Our children, boys and girls, have really enjoyed the books written by our friend, Susan K. Marlow. We were first introduced to her when she donated a short story in her Circle C Adventures series to a Facebook Party we had. Our daughter loved the story, so we decided to buy her the books for Christmas that year. They were a big hit, so when Susan asked us if we’d like to see her new series focusing on boys, we said, “Sure!”

The Goldtown Adventures follow Jem Coulter, a twelve year old boy, during the waning days of the California Gold Rush. Jem’s father is sheriff, which is a challenging job in the 1860s in the West! These books are full of just the kind of things boys love – excitement, adventure, doing real things, making do.

I recommend you read these, too. They’re a fast and easy read, so it won’t take long! They are wholesome, so it’s not that you need to worry about the content. Instead, there are some content elements that could spark some wonderful discussions with your boys. For example, in Tunnel of Gold, the Chinese immigrants in the town are treated differently than European immigrants (which is clearly shown as wrong). That’s a great opportunity to discuss racism and how God “has made from one blood every nation of men.” Other books give the opportunity to talk about being home alone, being responsible, how to handle a crisis when your parents aren’t around, and lots of other good topics.

Today is a fantastic day to start reading these, too, since the eBook versions of books 3 and 4 are FREE TODAY!!! CLICK HERE TO GRAB THEM NOW! If you don’t read this until later this week, they will only be $1.99 through April 18th, so get them anyway!

Moms ask us all the time how to get their boys to love reading. High interest, quick reads are the best way to do that. If you can’t get him to try on his own, read them aloud and stop at the most exciting part, telling him, “I’ve got to go take care of something, but it’s okay if you want to read ahead.” 🙂  The best way to get a boy to love reading is to teach him to love stories. The best way to teach him to love stories is to expose him to stories he’s sure to love! The Goldtown Adventures are those kind of stories.

Yours in the Adventure,

Hal & Melanie

For more on motivating boys to do schoolwork, particularly in the nine to twelve year old range, join us for Boot Camp 9-12: Getting Geared Up for the Teen Years, our LIVE webinar series. Click here to find out more!

We received unsolicited free copies of this series of books, but our opinion is always our own.