August 2024 Book Club Recommendations

Our goal in the Foundation Worldview Book Club is to provide resources for you to have meaningful, literature-based worldview discussions with the children God has placed in your care. We work hard to choose books with insightful, truth-based themes. However, we know that our subscribers will have different convictions about the content they allow in their homes, churches, and classrooms. We encourage you to read the recommended books ahead of time, to ensure that the content fits within the framework you have already established in your ministry context. Please also note that by recommending a certain book, Foundation Worldview is not endorsing every work published by a particular author. Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, Foundation Worldview will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Book for Adults

Book for Children Ages 8-12

Question 1 - At the beginning of the book, Pickett is completely focused on his desire to rescue his family. While this desire is a good desire, his self-focus ultimately leads to Prince Smalls’ death. How do we see Pickett grow from being selfish to being selfless throughout the book?

Discussion Guide - Discuss how Picket begins to think through the potential outcomes of his desires. He seeks to protect Emma and work for the good of those fighting alongside him.

Question 2 - Throughout the book, Heather works to protect Emma, ultimately sacrificing her freedom to save Emma. Why is sacrificing for others a good and beautiful thing?

Discussion Guide - Read John 15:12-14. Then discuss how Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Scripture tells us that this is the highest form of love.

Question 3 - Prince Bleston pretends to want to work toward the Mended Woods, but in the end, it is clear that he only wants power. How are Prince Bleston’s motivations similar to or different than the motivations of Pickett and Heather?

Discussion Guide - Discuss how Prince Bleston doesn’t care about anyone other than himself. His only goal is power. At the beginning of the story, Pickett is completely focused on what he wants. However, when he sees the cost of his selfishness, he focuses on the good of others. Unlike Bleston, Heather is willing to sacrifice her own good for the good of Princess Emma and her people.

Book for Children Ages 4-7

Question 1 - What are some signposts that you see every day? What do these signposts point you to?

Discussion Guide - Discuss signs in your neighborhood (street sign, stop sign, speed limit sign, etc.). Then, discuss how each sign points you to the truth about something (the name of a street, where you need to stop, the safe speeds at which to travel, etc.).

Question 2 - Read Ephesians 5:31-32 and Revelation 19:6-8. Then ask, “What truths do these passages reveal about marriage and what it points to?”

Discussion Guide - Discuss how God designed marriage to point us to Jesus’s love for the church

Bonus Question 1 - If your child has gone through Foundation God’s Good Design Curriculum, ask, “What did God design marriage to be?”

Discussion Guide - Review the truths from Unit 3, Lesson 5 (marriage is one man and one woman becoming one flesh for life) and Unit 3, Lesson 6 (marriage is a picture of Jesus and the church).

Bonus Question 2 - If your child has gone through Foundation God’s Good Design Curriculum, ask, “Why is it that sometimes humans do not like the idea of marriage being just one man and one woman?”

Discussion Guide - Review the truths from Unit 3, Lesson 8 (because of sin, we may desire the wrong kind of love in relationships) and Unit 3, Lesson 9 (because of sin, we often reject or ignore God’s good design).