ŷ������

I’ve been keeping a secret from you. I’ve been working on something behind the scenes, and today I finally get to share it with you: a brand-new Green Ember adventure is coming �� and it’s a Helmer origin story!

I am THRILLED to share that the new Green Ember book is a full-size Helmer book (our first BIG book since Ember’s End), and an awesome gateway into the Green Ember world. And this time ���𳦲��ܲ�����

It’s also a game.

New Game

Say wut, Sam?

Yep, it’s a game. It IS a book, and it’s also a game. We made a family-friendly, kid-hospitable, no-weird-modern-predatory-stuff video game! It’s a video-gamization of the book, and both were written by me with love and a heart to serve your kids.

And both are super fun.
��
They go together. This is the first project taking Green Ember off the page and if it goes well, then we will move on to other types of media. But this is a crucial step.

We Need Your Help

We’re launching the book & game on Kickstarter! Both have been carefully crafted. The game offers an adventure with a beginning, middle, and end—not an endless addiction loop. There are no ads, no chat, no pay-to-upgrade & win.

We’ve been told that type of model won’t succeed in the current video game market (which is dominated by ads and addictive algorithms), but I have to believe there are families who want a radically hospitable game that treats children as human beings and is laser aimed to bless and delight them!

It’s easy to complain about the state of media in the culture. But we’re doing something about it.
We are fighting for your kids, and all the families out there eager for soul-shaping adventures.

Will you support this exciting, audacious endeavor?

We are all in on this. The book and game together make an incredible gift and we are so eager to share it with you. But we need your help!

We can’t do this without you. Please back the Kickstarter today!

I’m on your side,
��
Sam

The post appeared first on .

There is an author I love named Tolkien who cared about telling great stories, was a devout Christian, and included in his masterpiece some fun harmonies with the Christian calendar.
��
For instance, in The Lord of the Rings, the fellowship sets out from Rivendell on December 25th (aka Christmas). The ring is (spoiler alert) destroyed on March 25th, the date many believed Christ was both conceived and died on the cross, (spoiler alert) securing salvation and atoning for sin.
��
Tolkien loved Christ, lived the Christian calendar, and was one of the greatest storytellers of all time. He disliked allegory, and yet produced the most spiritually affecting novel series I have ever read.
��
Maybe there is a reason why so many of our favorite authors (Austen, Lewis, O’Connor, Chesterton, etc.) grew up and lived in the rhythms of the Christian year. It’s a little bit hard to find noteworthy exceptions.
��
It might have a little to do with mystery, faith, and the mystery of faith.

I love this time of year. The Lord taught his disciples how to fast and the earliest disciples of the disciples taught us to fast before Easter. Christians have been doing that ever since. They made a big deal out of time and how it is to be kept. They believed that Christ was Lord of all and the great subject of our affections and attentions and…calendar. I know lots of Christians have different practices, but I tend to believe those early Christians have some good gifts to give us and that we would be wise to humbly consider receiving them. Both Tolkien, a Roman Catholic, and his friend C. S. Lewis, a Protestant, believed that.

This week you might be coming to the end of a fast and are excited to feast in celebration of the Risen Lord! I don’t know what you have planned. (Actually, I do know what a lot of you have planned, because .) Whatever it is, I’m happy for you. I’m happy for me. I’m happy for the whole world.

Happy? In this economy? Amid these fears? Amid this challenge in my family? Amid sickness and sorrow and death?
��
Well, yeah. About that death��
Every Sunday for a long time I have been prompted by a man who is (literally) celebrating to proclaim “the mystery of faith.��

That gives me great joy. Even this heavy, holy week. Especially this heavy, holy week.
��
The Resurrection Celebration is happening on Sunday, but the Resurrection already happened. So did the death. So, the coming again is happening.
��
Christians call this holiday Easter—not because of some pagan goddess’s similar name, but—because Christ is believed to be coming again, rising (like the sun) in the east. So we look for the rising, the coming, the glorious new advent promised us by the work of Easter.

So, even amid the troubles of life, we have a happy hope. We have this happy/blessed hope.

A prayer we say in my church near dismissal includes, “and now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do.�� This is a validation of vocation and a dedication of ourselves to the Lord’s service in whatever we faithfully do.

I write kids books. I serve the Lord by serving kids made in his image, many of whom are going through dark days. I am inspired by the true tale of Easter to love them the best I can, and to help them, in the darkness, look and long for the sunrise. Sunrise is an artistic wonder, a most photographed phenomenon, and the muse of every kind of artist. It is in the east, and it gives light and life to the world.

My stories aren’t “direct sunlight,�� but they are, I pray, aglow with the light of that sunrise for which we all long. Easter light.

The Green Ember books are all really Easter books. Not because of rabbits, but because of when they were written (often during Lent and Eastertide) and that they are soaked in the sunshine of Resurrection.

