Christmas is approaching, and according to family tradition, our girls will each receive a book as one of their presents. If this is also your tradition, or you have nieces or other girls aged 8-14 to buy for, I would suggest the Life of Faith “Millie” series, beginning with the first book, Millie’s Unsettled Season.
Author Martha Finley wrote the “Millie” books as a follow-up to the popular “Elsie Dinsmore” series. Elsie was a widely-read fictional character in the 1800’s, and Millie was portrayed as Elsie’s second cousin. Under the brand “Life of Faith,” both sets of books have been condensed and the language updated slightly… enough for a girl of this day and age to enjoy without having to decipher flowery phrases, but definitely not “dumbed-down.”
While I also recommend the Elsie series, my girls and I prefer Millie. The eight book series begins with twelve year old Millie, the eldest of eight children, leaving her beloved Landsdale, Ohio, for a home on the Indiana frontier. The journey is difficult, and not without tragedy. Millie learns many lessons along the way, all along growing closer to her Savior.
Girls of all ages will be able to relate to Millie as she is a real person with faults who must learn to lean on God and live by His Word. Her parents are good examples of living out the Christian faith, and the entire book points the reader towards a deeper faith in Jesus Christ, while guiding the reader through interesting plots and well-developed characters.
All my girls have read the series, and my twelve-year old is currently rereading them aloud with me. We are in the middle of Book Six, Millie’s Grand Adventure. I look forward to our chapter each evening we are able to read, and sometimes find my sixteen- and eighteen- year olds, when present, listening around the corner to a beloved book read long ago, once again enjoyed.
These books are harder to find than they once were, but thanks to amazon, you can get them in good condition, inexpensively. I recommend that you purchase one today for that special little girl in your life!
http://www.amazon.com/Millies-Unsettled-Season-Book-1/dp/1928749097/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320424232&sr=1-1
I would also love to throw in any of Patricia St. Johns books as amazing. We have enjoyed every one of them. The characters are in the same age range and not perfect. The author allows you to witness the redemptive change through their faith in Jesus. I for one love that a few of the characters have quick tempers and my children, one in particular, can clearly feel the pain when the temper brings about natural consequences that are sometimes painful to themselves or cause harm to another. There has also been a character who struggled with pride in being always good and right. Highly recommend and I will look into these for my nieces!
I agree, Jenny! Long ago, when I was a first-grade teacher, I would listen to Christian radio after school while putting up my board work for the next day. Patricia St. John’s “Treasures of the Snow” was one of the stories acted out on a certain program. It was so exciting, I couldn’t wait for the next episode! =)