2016 Reading Program Books at Arab First United Methodist Church
Because I Am A Girl: I Can Change The World
Before We Eat: From Farm To Table
Blue Gold: A Novel
Chasing The Divine In The Holy Land
Coaltown Jesus
Coffee, Tea, and Holy Water: One Woman’s Journey to Experience Christianity Around
The Globe
Crazy
Cured But Not Healed: How To Experience Deeper Faith On Your Journey With God
Dreamers: An Immigrant Generations’ Fight For Their American Dream
Dreaming In Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices
Girls With Swords: How To Carry Your Cross Like A Hero
House Of Purple Cedar
I Love Growing Older, But I’ll Never Grow Old
In Defense Of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
Just Mercy: A Story Of Justice And Redemption
Miss Brenda And The Loveladies: A Heartwarming True Story Of Grace, God, And
Gumption
Nature Girl: A Guide To Caring For God’s Creation
Our Rights: How Kids Are Changing The World
The Soda Bottle School
The Underground Girls Of Kabul: In Search Of A Hidden Resistance In Afghanistan
The Weight Of Mercy: A Novice Pastor On The City Streets
The White Umbrella: Walking With Survivors Of Sex Trafficking
Tilly: A Story of Hope And Resilience
Twenty-Two Cents: Muhammad Yunus And The Village Bank
Uprising: A New Age Is Dawning For Every Mother’s Daughter
BECAUSE I AM A GIRL:
I CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
Rosemary McCarney and Jen Albaugh
Second Story Press (2014)
72 pages
Leadership Development - Children
These amazing girls from all over the world tell stories of lives that are sometimes hard to
imagine. In Because I Am a Girl, we hear of the barriers and dangers that they, and millions of
girls like them, face every day. But despite their hardships, they have great hope for the future
and are willing to do whatever they can to make their lives and those of their families and
communities better.
BEFORE WE EAT: From Farm to Table
Pat Brisson and Mary Azarian (Illustrator)
Tilbury House Publishers (2014)
32 pages
Spiritual Growth – Children
A family sits down to enjoy a meal. Thoughts of those who provide the food, from farmers who
plant and tend seed and animals to store clerks who sell groceries, fill each one with gratitude.
BLUE GOLD: A Novel
Elizabeth Stewart
Annick Press (2014)
296 pages
Social Action - Youth
Three teen girls on three continents are linked by the rare mineral coltan, also known as blue
gold, used in the manufacture of technology. Sylvie lives in the Congo, where she has fled the
conflict over the mineral; Laiping lives in China and works in a factory building components;
and Fiona lives in Canada ; but they are all connected by one thing — cell phones.
CHASING THE DIVINE
IN THE HOLY LAND
Ruth Everhart
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2012)
176 pages
Education For Mission
Ruth Everhart jumped at the offer to travel to the Holy Land as one of several ministers taking
part in a documentary about pilgrimage. Little did she know just how demanding and rewarding
her transformation from Presbyterian minister, wife and mom to pilgrim would be. In these pages
she writes about her trip into the dust and beauty of Christianity’s cradle.
COALTOWN JESUS
Ron Koertge
Candlewick Press (2013)
Spiritual Growth - Youth
Even though he’d prayed for help for his mother, who hasn’t stopped crying since his brother
died two months ago, Walker was still surprised to find Jesus standing in the middle of his
bedroom. But as astounding as Jesus’ appearance is, it’s going to take more than divine
intervention for Walker to come to terms with Noah’s death. Why would God take 17-year-old
Noah? Why would he send Jesus to pick up the pieces? Why didn’t he just keep Noah from
dying?
COFFEE, TEA, AND HOLY WATER:
One Woman’s Journey to Experience
Christianity Around the Globe
Amanda Hudson
Abingdon Press (2015)
224 pages
Education For Mission
In Coffee, Tea, and Holy Water, Amanda Hudson provides a personal touch to profound
questions about the nature and practice of faith as she travels to Brazil, Wales, Tanzania, China
and Honduras. This book is about the places we meet what we share, and learning that the steps
we take to cross geographical, cultural and personal borders make all the difference.
CRAZY
Linda Vigen Phllips
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (2014)
320 pages
Nurturing For Community - Youth
Fifteen-year-old Laura is a typical teenager navigating her way through classes, friendships and
even a new romance. But she’s carrying around a secret — her mother is suffering from a mental
illness. No one in her family will talk about it, and Laura is confused and frightened. She finds
solace in art, but when her mother, also an artist, breaks down, Laura fears she will follow in her
footsteps.
