In *Mothering by the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy*, Jennifer Pepito weaves a heartfelt memoir with practical insights, drawing on her journey as a homeschooling mother to inspire others to confront fear and reclaim joy. The book centers on how classic literature and stories helped her combat the anxieties and pressures of parenting. Each chapter addresses a specific fear—such as feeling inadequate or worrying about a child’s future—and connects it to a corresponding literary work, including *Pride and Prejudice*, *Charlotte’s Web*, and *The Hiding Place*. These stories serve as both solace and guides, offering wisdom that transcends time.

Pepito’s tone is both empathetic and candid, appealing especially to mothers who might feel overwhelmed or alone in their parenting journey. The book not only reflects on her personal struggles but also includes curated reading lists to encourage readers to incorporate storytelling into their family life. Pepito highlights how literature can bridge generational gaps, foster connection, and instill courage, making this a powerful resource for those seeking encouragement and actionable advice.

While the book primarily resonates with homeschooling parents and Christian readers, its overarching message about the transformative power of stories makes it accessible to a broader audience. Pepito's reflections remind readers that literature can offer guidance in life’s most challenging moments, turning fears into opportunities for growth and joy.

If you’re looking for inspiration to embrace the challenges of motherhood with grace and resilience, *Mothering by the Book* offers a blend of practical tips and heartfelt storytelling. It’s both a celebration of classic literature and a guide to finding courage through the power of words.

This is a Christian book where the author learns lessons from characters from different books and writes about times in her life where she applied those lessons or gained inspiration from those characters. It was more of a memoir than I expected.

I liked the idea of forming a book around inspirational fictional characters. I'm a big fan of reading aloud to my children and this was another encouragement to keep on reading aloud and the value of good books. There were some good insights in this book and I gained a few book titles to add to my reading lists. I appreciated the author's honesty but it was a little repetitive in recounting difficulties and house moves before moving to Mexico, while in Mexico and after relocating back to the USA.

I did also have some theological issues with the book. It never set out a foundation of the Gospel and grace. The author talked a few times about writing yourself a letter from God. It was quite me-focused.

I tried but could not get into this book. I love following the author on Instagram, but after a year of trying couldn’t get into the book. DNF.

This book brought out principles of motherhood through examples from classic literature. I didn’t really connect with the book as a whole, but I thought she had some really great suggestions for other books to read. I added several of her recommendations to my “to read” list.

I think the conclusions she drew from literature moms would be helpful if you’ve not spent much time around Christian mothers or Christian mom culture. There are some important points about attitude shifts and showing up for yourself and your children in basic ways that make a big difference. I’ve read a lot of “Christian mom” books this year, so they were not revolutionary to me.

This book made me laugh, cry and think. It was a delight to work through. I enjoyed reading the books listed to my son and processing through the chapters and questions on my own. In a season where special needs and gifted parenting has really thrown me for a loop, this books was affirming, challenging, and encouraging all at the same time. It's likely I'll be buying several copies of this for friends. I think this book will resonate most strongly with homeschool moms, although the audience certainly isn't limited to that lifestyle.

I have been intrigued by this book for a while, as it kept coming up on ‘recommended for you’ lists based off other books I’ve read. I was worried it would be too similar to books like Sarah Mackenzie’s The Read-Aloud Family or Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook. I am so glad I was able to listen to Jennifer Pepito talk on Sarah Mackenzie’s podcast where she talked about Mothering by the Book. I kept thinking how she had drawn inspiration from Ma Ingalls and I knew I had to read it.

Mothering by the Book is perfect in that you can pick up, read a chapter, and return to when you’re ready for more. Pepito weaves in her own life experiences and how characters in books have inspired her to persevere through hard times. As a mother of 7 and a missionary, she has quite a lot of stories to share. I really liked the messaging and overarching ability to relate books with positive character development as a mother.

I would recommend this for the mothers that are also passionate about introducing good literature to both themselves and their children!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bethany House, Bethany House Publishers, and the author Jennifer Pepito for a copy of this book!

I was really excited about this title -- I'm a book loving, book selling, homeschooling, Christian mama. The title and description was spot on for something I was bound to fall in love with. I liked how the author connected life events to books she read, but sometimes the lessons she learned seemed like a stretch. I also liked the book recommendations in each chapter. Unfortunately, I got a couple chapters in and started skimming/speed reading because it just wasn't doing it for me but I made it through. I really wanted to like this one more than I did. This is more memoir than advice/inspiration for mothers and it wasn't one I particularly connected with -- she is much more fearful than I am. It was okay but I didn't get as much from it as I thought I would.

This was a bit of a DNF. I got the point that it was more skimming to grab the book recommendations than anything. Its a good book and well written. I think sometimes I just burn out on personal stories, especially if I can not always relate to the authors thinking. And the theology at times wasn't quite aligning with my beliefs either. That said I appreciate the curated book lists and I anticipate coming back to the book for good readaloud suggestions.

