Adventures From the Bookshelf

Part of the Janette Oke Saga. After a year-long absence, Clark and Marty Davis return home to find their family maturing and their community changing, forcing them to navigate the challenges of Clark’s physical disability, Marty’s unexpected late-in-life pregnancy, and the sudden loss of a dear friend.

Part of the Janette Oke Saga. Missy and Willie LeHay set out on a grueling wagon train journey to the Western frontier, where their faith is tested by physical exhaustion, the joyful discovery of Missy’s pregnancy, and the heartbreaking loss of a dear friend along the trail.

Part of the Janette Oke Saga. As the Davis family helps establish the community’s first schoolhouse, they are called to demonstrate the depth of their faith by taking in two neglected sisters following their mother’s death and their father’s abandonment, leading to a season of expansion and new beginnings for the entire household.

Part of the Janette Oke Saga. Clark and Marty Davis embark on a long-awaited journey west to visit their eldest daughter, Missy, and her family on their cattle ranch, a trip marked by joyful reunions and the deepening of spiritual bonds that is ultimately tested by a tragic mining accident in the local community.

Part of the Janette Oke Saga. After the sudden death of her husband on the western frontier, Marty enters a marriage of convenience with widower Clark Davis, leading to a journey of healing, faith, and the slow blooming of an unexpected love.

“God’s Perfect Will” follows the Scott family, particularly young Sarah Naomi Scott, known as the “Prairie Princess.” Set against a backdrop of rural prairie life, the story explores the complexities of “growing up” and surrendering to God’s plan. While Sarah and her brother Robbie navigate school with their beautiful new teacher, Miss Thomas, their older sister Kathy and her husband Herbie struggle with the pressures of new parenthood and their future on the mission field. The narrative reaches a poignant climax as the family learns of Miss Thomas’s terminal illness, forcing everyone to confront the reality of suffering and the peace found in trusting God’s perfect will, even when it is difficult to understand.

The Spartan family—Reverend Peter, Elaine, and their twins Roy and Joy—expands when they welcome Elaine’s nephew Samuel and his Brazilian friend Carlos into their home. While Samuel and Carlos settle into their new lives as young Christians, Joy faces a spiritual crisis fueled by intense competition with her best friend, Anna, over a school softball game. Tensions rise when Carlos is mysteriously attacked and hospitalized, leading to a “junior detective” investigation by the twins and an angry pursuit of justice by Samuel. Ultimately, the story explores the power of grace as Joy learns the consequences of her pride through a broken arm and the loss of her team spot, while Carlos provides a powerful example of the Gospel by choosing to forgive his attacker, Leo, rather than pressing charges.

Alfonso “Alfie” Palmer, a boy struggling with his weight and the bullying of his peers, finds a new passion in raising pigeons while recovering from a broken leg. After his baby pigeons (squabs) are stolen, Alfie’s attempt to retrieve them leads to a brush with the law and a life-changing encounter with the Gospel through his teacher, Mr. Wilson. As Alfie learns to forgive his enemies, he forms a “Pigeon Club” that brings his former bullies into a circle of friendship. The story culminates during a weekend campout where the boys face a broken leg and a dangerous escaped convict, ultimately finding safety and spiritual salvation through faith and the heroic flight of a carrier pigeon.

“Come The Day Come Away” tells the sweeping saga of Henrik and Betty Hansen, Swedish immigrants who leave their homeland in 1891 to build a new life in the American wilderness. After a difficult start in the crowded, disease-ridden tenements of New York, they travel to Duluth before eventually homesteading on the rugged Wisconsin shores of Lake Superior. The story chronicles their early struggles against the isolation of the forest, the dangers of the wild, and personal tragedies, including the loss of an infant daughter. Throughout their journey, Henrik’s steadfast faith drives him to establish a Christian community and build a church, while Betty transforms from a fearful young bride into a resilient pioneer woman. Ultimately, the family finds peace and security in the land they have tamed and the spiritual legacy they have established for their growing community.

The story follows 12-year-old Mark and his younger brother Joey, whose lives are upended when their father loses his job as a precision machinist and takes a temporary position as a driver for a traveling carnival. Transitioning from a stable suburban life to the transient, often misunderstood world of “carnies,” the boys struggle with feelings of shame and the difficulty of maintaining their Christian faith in a secular environment. Throughout their summer journey, they encounter a variety of colorful characters, face accusations of theft, and witness a spiritual transformation within the carnival community. Ultimately, the story highlights the importance of integrity, the power of prayer, and the realization that God’s presence can be found even in the most unexpected places.

Following the death of his mother, young Billy finds comfort in his mischievous puppy, Frisky. When his stern Aunt Kate arrives to help his traveling father, she initially views the dog as a nuisance and demands he be kept out of the house. Guided by his neighbor Uncle John and the biblical promise of Romans 8:28—that “all things work together for good”—Billy learns to train Frisky and pray for his family. The story follows Billy through childhood challenges like school cheating, a lost puppy, and a terrifying encounter with an escaped mental patient in a “haunted” house. Ultimately, Frisky proves to be a hero, Aunt Kate becomes a loving part of the family, and Billy sees firsthand how God can use any circumstance for good.

Set in the Soviet Union during a time of intense religious persecution, the story follows young Alexi Kovich and his family after they are forcibly relocated from Leningrad to the harsh landscape of Siberia due to their Christian faith. In their new home, Alexi discovers a secret network of “believers” who risk imprisonment to operate a hidden printing press and distribute Bibles. As Alexi grows in his faith, he must choose between social acceptance on the school hockey team and his commitment to Christ. Ultimately, Alexi and his friend Yuri are entrusted with a “secret mission” to deliver Bibles to a distant church, proving their courage as “good soldiers” in a land where owning the Word of God is a crime.