I really enjoyed this Title!! It's the first time reading a book of Jennifer Pepito. This book came in the perfect time. We have been struggling as a family with our younger son. Mothering by the book has been so encouraging. Jennifer Pepito shares her heart with all of us inspiring us to keep going deeper in God love.

Talk about combining all of my loves into one book: mothering, homeschooling, Jesus, and reading! I loved the short chapters and the Biblical encouragement. It reads like part memoir, part homeschooling encouragement, and part read aloud ideas and themes to tie to motherhood and schooling.
I loved this book and highly recommend it!

- So grateful for the opportunity to read this for free through NetGalley!! I was familiar with the author through her homeschool curriculum but I didn’t think I needed this book… I am pleased to admit that this is one of the best books I’ve ever read! Each chapter challenged and inspired me (and I loved the literature aspect of it)! I can’t wait to get my hands on a hard copy of the book so I can underline the wisdom in its pages! I highly recommend taking a look at this book.

Thank you to Bethany House and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC of Mothering by the Book. My thoughts are my own.

Let me first say, this was my first time reading Jennifer Pepito. I'm familiar with her work and follow her on social media but had never had the opportunity to read her work before.

I was intrigued by the cover and the tile of this book more than anything, and knowing she was a Christian made me want to check out this title even more.

While I understand the concept of pulling from the great literature we read, I found myself longing for more words of wisdom from the Bible. Pepito spends a lot of time talking about her own story and adding in words of wisdom from her literary journey rather than pull wisdom from the Bible, our life source.

Her story is compelling and one to follow, especially in the realm of homeschool, the wild+free movement, mission work, perseverance and finding your purpose. However, I believe we should ground ourselves in the Bible first, rather than gravitate towards outside sources.

I think moms, especially younger moms, will find hope and encouragement between these pages, and as all moms can attest, motherhood can be very challenging and refining.

Since this is my first time reading Pepito, I look forward to reading more by her.

I have followed Jennifer online for awhile and was excited to see she was releasing a book. In Mothering by the Book, Jennifer shows how the power of reading aloud to her children helped bring her joy. I know the power of reading aloud to children but this book helped remind me why it is so important and helped me to catch a vision for it.

Jennifer Pepito is an absolute inspiration! Having heard her on podcasts before, I knew I needed to read this book. I was not disappointed! She shares struggles and challenges in her own life, encouragement found through different stories, and solid truths from scripture.

I appreciated greatly her vulnerability and willingness to admit different mistakes or challenges in her parenting journey. There were so many nuggets of wisdom in here and I loved the questions at the end of each chapter. They would be good to do either on your own or in a group setting. While the author has chosen to homeschool, she in no way demeans others who have not chosen that for her kids which makes it a great read for moms of all kinds. This book is a gem and I will most likely read it again as it seems to be one that would impact you in different ways depending on the season of life you are in.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read it early in exchange for a review!

Any Christian mom who loves books will appreciate this author's reflections on the ways books she has read aloud to her kids, along with God's grace, have helped combat her parenting fears. In chapters about books like Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte's Web, Little Britches and Cheaper by the Dozen, she discusses how reading helped her combat every fear from being alone, to the newborn phase, to failure. I liked the memoir-style tone of the book, as well as the classic titles she chose to discuss. This is a unique approach to the topic of reading aloud that adds something new to the growing list of books on that subject. Though I believe the author is Protestant, as a Catholic reader there was nothing theologically problematic about the book, and I think it will appeal to Catholics just as much as to Protestants.

Mothering by the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy by Jennifer Pepito caught my attention via its subtitle. Mothering my daughters and reading books are two wonderful parts of my life and the combination appealed to my bookish heart. I appreciated that this author has grown children and shared honestly about her mistakes and successes. Her perspective offered encouragement mixed with wisdom but avoided (and even called out) the false idea that following certain rules or methods will guarantee happy, healthy, and godly children.

Reading one chapter of Mothering by the Book per night fit my taste well. Although I had read only two of the literary works the author discussed, she provided the necessary information from each story and tied it into her focus concept. Each chapter deals with overcoming fear and finding joy but addresses the topics from different angles and incorporates varying practices (journaling, speaking life, thankfulness, etc.). Some chapters inspired while others challenged. I underlined many portions and spent time in my journal answering the reflection questions.

Mothering by the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy by Jennifer Pepito will likely appeal to bookish moms. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and now have several recommended novels on my wish list. Although the ideas can be applied to all types of families, the author homeschooled her children and I think the book fits with the homeschool experience well.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

I was so excited to see that Jennifer Pepito had written a book - I'm a longtime fan of her curriculum and philosophy behind homeschooling. That being said, it's a book for a very specific audience and wouldn't likely be as helpful or encouraging if you don't homeschool. I think it's a great companion or expansion to Sarah McKenzie's Family Read-Aloud Revival, and there is a lot that I'll take with me from it into my own mothering. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was the book I didn't know I needed. I really appreciated the thoughts on grieving (something I needed to hear), homeschooling, and embracing all the messiness that comes with mothering. This book is amazing!