This book is compulsively readable because it is very well written and is full of advice, biblical references, and journaling opportunities. Each chapter is based on a particular book from the author's past.

This Was An Interesting Book For Me…



I am a huge reader and read to my kids all the time. This book caught my eye even though I don’t have young children.



Jennifer makes many good points and shows how classic stories can help shape us and our children. She brings us on a journey where we learn about things she faced and look at ourselves… asking many questions and answering them honestly to ourselves. 



Many books she has mentioned and she has you read aloud or read yourself have been books I’ve read through the years and already made a an impact on me.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

Thank you for the ARC! This was a different type of parenting book with many great insights. The author clearly relies on her faith quite heavily so for those who may feel differently this wouldn’t be the best read but there are many insights worth pulling.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

This book is packed full of great book recommendations and stories of how each of the books listed impacted the author and her family. I thought this book would be more about reading aloud in general, but it was more about overcoming fear in motherhood, and how the author learned to do so through the examples and lessons she learned while reading aloud to her children. This book was clever, informative, and since finishing it I have collected a few of the titles listed. I am excited to pick up this author's other works!

Ahhh, I didn't realise this book would be so godly when I started reading it, but maaaaan it's a lot about faith ect. Not my vibe, sorry

Couldn't even finish this book because it felt completely self centered. This was entirely different than what I expected and was not the book for me.

“But I am calling on us as mothers to create joy even when we are afraid.”

This book came at the perfect time. I found so much joy and freedom and peace reading through the author’s love for literature and the way the Lord spoke to her through it. I went into this book expecting it to be more practical and about reading to your kids, but instead found a beautiful memoir about the impact of literature and the beauty of God’s love through it. I enjoyed the writing style, reading recommendations, and study guide. This book is full of encouragement for mommas. It made me want to soak up the season I am in and not wish it away. I was reminded that the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s green here and now. This book helped me recognize some of the fears I have in motherhood and how to let go of them. Will definitely be purchasing a copy of this for my shelf.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

*I was given a free digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Jennifer's book, Mothering by the Book, introduces moms to different facets of our mothering that can be nurtured and grown through diligent abiding in Christ and by observing great role models found in literature. She shows through many examples no one mothers perfectly, and that the best moms are those that press forward even when inevitable trials occur.

I appreciated the book suggestions that Jennifer wrote at the end of each chapter. I even ordered a few of the titles for my home library. I had the Kindle version of the book, but I would recommend this book be purchased in print to utilize the reflection questions and answer space at the end of each chapter.

What I liked:
I was wary that the book might push reliance on self or on fictional characters in a book for mothering guidance, but those role models served as inspiration only and the book held a firm foundation of reliance on Christ. The role models mentioned were also not selfish and the book suggestions at the end of each chapter were great.

What I didn't like:
The author wrote from a perspective that most mothering issues stemmed from fear. I agree to some of her points about fear, but I think selfishness and pride are also pitfalls of mothering that can't be re-labed as fear and should be addressed too.

I'm not a mom to little kids anymore, so I think I would have gotten more out of this book in my early mothering years. I can think of some of my friends who have little kids that I would recommend this book to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bethany House for this complementary book in exchange for my honest review. My review is in no way influenced by the publisher.

I have received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This author lost credibility for me in the initial chapter, when she repeatedly referred to Pride and Prejudice as "Edwardian", and made a rather sloppy character analysis of Mrs. Bennet to illustrate the point she was trying to make. A survey of the "about the author" did not reassure me. Rather than mentioning her (probably at least twenty years worth) of experience in homeschooling her seven children, Mrs. Pepito chose to highlight the publications that had featured her writing and her status as a podcast host and "certified life coach". The first credential impresses me, the latter do not.

While "Mothering by the Book" did contain some points of wisdom, it kept getting upset by dynamic changes in tone. I had no qualms about the tales of household woes or the use of abolitionist or WWII literature in the illustrations. The problem for me was the uplifting advice interspersed with descriptions of the author's perineal massage, her traumatic youth, and the grisly suicide of one her children's peers. I also took issue with her describing her daughter's (whom she names!) struggle with an eating disorder. There surely must have been a way to get her point across without such details.

In conclusion, I think this book needs more editing. There is good material, but it is distracted from by the concerns listed above. If the mentions of sexual assault, suicide and eating disorders remain, there ought to be a warning so mothers reading this can decide for themselves if they want to continue.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Jennifer Pepito walks through multiple struggles we may/will face as mothers and shares how reading aloud to her children helped her through some of her toughest times. Aside from the wonderful advice and encouragement, I also added many books to our read aloud list!

Stories are powerful. And their power reaches us in unexpected and delightful ways. They especially did for Jennifer Pepito. I connected with so much of Jennifer's story - a propensity toward fear, a bookworm wanting to raise readers, struggles in motherhood... Jennifer tells her own story with whimsy and heart. I loved hearing how familiar stories were a balm in someone else's life. I also got lots of ideas for incorporating books into my own family's rhythms. An excellent read.