Come along with the Moodys as they help a widowed neighbor, start small businesses for the children, enjoy a family fun night, live normal life, and wrap up the book with two special surprises! Woven throughout the book is the Moodys' love for the Lord and their enjoyment of time together. Children (parents too!) will love Mr. and Mrs. Moody, Max, Mollie, Mitch, and Maddie—they'll come away challenged and encouraged.

Often parents are concerned about negative examples and role models in books their children are reading. One goal in writing the Moody Series was to eliminate those kinds of examples replacing them with positive, godly ones.

We are receiving positive feedback from families who have read Summer with the Moodys. Here is a portion of a note one mom recently wrote: "Our children loved it and kept asking me to continue reading. Even our fourteen-year-old got into it. She got inspired to do something to surprise her parents—clean out the garage, with the help of her younger siblings. It took me a while to realize that your book had prompted the idea! Thank you so much for using your gift of writing in such a wholesome way. We are waiting for a sequel and more encouraging stories." ~ Gerlinde

Summer with the Moodys grew out of the need we saw for godly, children's reading material. This book was written to encourage Christian families to a closer walk with Jesus, to a greater intimacy in family relationships, and to a focus on serving and working.

Reading comprehension level: ages 7-12
Read aloud comprehension level: ages 4-99 (smile)

To read several pages from Summer with the Moodys, please go to this link. It'll open up in a new browser.

Would you like to read the Preface? Click here! Or, want to Meet the Characters? Click here! You may also view the Table of Contents.

Comments from those who have read and loved the book!

I can't tell you what a blessing your books have been to our family!  I just recently finished reading aloud Summer With the Moodys to my girls who are 9, 7, and 5. They couldn't get enough of it and begged me for "one more chapter". 

My daughters, who are characterized as being helpful, come to me even more often now throughout the day to ask if I need them to do anything.  They are quicker to seek and grant forgiveness.

The girls want to cook "all by themselves" like Mollie and my nine-year-old made brownies all by herself.  She asked for help taking the brownies out of the oven because that is when Mollie asked for help. The 7 and 5 year old followed a recipe for making vegetable soup for dinner using the meat my 9 year old browned on the stove. All of this happened yesterday!

Today, the girls designed their own businesses. They are excited about making flyers (even asked me if they needed a permit like Mitch and Max received) and selling their goods. They are finding that working is fun. The 7 year old has planned a special meal for her Daddy for next week and wants to cook it all by herself.  She even wrote the needed ingredients on the shopping list.

We are begging you to write a third book! Thank you, Sarah, for sharing with us. Karlyn, mom

It's not very often that my kids come to me and ask things like, "Mom, can we have Family Fun Night where we play games instead of movie night Friday?" or, after reading Scripture, "Can we each pick out a way to apply that?" Julie, mom

Sometimes I get choked up and nearly cry at the purity, honest, Christian example in it - every child should get to hear it. A Mom

I really liked the animals and the idea of Family Fun Night. I like how they did their Bible verses together. And I loved cooking with Mollie! I also liked how they took care of Mrs. Clifton and Honey. Kayla, 8

My girls loved this book, we read it in just one week. The next week when I got out a new book for our read aloud time they all protested and begged to read the story of the Moody family all over again! As a mother I enjoyed the "real life" aspects of the book, like the Momma taking needed naps and the children learning to be responsible for chores, ect. Melissa, mom

I like the fact that the book was about a Christian family who wanted to please God in all that they did. It made me want to serve God better. Courtney, 12

This book is outstanding! Abby, 7

It is a wonderful, wholesome story! My boys appreciated that it had unexpected turns and that you never really knew what would happen to the family next!!! April, mom

It was nice and refreshing to read a book about a family with wholesome values and a love for the Lord. I wish there were more books like this out there, thank you for writing this book! Jean, mom

I purchased Sarah's book A Summer with the Moodys as a Christmas gift for our children. The older children, ages 10 and 11, have been reading it aloud to our entire family in the evening, and they laugh and laugh. Thank you so much for a wonderful book. Please write a whole series. I would buy them all! Kathryn, mom

We wanted to write you, Sarah, just to let you know how much we loved your new book, A Summer With the Moodys. My son and I read it each night before bed and we enjoyed it immensely. We laughed alot. It is a very quality book for children to read or have read to them because of all the many instances where children relate to their parents and each other in a Godly fashion of respect and honor. We loved the book and we are telling all our friends about it. A mom and son

Oh THANK-YOU Sarah!!!!! This afternoon I looked out the kitchen window to find the driveway strewn with everything that should have been in the garage...and I knew immediately what was going on! Our 4 children ages 7, 5, 5 and 3 were blessing Daddy and me by cleaning the garage!!! They swept it spotless (the vehicles weren't in there) and then put everything back in it's place! A mom

I had to tell you, Sarah, that my son, who just turned 6 years old, read your entire book in just 2 days. (BTW, we were on a break from our usual hs routine) I had read aloud to him the first 7 chapters the first day and then lost my voice - he asked if he could continue reading by himself - I said sure (thinking he might last one or two chapters) but he read up to chapter 12 the first day and then finished the book the second day. I couldn't believe it! He still keeps talking about the characters in the family as well as all the pets they watched. Wonderful book! Thanks! Laura, mom