This book is BRILLIANT! Each chapters theme share a literary companion… where Jennifer discusses real and raw situations she has been through and ties it together with which ever literary companion and only two chapters in I knew this book was going to be something truly special. The chapters end with a study guide as well as similar books that touch upon the chapters theme.

I took my time with this book and similar to the way I read NF I read a chapter every morning. Which was perfect it gave me the time to reflect and get excited for the next days journey.

Mothering by the Book by Jennifer Pepito was a great read. There were mixed reviews about it so I decided to read it. I think all moms, especially homeschool moms, should check out this book.

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I enjoy reading books about parenting and reading combined. This one was definitely on the more conservative side of what I would normally go for, and I admit I felt a bit judgey at times, unfairly - the very idea of having 7 children is so far from what I want, let alone having 7 kids so young, and some of the situations the author found herself in were so appalling that I felt really sorry for her.
Yet the thread throughout of overcoming fear and anxiety in difficult times is applicable for a family of 9 or a family of 4, and I did think - well, if she could wrangle that chaos into some form of peace then it could be worth giving it a go when I have far less on my plate. I don’t homeschool and don’t want to, but think that those who do would find this even more applicable to them.
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital review copy.

Novels and literature can teach us so much if we pay attention while we read, or if we read a book like Pepito's Mothering by the Book. She has several examples of different struggles that moms often go through and pulls examples from famous novels on how to deal with life. It was unique and now I have a few more stories that I'd like to read.

This book was so good. I loved the practical insights, the personal experiences, the wisdom shared and the recommendations of books that I can read aloud to my family or ones for myself. I really loved the reflection questions at the end of each chapter as well.

I got this book on a whim. I saw that it was about raising readers and had some interest. I knew nothing about the book going in but was actually pleasantly surprised. I liked the author and found her relatable. The different ways to turn this book into a scripture study was good to because it had verses to look up and things to learn while going through the chapters. I think it’s a good general over view and it was well done.

I was expecting this book to be similar to The Read-Aloud Handbook or The Read-Aloud Family, but it was more of a memoir instead. As a public school teacher and working mama, I was certainly not the target audience for this book. This was a DNF for me pretty early on.

I am a teacher that serves homeschooling families. I loved Mothering by the Book and will be encouraging the mothers I work with to get this book. Each chapter of the book covers a common fear for mothers and offers insight on how to deal with the fear. The best parts of each chapter are book suggestions for read aloud for the family and also for mothers to take them further into the subject matter covered. I feel that any mom will find hep in raising their children.
I received a complimentary copy of Mothering by the Book thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

Synopsis: “With the truth of Scripture…we’ll learn to take our thoughts captive and soak in the truth until it starts to transform us from the inside out…We will save childhood and freedom and fun, one read-aloud book at a time.” In Mothering by the Book, Jennifer Pepito takes a look at several different classic books and their characters and applies them and Scripture to the topic of fear. She explores a variety of fears in motherhood such as fear of failure, fear of failure, fear of being alone, and so many more. Fear has an easy tendency to take over our lives if we let it, but Jennifer guides use in fighting these fears through scripture and literature.

Analysis: When I first started this book, I had absolutely no clue what to expect, and while it took me a little while to get into, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned. What mom doesn’t have fears surrounding their motherhood? There are so many unknowns, and Jennifer helps us to look at literature through a Biblical perspective. She’ll walk you through well-loved books and characters and give you deep thoughts and practical tips to fight many common fears we face on an everyday basis. This was a book I didn’t know I needed and will refer back to often.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"I recaptured the magic of motherhood by fighting fear with stories and letting the truth of Scripture hammer it home. Through this book, I want to help you recapture the magic of motherhood as well. Childhood is too precious to waste, and our children need us to be present so they can be empowered to kill their own giants. Fear keeps us in our heads, imagining the worst about ourselves and our circumstances, and fear is a slippery little demon that masquerades well." - Jennifer Pepito Mothering by the Book

ALL. THE. STARS! This book is exactly what I needed right now. The Lord knew this is just what my mama heart needed! This is written from a Christian POV but I feel anyone can find encouragement, hope, and help from this book no matter your religious affiliations. She's also a homeschooler but I feel it applies to all families regardless of your education style. It's just all encompassing!

I love how Jennifer labels each fear, gives us examples from her life in how it presented, then a book and scripture that helped her face that fear. It's so well laid out! Each chapter covers one type of fear then ends with journaling questions, a scripture to memorize, read-a-loud options for your family, and books to help mom! I flew through this highlighting more than I wasn't!! I can't wait to go through again and work on the journaling questions!

Reading this is like sitting down on your porch with lemonade chatting with Jennifer! She's open and honest and encouraging! It's like reading a conversation - so easy and flowing. Lol, but don't think she won't ask you hard questions that really make you look inside your heart to what you're carrying inside. Truly a wonderful book to add to your library!