CURED BUT NOT HEALED:
How to Experience Deeper Faith on
Your Journey with God
Kymberley Clemons-Jones
Professional Woman Publishing (2012)
168 pages
Spiritual Growth
Reverend Clemons-Jones asks, “can you be cured but not healed?” In this book, you will find
instructions on how to develop a better relationship with your Creator. You will find the author’s
words challenging and comforting at times and you will find encouragement to keep seeking the
Lord with all your body, mind, and spirit. By the end, you will find restoration in your newly
engaged relationship with God. Bible study is included.
DREAMERS: An Immigrant Generation’s
Fight for their American Dream
Eileen Truax
Beacon Press (2015)
224 pages
Nurturing For Community
In Dreamers, Eileen Truax illuminates the stories of the roughly two million undocumented
immigrants living in the United States who came here as children. They grew up here, going to
elementary, middle, and high school, but are ineligible for financial aid for college and are
unable to be legally employed. In recent years, this young generation of dreamers has begun
organizing, becoming the newest face of the human rights movement.
DREAMING IN INDIAN:
Contemporary Native American Voices
Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
Annick Press (2014)
128 pages
Nurturing For Community - Youth
This beautiful, powerful and visually stunning anthology from some of the most groundbreaking
Native artists working in North America today is universal in its themes. Dreaming shatters
commonly held stereotypes about what it’s like to grow up Native American. Over 50 emerging
and established contemporary artists contribute to this astounding collection with poignant pieces
dealing with everything from painful first loves to the tragic legacy of residential schools.
GIRLS WITH SWORDS:
How to Carry Your Cross Like a Hero
Lisa Bevere
Gale Cengage Learning (2014)
332 pages
Leadership Development
What if you discovered you have been entrusted with an invisible, invincible and incorruptible
weapon? Would you use it? Move beyond only study and begin to wield the Word of God.
World-wide women are the targets of prejudice, human trafficking, abuse and gendercide. It’s
time women become the heroes God created them to be and stand — courageous, discerning,
forgiving and wise.
HOUSE OF PURPLE CEDAR
Tim Tingle
Cinco Puntos Press (2014)
192 pages
Nurturing For Community
“The hour has come to speak of troubled times. It is time we spoke of Skullyville.” Thus begins
Rose Goode’s story of growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma. Skullyville, a
once-thriving Choctaw community, was destroyed by land-grabbers, culminating in the arson of
New Hope Academy for Girls on New Year’s Eve, 1896. Twenty Choctaw girls died, but Rose
escaped. Soon after the fire, her grandfather Amafo is humiliated in front of the town’s people.
But, instead of asking the Choctaw community to avenge him, her grandfather decides to follow
the path of forgiveness. And so unwinds this tale of mystery, Indian-style magical realism, and
deep wisdom.
I LOVE GROWING OLDER,
BUT I’LL NEVER GROW OLD
J. Ellsworth Kalas
Abingdon Press (2013)
160 pages
Nurturing For Community
J. Ellsworth Kalas says, “Older is a journey. Old is a destination”. This book is about learning
how to “make peace with whatever you are right now.” It’s aboutlearning from the past and then
moving past it. It’s about growing and continuing to grow-personally, spiritually and in our
relationships with God and with others.
IN DEFENSE OF FOOD:
An Eater’s Manifesto
Michael Pollan
Gale Cengage Learning (2009)
$16.95 (Paperback)
329 pages
Social Action
Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Humans used to know how to eat well, Pollan argues.
But the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been
confused, complicated and distorted by food marketers, nutritionists and journalists who all have
something to gain. Pollan’s manifesto shows us how to recover a more balanced and pleasurable
approach to food.
JUST MERCY:
A Story of Justice and Redemption
Bryan Stevenson
Spiegel & Grau (2015)
368 pages
Social Action – Bonus Book
A powerful, true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us and a call to fix our broken
system of justice, from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. Bryan
Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice
dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and
women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system.
MISS BRENDA AND THE LOVELADIES:
A Heartwarming True Story of Grace, God,
and Gumption
Brenda Spahn and Irene Zutell
WaterBrook Press (2015)
240 pages
Nurturing For Community
Brenda Spahn was a businesswoman who wouldn’t take no for an answer when she discovered
that God wouldn’t either. When she invited seven hardened parolees into her home, she expected
to house them, not love them. But her reluctant decision to serve female prisoners developed into
a career, a calling and a ministry that has helped thousands of women leave prison behind for
good.
