lois walfrid johnson

This summer while at Mount Carmel Family Bible Camp in Alexandria, my mom introduced me to a woman named Lois. Lois was thrilled to meet another female beekeeper. She had kept bees for many years of her life but had never once met another woman beekeeper. Lois wanted to talk shop, wanted to know how my hives were doing, and all about our hobby farm. We became fast friends.

At some point it came up that she writes books and I was excited about that, since I hope to do the same one day. We also discovered that we both graduated from Gustavus and so we had that whole world in common too. But most obvious was our shared love for the Lord. Sharing a conversation with her was like slowly recognizing a kindred spirit with every word spoken. Lots of "I know! Oh I agree! It's so true!"

That night after evening worship, Lois handed me one of  her books to read. And she had one for Rory too. So that night, with our kids babbling in the room next to us, Rory and I sat up in bed reading our first Lois Walfrid Johnson books. They are written for adolescents, but there we were, in our 30's turning our pages as fast as we could. We were sucked in.

Lois writes about young kids who are learning to deal with real life issues. She does this with a Christian worldview, tying in truths from the Bible and showing how the young protagonist comes to believe God's word is true. It is stunningly done. So endearing. And so good.

I've been reading The Adventures in the Northwoods series this week. It's a story about a 12-year-old and her mother, moving from Minneapolis to Rice Lake in 1906 when the mother marries a Swedish farmer who had recently lost his own wife. The first book talks about what it means to be a forever family, what it means to have a new Papa, what it means to be loved without condition. I'm now in book 4 and I cannot put these books down. They're just so good.

And by good I mean they are well written, but they are also so moral. And truthful. So solid. After I read Lois' first book I told her that more than anything I felt grateful that she is putting out so much GOOD into the world. We know a lot of other messages vying for our kids attention, but this is the stuff you want your kids to read and to get excited about.

What has been most fun is "introducing" her to many of my friends with kids in elementary and middle school and how many of them already know and love her. She's new to me, but not to most mom's. Her tagline is, "a trusted friend of families" and she is! Families trying to teach moral, upright and honest children will LOVE Lois Walfrid Johnson.

Her books would be great for read aloud at bedtime for all ages. And all kids read at different levels, so I think they'd fit any age. Probably geared most toward 3rd-8th graders...but even that seems too narrow a reading audience. Because I'm 33 and love these books.

You can learn more about Lois at her website: www.loiswalfridjohnson.com

***

The Freedom Seekers series is a six book series, and each book is about 250 pages. It takes place around 1857 "when rivers were the highways of the time. Libby, and her father, and their friends faced life-and-death questions that are still crucial today:
-Who can I trust?
-What do I care about?
-What does it mean to be a never-give-up family?
-How can I live my belief in the freedoms sought in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States?
-What practical skills do I need to develop?
-How can I make choices based on biblical principles?
This series centers around The Underground Railroad.

The Viking Quest series is a five book series, and each book is about 200-250 pages. This series travels from Ireland to Norway, Iceland and Greenland, then sails with Leif Erikson to the New World. In this series the main characters help establish the first North American settlement by Europeans- five hundred years before Columbus!

The Adventures in the Northwoods is a ten book series, and each book is just over 100 pages. The story takes place in Northern Wisconsin where the main character learns to deal with peer pressure, family relationships, works toward a dream and learns the value of giving a person a second chance.
This is the series I am currently reading and I can't put them down at night. :)