SHINE A LIGHT TODAY. AKA: SALT
The Christian & Faith-Based go-to media review series that spotlights faith-driven books, films, and podcasts worth your time.
A Crane Among Wolves
A Crane Among Wolves is a historical fiction-romance set during a particularly tumultuous time in Korea’s Joseon Period. Written by Korean-Canadian author June Hur, this story follows Iseul, a teenager who was orphaned years ago as she strives to save her sister from the clutches of an evil tyrant. To do this, she must band together with the king’s half-brother, Prince Daehyun to mount a rescue and save her sister as well as the kingdom, from King Yeonsan.
Case Files: Murder and Meaning (Vol. 1)
CASE FILES: Murder and Meaning is a murder mystery graphic novel by real life detectives J. Warner Wallace and Jimmy Wallace. With an impending retirement, a personal life in shambles, and a serial killer on the loose, Detective Michael “Murph” Murphy is forced to confront his own, innate ideas about a person’s worth and worthiness.
New Kingdom: Sowers (Game)
Sowers by New Kingdom Gaming is a parable-themed card game with delightfully bucolic artwork. The game breaks down the parable’s core analogies — good soil, rocky soil, thorns, and the path — and works it into the game’s core mechanics seamlessly. This provides a great, hands-on tool for evangelists, Sunday school teachers, or parents looking for a way to break down the theological message of the parable in a memorable way.
The Basket of Flowers (Lamplighter)
A Basket of Flowers Audiobook by Lamplighter Ministries is a full-cast, full-special effects audiobook based on Christoph von Schmid’s 1755 children’s novel of the same name. In it, Mary is taught to build her faith and reliance on God as she goes through trial after trial. The story is presented both richly and lovingly, with audio effects and top-tier acting, all while maintaining the story’s original plot and message.
Paintball with Dragons
Paintball with Dragons is a heartfelt, semi-fantastical MG novel by novelist Hope Bolinger. The story features Xander who’s first day of school involves him seeing dragons everywhere — and he seems to be the only one who can see them. From there, well-meaning shenanigans ensue as Xander tries to figure out why he can see dragons and what he’s supposed to do with this knowledge. There’s a medieval history club that needs members, weirdoes that need to be befriended, and faith that needs a little rekindling.
Kpop Demon Hunters
Kpop Demon Hunters is a high-quality animated movie with solid writing, beautiful animation, a catchy soundtrack, and characters that are both likeable and relatable. It stands out among animated movies as one of the most well-crafted stories in the past decade — and would in many other decades past. The movie is rich with storytelling from the dynamic characters, the little details about South Korean culture and nuances, the spectacular animation, and the nuances of guilt and shame as burdens.
God’s’Dog: Monster
God’s’Dog is an epic graphic novel by brothers Jonathan and Matthieu Pageau, along with Cord Nielson. A retelling of Saint Christopher — featuring Saint George, who slew the dragon — the “dog-headed saint”. A more literal interpretation of Christopher’s frequent symbolic depiction of a cynocephalus, the story reimagines him as an actual, dog-headed warrior, lost until he finds George, a knight-monk leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While others run in fear of Reprobus — Christopher’s original name in this graphic novel — George works to befriend him and bring him along the journey.
Cat of Bubastes (Audio Drama)
The Cat of Bubastes audio drama by Heirloom Audio is a high-quality adaptation of G.A. Henty’s beloved 1889 historical novel of the same name. This full-cast audio drama boasts the voices of Brain Blessed, Anthony Daniels, Sylvester McCoy, and John Rhys-Davies, to name a few. While abridged, this adaptation follows the original story’s overall plot and message, providing the same excitement and richness to the plot and characters as in the novel. The story follows Amuba and Chebron, a prince stolen from his land to be sold as a slave in Egypt and the son of the High Priest, respectively. In the story, the boys encounter adventure, conflict, and find a guiding faith in the One True God through interactions with faithful Israelites.