NATURE GIRL:
A Guide to Caring for God’s Creation
Karen Whiting and Rebecca White
Zonderkidz (2014)
176 pages
Leadership Development - Youth
Nature Girl offers fun ways to care for God’s creations while becoming an expert in all things
green. With activities, recipes, science experiments and much more, you will learn to create
recycled jewelry, plan a spa day with friends, and green care for animals. From the flowers at
your feet to the air you breathe, discover how you can make a difference for our planet.
OUR RIGHTS:
How Kids Are Changing the World
Janet Wilson
Second Story Press (2013)
32 pages
Education For Mission
Here are true stories of kids just like you who are standing up for their rights and making a
difference. Learn about Dylan Mahalingam from the United States, who started an online charity
to raise money to fight child poverty, and child-bride Nujood Ali Mohammed from Yemen, who
inspired other girls forced to marry too young. All of these young people are making a difference
for children’s rights, and you can, too.
THE SODA BOTTLE SCHOOL
Laura Kutner, Suzanne Slade and Aileen Darragh (Illustrator)
Tilbury House Publishers (2014)
32 pages
Social Action – Children
In a tiny village in Guatemala, the people faced two huge problems: they had too much trash, and
their school was too small. The villagers had tried building a bigger school but ran out of money
for materials. Then one person got a wonderful, crazy idea, and an amazing thing happened.
THE UNDERGROUND GIRLS OF KABUL:
In Search of a Hidden Resistance in
Afghanistan
Jenny Nordberg
Broadway Books (2015)
384 Pages
Education For Mission
In Afghanistan, where the birth of a son is celebrated and the arrival of a daughter is mourned, a
bacha posh (meaning “dressed up like a boy” in Dari) is a third kind of child — a girl
temporarily raised as a boy with all the opportunities and freedoms boys enjoy. Written by the
reporter who broke the story of this phenomenon for the New York Times, this is the story of
Azita, a female parliamentarian who sees no other choice for her fourth daughter — but what
happens when the girl refuses to change back?
THE WEIGHT OF MERCY:
A Novice Pastor on the City Streets
Deb Richardson-Moore
Monarch Books (2012)
288 pages
Leadership Development
Deb Richardson-Moore spent 27 years as a journalist in the Deep South. She then retrained as a
Baptist pastor and accepted a post at a run-down, inner-city church where the homeless gathered.
Initially shocked, she gradually learned whom she could trust and whom she couldn’t. She found
that sometimes the best person to handle a situation was a drug addict, and that sometimes Jesus
has the face of a prostitute. All were fiercely welcomed into this bewildering church family.
THE WHITE UMBRELLA:
Walking with Survivors of Sex Trafficking
Mary Francis Bowley
Moody Publishers (2012)
208 pages
Social Action
Every year, over 100,000 children in the United States are forced to do someone’s sexual
bidding. Most of them are between the ages of 9 and 19. This is not a faraway, foreign problem;
this is in our neighborhoods, our towns and cities. Throughout these pages are the stories of these
survivors and the people who have come alongside them to hold the white umbrella of protection
and purity over them on the road to restoration.
TILLY: A Story of Hope and Resilience
Monique Gray Smith
Sono Nis Press (2014)
208 pages
Spiritual Growth
Tilly has always known she’s part Lakota on her dad’s side. She’s grown up with the traditional
teachings of her grandma, relishing the life lessons of her beloved mentor. But it isn’t until an
angry man shouts something on the street that Tilly realizes her mom is also Aboriginal, a Cree
woman taken from her parents as a baby. Loosely based on author Monique Gray Smith’s own
life, this revealing, important work of creative nonfiction tells the story of a young indigenous
woman coming of age in the 1980s. In a spirit of hope, this unique story captures the
irrepressible resilience of Tilly and of indigenous people everywhere.
TWENTY-TWO CENTS:
Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank
Paula Yoo and Jamel Akib (Illustrator)
Lee & Low Books (2014)
40 pages
Education For Mission
This is the biography of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who from a young age
was determined to make a difference in the world and eventually revolutionized global
antipoverty efforts by developing the ground-breaking economic model of micro-banking.
UPRISING: A New Age Is Dawning
for Every Mother’s Daughter
Sally Armstrong
Thomas Dunne Books (2014)
288 pages
Education For Mission
Meet the game changers, from Asia and Africa to America. From New York to Nairobi and from
Kabul to Caracas, women are altering the status quo and organizing to protest rape, honor
killings, polygamy, stoning and a dozen other religiously or culturally sanctified acts of violence
against females. Author Sally Armstrong says “the earth is shifting” when it comes to the status
of women.