*Please note: This post contains affiliate links.
I’m always on the lookout for fun, faith-filled middle grade with realistic, likable characters with relatable problems. But finding those books is not always as simple as it sounds!
I’d heard a lot of good things about the Tree Street Kids series by Amanda Cleary Eastep, but with enough new-to-me books at home to keep me entertained for months (okay, probably years), I hadn’t gotten around to reading them.
But then, I won a giveaway Amanda hosted on her newsletter list. (I love her email newsletters, which you can sign up for here!) With the first four Tree Street Kids books sitting unread on my bookshelf with their colorful illustrated covers, just waiting to be read, I had no choice but to dive into book one.
And this first story, Jack vs. the Tornado (Amazon Affiliate Link), did not disappoint!
Jack vs. the Tornado is the story of ten-year-old Jack, who is not at all happy to learn that his family is moving from their farm to the Chicago suburbs. Jack has a plan to move his family home again, but things don’t go quite as planned.
Throughout this story, Jack faces many difficulties—the emotions that come with the move, a neighbor who needs his help, the challenges that can come with making new friends, and even (as the title would suggest) a tornado. Readers get to see Jack’s determination, and most of all, they get to see how God works through Jack’s situation to bring him transformation he would never expect.
And that was my favorite part of Jack vs. the Tornado: seeing God work in ways Jack never could’ve imagined.
How often does life look like that for us too? We think we know what is best, and we try to make it happen. But our perspective is limited. God sees the big picture. And his plans for our lives are so much greater than anything we could imagine.
In the well-loved verse Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV). Though this letter was written to Jewish exiles who lived in Babylon, it still applies to us today.
God knows the plans he has for us, even when we don’t. And like Jack, we may be surprised by what he has in store for our lives.
It just so happens that this is the theme verse for Road Trip Return, book 2 in my Road Trip Rescue series—Daniel learns a similar lesson in his story too.
Anyway, if you’re looking for fun, faith-filled middle grade, check out the Tree Street Kids!
And never forget . . . you are wonderfully created.
Love,
Becca
