SHINE A LIGHT TODAY. AKA: SALT
The Christian & Faith-Based go-to media review series that spotlights faith-driven books, films, and podcasts worth your time.
Wild Thing (Winnie the Horse Gentler, Book 1)
Wild Thing is the first book of the Winnie the Horse Gentler preteen series by Dandi Daley Mackall. In it, horse “gentler” Winnie Willis must grapple with not just an unruly Arabian, but also the pain of losing her mother and moving to a new city.
The High Crusade
The High Crusade is a tongue-in-cheek chivalric space opera by renown science fiction writer Poul Anderson. In this book, the conquering Wersgorix aliens arrive in fourteenth century England with the intention of scaring the locals into submission. Unable to anticipate the ferocity of the local English baron, Sir Roger de Tourneville and the fervent faith of the Englishmen under his leadership, the aliens are overpowered. With the captured alien ship, Sir Roger packs up the entire town of Ansby with the intention of assisting King Edward III in the Hundred Years’ War, not knowing that journey will take a detour of a few hundred lightyears.
The Book of Saints and Heroes (Voyage Comics Print)
The Book of Saints & Heroes by Voyage Classics is a reprint of the 1912 book by Andrew and Lenora Lang. This book is a collection of stories from Christian and Catholic saints and heroes throughout history, written to be read aloud and shared, with illustrations for each story.
Tears of a Dragon (Dragons in Our Midst #4)
Tears of a Dragon is the fourth and final book of Bryan Davis’ Dragons in Our Midst series. In it, Billy Bannister and company must face off against the evil Watchers, armed only with prophecy, Excalibur, and a few dragon allies. This is a story of bravery, including with great care stories of honor, love, and, most importantly, salvation.
Circles of Seven (Dragons in Our Midst #3)
Dragons in Our Midst: Circles of Seven is the third book of Bryan Davis’ Christian epic fantasy series. Featuring all the beloved (and less beloved) characters from the first two books, plus some new allies and foes, the adventure descends into an even deeper level of myth and symbolism as the heroes navigate the seven circles of the underworld.
The Restorer
The Restorer: The Power of Deception by Ted Jordan is a supernatural political spy thriller as the intelligence agency VECTOR 5 races against a terrorist organization known as The Apparatus, which is seeking to codify Sharia law into the U.S. judicial system.
Raising Dragons (Dragons in Our Midst #1) (Copy)
The Candlestone is the second book of Bryan Davis’ Dragons in Our Midst series. Picking up shortly after the events of the previous book (Raising Dragons), this series takes the main characters on a whirlwind journey to Montana to rescue Bonnie Silver and fulfill the prophecies that have been laid out before them in Merlin’s ancient journal.
Raising Dragons (Dragons in Our Midst #1)
Raising Dragons is the first of Bryan Davis’s Dragons in Our Midst series. This modern Arthurian tale of good and evil, dragons and knights, and the collision of the mundane and the fantastical is a riveting and action-packed book with a heart of gold.
Take That, Hurricane!
Take That, Hurricane! is a kids’ illustrated book by Rebekah Hair featuring Super Tess and her Sidekick Nick as they work to clean up their town after a devastating hurricane.
Buzzle Billy
Buzzle Billy is a picture book written by Michael P. Waite and illustrated by Jill Colbert Trousdale. In it, kids are introduced to a message about sharing in the delightful world of the Buzzles.
That Hideous Strength
The final entry into C.S. Lewis’ The Space Trilogy is an author-described “fairytale for adults”. That Hideous Strength is part Arthurian legend, part dystopic nightmare, part study on the intricacies or both human nature and spiritual warfare, pulling no punches on any of these topics.
Perelandra
The sequel to C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet and second installment of his space trilogy, Perelandra, is a blunt, breathtaking, and intricately crafted allegory on the temptation of sin and retelling of the Biblical story of Eden.
Out of the Silent Planet
Out of the Silent Planet is the first installment of C.S. Lewis’ space epic The Ransom Trilogy. In this 1938 novel, a philologist named Elwin Ransom is kidnapped by two scientists, Devine and Weston, and taken to the planet of Malacandra to be handed over to the natives. Through a twisting and turning adventure across this alien world, Ransom confronts new species of sentients, strange ethereal beings, and perils of all kinds, including hunger and cold. Through this, Ransom discovers the cosmos is not what he thought it would be and that it is, in fact, teeming with life and sentient creatures beyond his imagination.
Magnificent Mulligans: Dolphins in Danger
The Magnificent Mulligans: Dolphins in Danger is another outstanding middle-grade adventure novel written by Bill Myers. In this story, the Mulligans — two parents, eight children, and a whole park full of animals — encounter rogue dolphins, errant tennis players, hungry flamingoes, one giant cougar in a tiny airplane, and a variety of lessons on disobedience and its consequences. All of which are narrated by the delightful Winona, the family chimpanzee.
Magnificent Mulligans: What a Croc!
The fourth book of the Magnificent Mulligans series, What a Croc!, sees the Mulligan family racing around town to catch their wayward animals, all while battling against a supposed curse and preparing for an upcoming mayoral election. With a core message of trusting in God to work out all things for your good, the Mulligans must serenade irate elephants, corral hungry crocodiles, and hunt down…ghosts?
Smoke in the Air!
The Mulligan family is back for another messy and heartfelt adventure in Smoke in the Air! written by Bill Myers and published by Tyndale House Publishing. This third entry into the Magnificent Mulligans series is a red-hot disaster as a raging fire threatens the wildlife park. Split into teams, the family must race to protect each other and the animals under their care, learning important lessons about sacrifice, love, and salvation.
Lions, Elephants, and Lies
Lions, Elephants, and Lies is the second book of the high-flying Magnificent Mulligan’s series, written by Bill Myers and published by Tyndale Publishing House. The peril is turned up to 11 in Lions, Elephants, and Lies as the various Mulligan teams encounter the consequences of lying as Jessica and Janelle switch places at school while Dad, Nick, and Lisa all head to Botswana to help an orphaned baby elephant and encounter a team of poachers.
Leapin’ Leopards
Leapin’ Leopards is the first book in Bill Myer’s exciting, animal-packed adventure series, The Magnificent Mulligans. The Mulligans, a large family in charge of the 1350-acre Mulligan Wild Animal Park have their hands full with the birth of a baby giraffe, middle school fashion drama, and an escaped leopard name Freda. All these adventures lovingly transcribed to the reader by the wry-humored family chimpanzee, Winona.
Saintly Creatures
Saintly Creatures is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that outlines the stories of 14 Christian saints and their animal companions.
The Trail Ends in Texas
The Trail Ends in Texas is a beautifully written and theologically powerful Western trilogy by T.W. Lawrence. Set in an ambiguous period of America’s Wild West era, this story follows Cowboy, a man searching for answers to his spiritual restlessness, and his faithful horse Dusty. The journey leads him up into the mountains of Montana, then back down to his home in Texas, meeting various characters and challenges along the way, each with a kernel of Christian truth.