If you are not a Christian, I love you. I want to invite you to the big celebration and into the big story. The door is red because of the blood—but don’t worry, it’s not yours. And anyway you get into the water right off. The feast awaits you. Come on home to God.

My brothers and sisters, I love you. Isn’t this awesome? It is, ���𳦲��ܲ�����

Christ has died.��
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.

The post appeared first on .

It’s time to announce the winners for this quarter’s Green Ember Kid Art contest!

Best Green Ember Kid Art

The FIRST prize goes to the Best #GreenEmberKidArt, judged according to the artist’s age. The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate at the����(along with Unimaginable Glory & Prodigious Esteem).��

And the winner is…��

Mary, Age 14!

“This is my daughter’s art. She was inspired after reading the Green Ember series, which she really loved. :)��Randomly Selected Kid Artist

For our next prize:��Wild Glee, Contagious Joy, and $20 Gift Certificate at the��, everyone who submits art is entered.

And the winner is��

Pearce, Age 12!

“Joe is my favourite character!��

Congratulations to these winners!

We had so many wonderful submissions that it made choosing a winner so difficult. Here are some of them: Check out for more!

The contest for the next quarter starts now. Here are the��:

To enter, submit your art��.

If you have social media, please share your child’s Green Ember art (publicly) on social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube). Use the hashtag����(along with����and����if you would) and tag S. D. Smith on either����or��. YouTube submissions may be featured in our playlist��.

Art can include but is not limited to pictures of Green Ember drawings, paintings, songs, poems, animation, sculptures, woodwork, crochet art, and MORE! We love seeing your creativity.

Please submit 1 original piece per quarter. If you have more than one, hold onto it until our next quarterly contest opens up (every 3 months). The next contest ends in March and winners will be announced in April.

202420232022

We look forward to seeing your submissions!

“Picket in the fowlers course.�� Noah, age 14

The post appeared first on .

I hear from fans that they love to put the Green Ember books in Easter baskets. While��I never intended these to be Easter books, as in “bunny books,”��it fits in a different way.

These are Easter books, not because they have rabbits, but because the story is about life breaking through in the face of death. The Green Ember Series is about keeping faith, fighting for hope, and self-sacrificial love.

If you are looking for a meaningful gift to give this Easter, I invite you to add The Green Ember Series.

4-Book Bundle with Audiobooks

For a limited time, we’re offering the Core Four adventures AND the audiobook .mp3 downloads (perfect for Yoto or your favorite listening device) for just $59 and FREE Shipping!

4-Book Bundle + 32 Listening Hours

$141.60 $59

FREE Standard Shipping in contiguous US.

Making Yoto cards? Grab the free cover art, template & pixel art download .

Giveaway

We’re giving away two Green Ember: Old Natalia series and two Green Ember: Archer series for a total of 4 winners!

To enter: comment on this or post with a gift or activity you enjoy during Easter. Share the posts for extra entries. (No social media? Send this blog post to a friend and comment below.)
��
Giveaway ends April 7th at 11:59PM ET. Winners will be announced April 8th. US only.

Book four, Ember’s End, was written during Lent and released on Easter Sunday.
��
A fitting conclusion for a story that echoes��The Story.

For the Mending,

Sam

“Ember’s End: the stunning conclusion to The Green Ember series: Is it an Easter book? Yes, but not because it is about rabbits! Ember’s End is a beautiful conclusion to the saga. Great stories reflect the Greatest Story Ever Told, of our redemption through Christ, and Ember’s End reminds me of the love of our Father, and the hope we have in Jesus’s second coming.��

The post appeared first on .

Tell me the truth. How do you handle screens in your home? Do you view them as inherently evil things, or do you see them as potential tools at times? Do you feel conflicted about them?

I do feel somewhat conflicted. My kids watch Carl Azuz as part of their schooling on YouTube. We read lots of physical books. We watch movies and sports on our television. We play on the trampoline and play soccer and go on lots of hikes and walks.

When my daughter was sick recently, I put up a mobile phone video game called Wordscapes (which I play sometimes to ward off brain atrophy) on our TV and we played it together. We are bookish and theological and philosophical and have great discussions about all those things over family dinner at the table, away from screens.

My kids watch Dude Perfect. We play FIFA soccer on a Nintendo Switch and occasionally. All our kids play instruments and most of them write songs and stories and paint and are deeply creative. We sometimes eat cookies from the store! (Gasp.)

I’m sure we don’t do everything right, and I sometimes feel we are out of balance, but I’ve generally seen screens and movies and video games and cookies as good things in good measure, and bad things out of proportion.

So, in this way, it’s like soccer. (We play a lot, but we stopped doing club travel soccer because we had to miss church.) Soccer is a good game, but a crummy religion. That was our choice for this season of life.