Good and Evil (Graphic Novel and Animation)
Good and Evil is a graphic novel and animation set designed to present and explain the entirety of the Gospel narrative, from Genesis to Revelation. With art from the late Marvel alum Danny Bulanadi and writing/formatting by Michael Pearl. It is not a true Bible, but more of a missionary tool to get the ideas and theology behind the Gospels to unreached people groups, such as those that ban Bibles — but not comic books — as well as those with limited literacy. Both are high-quality, and engaging, with excellent, Western-style artwork and an approachable narrative structure.
Great Battles for Boys (Audiobook)
Great Battles for Boys (Audiobook), written by Joe and Sibella Giorello and narrated by Daniel Giorello, is a series of nonfiction books detailing some of the greatest battles in history. With five audiobooks spanning Thermopylae to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, this series focuses on the wartime leaders of each conflict, describing both their good and bad decisions.
Lessons from the Land
Lessons from the Land is a high-quality 13-lesson Bible study produced by Appian Media. It focuses on providing historical and archaeological context to various aspects of faith in a child-appropriate way. The textbooks, in combination with video lessons, work in tandem to create a complete lesson with directed Scripture reading and a few coloring or drawing exercises. The quality, information, and theology immediately place this Bible study among the best currently on the market.
Spy X Family
Spy x Family is the internationally beloved Japanese manga-turned-anime story about a spy who must assemble a fake family in order to carry out his mission. In doing so, he adopts a telepathic child and marries an assassin. Only the child, Anya, knows the secrets they all three carry. Spy x Family is a fantastic story that balances the epic action and wholesome family moments expertly on a background of political intrigue.
A Story on Purpose
A Story on Purpose is Payton Minzenmayer’s hybrid self-help book/novel. Following the story of Ethan, a young man lost and burdened by feelings of failure and anxiety, the book takes the reader on a journey of mental health through positive habits, advice on managing emotions, and discipline.
The Last Rodeo
The Last Rodeo, produced by Angel Studios and starring Neal McDonough, is a heartfelt contemporary western movie. After a medical disaster threatens to throw the Wainright family under mountains of debt, retired bull rider Joe Wainright decides to enter the ring once again to win the prize money and save his daughter and grandson from financial ruin.
Jake Muller Adventures: Blood
Blood is the second of Jake Muller Adventures audiodramas written and produced by Darby Kern. In this story, former bodyguard Jake Muller confronts supernatural enemies, blood-drinking humans, and his own past as he tries to protect those he loves from a coven of vampires.
The Epic Bible
The Epic Bible is a massive, graphic novel version of major from each book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Produced and published by Tyndale House Publishers, it is a well-crafted and mesmerizing journey through the Bible.
At Home in Mitford
At Home in Mitford is the first of Jan Karon’s New York Times Bestseller series, The Mitford Years. This beloved book introduces Father Tim, an Episcopalian rector as he navigates life in the small and not-quite-so-idyllic Mitford, North Carolina.
Gabriel and the Guardians: Episode 1
Gabriel and the Guardians is a splashy new Christian anime from Colossul Studios and hosted by Angel Studios. Young Celestial gardener Gabriel is forced to enter the mortal realm of Ara chasing an ancient artifact of light. There, giant hunter Nok and alchemist-princess Namay’ah face struggles of their own against foes both physical and spiritual.
Growing a Peaceful Heart
Growing a Peaceful Heart by Karen Whiting and a Sara DuBose is a collection of faith-filled stories taken from historical figures, Biblical accounts, and the personal experiences of both the authors and their friends and family. Read either in one sitting or as a thirty-week devotional, these stories are collected with the common thread of finding God’s peace through all circumstances.
Greater (2016)
Greater (2016) is a biographical film based on the life of Brandon Burlsworth, rising football star for the Arkansas Razorbacks, who died tragically in a car accident before he could sign onto the NFL. The movie is focused on how he lived his life as a faithful Christian through hard work and impacting others with not just his kindness, but also the high — but not unfair — expectations he had for his fellow Christians and teammates.