no kids (though that may change within the next few years, since I’m getting married in October!), I often daydream about having kid in the future, if God allows us. I can vividly see Josh teaching our son how to work on vehicles, or me teaching our daughter how to shoot a bow. I could see Josh teaching them how to bowl, and all of us having a blast together baking snickerdoodles.

But obviously, since I’m a book nerd, I’ve also put a ton of thought into the stories I plan to introduce to my future rugrats. ❤

Books I Loved as a Kid

The Beginner’s Bible by Zondervan

As a 90s baby, I had one of these kid-friendly Bibles growing up, and I loved the colorful illustrations. I may pass the one I had down to our kids, or purchase them new ones of their own. Either way, I feel these will make for both great bedtime stories, and a way to introduce Jesus to our kids. ❤

The Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park

I recently did a fangirl post on why I think Barbara Park was a literary genius, and it’s all in part due to her Junie B. Jones series. I devoured these books as a kid, due to the hilarious stories, and have still, guiltlessly, sometimes given them a re-read in my twenties. I pray my future youngins love these as much as I have, and it’ll give me an excuse to purchase some of the books from the series I didn’t own as a kid. 😉

Beverly Cleary Books

Though I haven’t read all of her books, I read a few in elementary school and really liked them, especially the ones featuring Ramona and Henry. I’d love for my kids to have the entire collection, or at least those featuring these two lovable characters. ❤

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

This is a middle grade series that I didn’t discover until I was in my teens, but I think it would be fun to do a read-aloud of these books to my kids when they’re around eight or nine. My sister introduced me to these when she was a little older than that, and I binge-read all the books she had, loving Kinney’s wit and the colorful cast of characters.

The Babysitter’s Club and Babysitter’s Little Sister series by Ann M. Martin

I really hope Josh and I are able to have both a boy and a girl in the future. If we’re blessed with a daughter, I’d love to introduce her to a couple of my favorite series from elementary school. Though I didn’t read all of them, if she likes them, I’d be willing to splurge for her. ❤ Honestly, I remember loving all of Martin’s books I could get my hands on, so I’ll definitely be recommending her backlog to my kiddos.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

This was read aloud to my class in second or third grade, and then we went on a fieldtrip to see a play based on the book. I haven’t read it since then, but I believe it would be a fun read-aloud around Christmastime when our kids are around that age.

Off the Itinerary Series by M. Liz Boyle

I haven’t read a lot of indie books for younger kids, but while the Off the Itinerary series is meant for a young adult audience, I feel I could safely read them to kids as early as eight or nine years old. This is a fantastic Christian outdoor adventure series by my good friend, M. Liz Boyle, and this would be a great, edifying addition to our future kids’ book collection.

Books I Haven’t Read

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Yeah, I know. What kind of Christian book nerd hasn’t read The Chronicles of Narnia?! Well, I haven’t, but I hope to change that if Josh and I are blessed with kids. I’m not really a fantasy reader, but if our kids are, I want them to have access to good, Christian-based fantasy books, and this is a safe place to start.

The Berenstain Bears series by Mike Berenstain

When it comes to picture books, I’m deftly afraid of what kind of crazy, worldly content could be included in random, modern books I could pick up from a bookstore/Amazon without first researching them, but I know for sure I can trust this series. I read a few of these as a kid and remember they taught good morals, but it wasn’t a series I owned a lot of. However, I love the illustrations, and the author has partnered with Zondervan to release Christian-themed Berenstain Bears books, so these will definitely be my go-tos for picture books.

Winnie the Pooh books by A. A. Milne

As a kid, I LOVED Disney’s film and TV adaptions of this classic children’s book… but I’ve never read the stories that inspired them. So, I definitely want to introduce my kids to them, and enjoy the original stories for the first time with them.

Eloise books by Kay Thompson

One of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is Eloise at Christmastime, and I’d really like to introduce my future kids to this spunky heroine who lives at the Plaza Hotel in NYC.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

If you’re a parent, what clean or Christian books do you recommend for kids? Reviewing my list, I definitely need some help with good book recommendations for boys!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