Video games can, I believe, make for a fun period of immersion in a story or a puzzle, and shouldn’t be dismissed entirely just because of the advanced nature of the interface (or technology). But, there are dangers there. Just as there are dangers in spending all our energy on movies, or art galleries, or literature, or ______.

I wonder how your family navigates these challenges and what resources you suggest to other parents looking to be faithful to God in their callings to curate a home built on the Solid Rock.
Does it include games? Board games? Video Games? Does it include sports? Television?

I do tend to see value in having a general orientation that our home is not a garden of NO with a lone tree of YES. Like God’s rule in the beginning of the Story, we want to have a home that is more a garden of yes with a tree of no. I don’t want us to live in fear, but I do want to be sober and faithful and fully yielded to Jesus as our King.

There are a thousand influencers geared up to tell you how afraid you need to be of everything you eat, wear, watch, breathe, play, clean with, enjoy, and it goes on and on. I know that living with an endless fear of “all the things�� and a ceaseless comparison game where envy is a daily diet is not the way of life.

I love Andy Crouch on this. is very good, as is Cal Newport’s . At the end of my little survey, there’s a blank place for you to give me your best resources. I welcome them!

So, I want to know. What choices, in your family, comport with the way of life? I invite us all to put aside our pet bugaboos and rest in the acceptance we have forever as a child of God in Christ. Breathe in the imperfect air and smile at your imperfect family and try to do a little better, day by day.

But please, tell me about your home. I am keen to hear your thoughts!

Thank you for taking the time to answer.

I’m on your side,

Sam

The post appeared first on .

I’ve Read Green Ember, Now What?

Hi Friends,

I’m a parent like you and I want my kids to get lost in adventures that won’t get them lost. So much modern storytelling is just thinly-veiled propaganda. But I want my kids to read excellent, noble, fun, faithful stories.

So I created the ��(11 books and counting .) These books began as tales I told my toddling daughter on an Appalachian porch and grew into a series with well over a million sold.

I’ve heard from many fans & parents that their reluctant reader has read through the series more time than they can count. I’m convinced some of you know the Green Ember world better than I do.

Green Ember is a good gate but not a destination. Onward!

I know how important it is to find the right stories. That’s why I’m excited to share my recommendation for what’s next: the .

BOLD Adventures.kt-sc_8102d8-70 .kt-sc-imgcol {min-height:450px;}

$104��$48

The BOLD (Brave, Outlandish, Laugh-out-loud, Daring) Adventure Bundle consists of 6 audiobooks that have everything you love about Green Ember: heroism, humor, heart, and high-stakes adventure.

All for $48. And for a limited time, you can����off using the code��BOLD.

Adventure Bundle on Yoto

We’ve made the BOLD Adventure Bundle Yoto friendly. You can download the��, template, pixel art, and book covers to make your own Yoto cards.

If you’re looking for excellent, noble, fun, faithful stories for your kids to get lost in, give these a try.

We are your allies in imagination. We are on your side.

Sam

P.S. If you know families who would love these stories, would you share this with them? Word of mouth is the best way for BOLD stories to find the kids who need them. Forward this email or send them��. Thank you!

The post appeared first on .

Hi Friends,

Well, today is the day. Another birthday. I’m officially older than I’ve ever been before.

Forty-eight years old, in human years.

That’s a solid stack of time—enough to read (and write) plenty of books, learn a few things, and eat a lot of chocolate chip cookies. Mission accomplished on all counts.

Sure, Sure…But What Can You Do For Me?

Want to give me a birthday gift? I know you do ‘cause you’re like that. Take a few seconds to leave a review on����or��ŷ��������for the newest Green Ember book,��The Lost Key?

Thanks for that. You are very kind and sweet and you look great in that new haircut or shirt or whatever.

In keeping with a tradition of mine, here are eight things I’m thankful for this year and one bonus one. No particular order. Not much thought. Straight from my appendix-free guts.

PicklesTophouse (the band)Liverpool Football ClubJavon SmallPatrick O’BrianNorthern IrelandThe Daily OfficeThe Rest is History podYou’re not gonna believe this it’s cookiesFree eBook

Now it’s my turn to give you something. Today only, my birthday (ICYMI),��The Black Star of Kingston��is��.

Today and tomorrow (ends 2/12) you can get the Mooses with Bazookas eBook��.

Thanks for being here. I probably love you.

Sam

The post appeared first on .

We’re going to show you how to make your own Green Ember Yoto Cards! Start with downloading the audiobooks in .mp3 form, currently on sale.

54 Hours of Adventure

*$10 off ENDS TODAY. Use code YOTO at checkout.

There’s something special about a story well told, the kind that draws your family in, turning car rides into epic adventures. The kind that fills your home with bravery, beauty, and hope.

That’s why we’re happy to bring back the����for��just $48.

All 11 Green Ember Series Audiobooks �� Audiobook Download

These audiobooks come as zipped downloads in mp3 format. Perfect for:

Family listening on road trips or while doing choresIndependent listening during quiet time or bedtimeYoto audiobook cards (we’ll����to make them)

“I really enjoyed listening to Joel Clarkson with his creative voices read this book. He helped me stay ahead of my voracious 8 year old reader who I think is really growing emotionally as he relates to Picket. Very good character building book for boys!��

A. Rabe

ENDS TODAY, February 7: Use code����for $10 off.

Green Ember on Yoto

We’ve received lots of questions about Green Ember for Yoto, a popular screen-free audio player for kids, and we’re happy to bring you an easy way to��.

We’ve created Yoto friendly covers and fun pixel art. Get detailed instructions & the free download��.

The download includes:

a pdf download with 13 book covers formatted on 2 pages13 book cover images and template8 pixel artinstructions for how to make your own Green Ember Yoto card labels

Whether you have Yoto or not, we hope you take advantage of this audiobook deal (and use the code) to bring virtuous tales of hope & bravery into your home.

Please share����& deal with your Yoto loving pals. They can download the��The Green Ember��audiobook for free��.

How to Make-Your-Own Green Ember Yoto CardsGet audiobooks in .mp3 form. The complete 11 book set is on sale��.Download audiobooks and unzip the files.Upload .mp3 files to a playlist in your��.Add the book cover as the playlist artwork.Add pixel art (we’ve created some for you!).Link the playlist with a Yoto card.Make Your Own Labels: 2 ways

Now that you have the audiobooks and playlists created, let’s make some labels using the book covers. Here are 2 easy ways to make your own Green Ember Yoto labels:

Option 1Add the free product to your cart & check out.Download & unzip the folder.Open the PDF with all the covers and print on sticker paper like��.
Alternatively you can print it at your local printer and ask for sticker paper.Cut out & stick covers to MYO Yoto Cards.
These printed covers are a little bigger than the card to allow for trimming.Option 2Add the free product to your cart and check out.Download & unzip the folder. Navigate to the Book Covers folder.Plug them into your favorite MYO template
You’ll find the one we’ve created in the download.Download the file as PDF Print.Print them on��.Cut out & stick covers to MYO Yoto Cards.
These printed covers are a little bigger than the card to allow for trimming.

Quality is dependent on printer & sticker paper.

Hope you enjoy these Make-Your-Own Green Ember Yoto Cards!

The post appeared first on .

It’s time to announce the winners for this quarter’s Green Ember Kid Art contest!

Best Green Ember Kid Art

The FIRST prize goes to the Best #GreenEmberKidArt, judged according to the artist’s age. The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate at the����(along with Unimaginable Glory & Prodigious Esteem).��

And the winner is…��

Elaine, Age 12!

“This sculpture was made out of pipe cleaners, then dressed with fabric scraps.��Randomly Selected Kid Artist

For our next prize:��Wild Glee, Contagious Joy, and $20 Gift Certificate at the��, everyone who submits art is entered.

And the winner is��

Tiqvah, Age 10!

“Helmer bears the flame��

Congratulations to these winners!

We had so many wonderful submissions that it made choosing a winner so so difficult. Here are some of them: Check out for more!

The contest for the next quarter starts now. Here are the��:

To enter, submit your art��.

If you have social media, please share your child’s Green Ember art (publicly) on social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube). Use the hashtag����(along with����and����if you would) and tag S. D. Smith on either����or��. YouTube submissions may be featured in our playlist��.

Art can include but is not limited to pictures of Green Ember drawings, paintings, songs, poems, animation, sculptures, woodwork, crochet art, and MORE! We love seeing your creativity.

Please submit 1 original piece per quarter. If you have more than one, hold onto it until our next quarterly contest opens up (every 3 months). The next contest ends in March and winners will be announced in April.

202420232022

We look forward to seeing your submissions!

Theodore, age 8

The post appeared first on .

Today is the Last Day

Just a quick note to let you know that today is the last day for these deals:

Green Ember Christmas SpecialMain 4 Books:��The Green Ember, Ember Falls, Ember Rising, Ember’s EndGreen Ember Lost Tales: The Lost KeyCharacter CardsOath OrnamentFree Shipping
All for��$100��$55!$10 Signed BooksTeam Burger ShedMooses with Bazookas and Other Stories Children Should Never ReadJack Zulu and the Waylander’s KeyJack Zulu and the Girl with Golden WingsStarting Tomorrow

Last but not least, our friends over at Young Writer’s Workshop are opening enrollment tomorrow. If you’re looking for something positive, fun, and educational for your kids,��.

That’s all for now!

I’m on your side,

Sam

The post appeared first on .