I've Got a Secret

Finding quality books for my kids to read is not always in easy task in this day and age. That's why I was so excited to find out that Danna Gresh, one of my favorite, Christian authors, has come out with a mainstream book series for tweens.

Secret Keeper Girl is a fiction series that explores relevant and age-appropriate issues to girls ages 8-12. The series is comprised of four books that feature a group of middle school friends who support each other through the challenges that they face in life.

My daughter Natalie, who is 8, got to try out Danika's Totally Terrible Toss - The Legend of the Purple Flurp in the series. The book is about a girl who gets into trouble when she accidentally hits the lunch lady in the head with her brown paper bag lunch. Through her troubles, she comes to learn that popularity can come with a price and that it's more important to be the "real Danika."

Natalie LOVED the book and finished it fairly quickly, which is pretty good considering it's over 100 pages and has ten chapters. So even if your child is on the lower end of the tween spectrum, it should be easy for them to follow along.

The design of the book is very appealing as well. Each page is framed in a purple background with girly graphics, and I think that made the book more visually appealing to Natalie.

At the end of the book, there are some fun activities, such as a Bible verse and how it applies to the character of Danika and her life, discussion ideas for moms and their daughters, a question form with blanks for your child to write in, and more.

In looking at the back of Natalie's edition, I see she answered the question about the most important thing about friendship. She wrote, "Being a friend is the only way to have one," (one of the lessons in the book).

See what I mean about quality reading? In fact, one of Gresh's main goals is to help young girls to avoid the perils of peer pressure and to encourage modest yet trendy attire.

To enhance this goal, and to accentuate the book series, there is an online site called Secret Keeper Girl. There are sections for both mothers and daughters and the site is so lively and colorful. The message within (about faith and values) is an important one for me as a mom to pass on to my daughter.

Be sure to check out the other books in the series as well: Just Call Me Kate, Yuzi's False Alarm, and "T" is for AnTONIa.

For more information, visit the website and check out this video featuring the author Dannah Gresh: