Being Baxters (The Baxter Family Children Story Series)

Baxter Family Children #5

by Karen Kingsbury

In the fifth book in Karen Kingsbury and Tyler Russell's beloved series about the Baxter children, when things don't turn out according to plan, the siblings must stick together and remember who they are. Things are changing in Bloomington for the Baxters. When Ashley's teacher, Mr. Garrett, takes a month off work for the birth of his baby, the intimidating Ms. Stritch takes his place. Ashley tries but can't seem to crack the new teacher's tough exterior. Meanwhile, Brooke struggles when a popular girl excludes her at lunch, Erin adjusts to getting glasses, and when Kari is given a dance solo for the upcoming recital, she takes her success a little too seriously. When Principal Bond announces a new Character Awards initiative, competition breaks out between siblings and friends, until the students forget the point of the awards. Through it all, the town prepares for a major blizzard that Luke worries will cancel his class's field trip to see the Harlem Globetrotters. With so many obstacles in their lives, the Baxter Children have the opportunity to remember what being Baxters really means.

Genres: Christian, Childrens, Family, Middle Grade

1 pages, Audio CD

First published February 21, 2023

About the author

Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children.

See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/K...

Reviews

[Jacquelyn 💐 {This Rapunzel Reads} [Jesus Christ, my Living Hope] · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful and fulfilling end to this series! I especially love the cover for this one! Once again, I loved the family atmosphere and love that surrounds them! I loved the winter and snow experiences or well, should I say adventures. I highly recommend this whole series and can’t wait to share it with my future kids someday! 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Angela (Kentuckybooklover) Brocato-Skaggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love getting to know The Baxter family as kids. So much to learn even as an adult.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wholesome series is right on the border of sweet and saccharine and I enjoy them. They’re like a cozy hug for your anxious brain.

[Danica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great final book of this kids series. It’s a wonderful set, particularly for girls ages 8-12 or so.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely amazing return to the Baxter family! I have always loved these books and this one is no different. The writing continues to draw you into the story as if you are part of the Baxters. I love how these books with the children as kids stay true to the characters I have come to love.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ not my favorite book of the series. I think my daughters may like to read about the Baxter children someday though! Clean, wholesome book.

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being Baxters by Karen Kingsbury and Tyler Russell
Baxter Family Children #5
221-page Libby Ebook

Genre: Christian Fiction, Children's > Middle Grade; Juvenile > Young Adult

Featuring: Mother-Son Duo, Author's Letter, Bloomington, Indiana; Large Family, Dual POVs, Siblings, Graphics, Character Development Trope, Wholesome Characters, Projects, School Setting, God's Peace, Drama, Hallmark Moments, Prayers, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Little House on the Prairie

Rating as a movie: PG

Songs for the soundtrack: "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts: 🔖18% Page 40 of 221 Ch. 4 Posture on the Prairie • Kari - Ashley has gone from kid Amelia Bedelia to Junie B. Jones.
🔖33% pg. 74 Ch. 7 An Italian Education • Kari - Kari and Ashley are always doing the same thing in class, and why aren't they sitting with their class? 🙄
🔖48% pg. 106 Ch. 10 World Project from Home • Kari - They already ruined Ashley, and now they are working on Kari; she was shy, but now she's snobby. 🤷🏾‍♀️
🔖72% pg. 160, 3 pages into Ch. 15 The Most Deserving Person • Ashley - This is falling out of 4-star territory. Too sleepy to continue.

This story had a lot of issues, including the misuse of vocabulary words, which could confuse young readers in the future. The dumbing down of characters to create plots and lame jokes was unnecessary. Even the mother, Elizabeth, made some poor decisions in the name of the plot and filler; also, the dog disappeared. I guess this is typical of some series when they try to pause time and run out of ideas. I was planning on reading future Baxter Family Children books, but now I'm not so sure. We'll see. I think I'll miss them, but I'm still too close to these characters to deal with the adult version since I know about multiple devastations from reading the Christmas book.

Recommend to others?: Maybe. This story was the least favorite of the series, but that's to be expected eventually.

[Sarah Carper · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have not read any of the Baxter Family series by Karen Kingsbury, I encourage you to do so. It's a large series of books and it's quite the time commitment but I guarantee you it'll be worth your time. It has been one of the best series of books I've ever written. With five children in the Baxter Family, there are lots of stories to explore and there's always something new to read. This series has been fun because Karen Kingsbury and her son, Tyler Russell, have imagined stories of when the Baxter children were kids. We get to read books from their perspectives and see them before they grew up. What a treat!

Though these are written with kids in mind, I think they are still great reads for any adult. Especially anyone who has read and loved any of the Baxter Family books. They make for quick reads, yet they're full of great content. I really enjoyed in this book how there were short journal entries scattered throughout the book. And the illustrations that were included were so cute.

And I thoroughly enjoyed the content of this particular story. In this story, Kari's class was to complete a project about a country in the world. I enjoyed reading her discover more about Italy, her group's country. There was also discussions throughout the story about the children trying to win character awards. I think there's a lot in this book that makes for great, meaningful content for a child when reading. The only thing that I think may be confusing for a young reader is the change in narrators between chapters. But that's fairly minor! All in all, this is a wonderful read that I would recommend whether you've read the other books or not.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoilers included:
I (an eighth grader by the way) can think of a thousand ways this book could've been improved. First of all, the payoff of Erin winning the character award is not very deserved, particularly because it comes at the end of the book. If she had won before the events of 'Being Baxters' but after the events of 'Adventure Awaits' the book could focus more on Ashley overcoming her jealousy, and being happy for Erin. This is something most children with siblings experience, so this option could empathize with readers more effectively.
Ashley's main conflict during this book is her strict substitute teacher Mrs Stritch. I detest this portion of the book. Mrs Stritch is quite frankly, a cartoon supervillain. She is a young woman with a british accent and a zero tolerance policy for foolishness. It is later revealed that she attended a strict boarding school at a young age and this influences the way she teaches. This, in my opinion is lazy and predictable writing. Rather than Ashley learning that not all teachers will understand her, she learns that character's entire personalities will change at the drop of a hat.
Karen Kingsbury gives herself many oppourtunities to expand on difficult issues and fumbles every single one. In this finale and in the entire series.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the children’s series about the Baxter family, and although I don’t generally read children’s literature, I read EVERYTHING by Karen Kingsbury who is my all-time favorite author. If you read her adult series about the Baxters, this is a great look into each of the characters’ childhoods and it will make you wish you were part of their family. This is written at an upper elementary level so it’s a quick read. There’s a message about being your best self, along with a lot of cute humor about the kids. 4.75/5 stars.

[Brooke J Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me(Brooke): I really love this series for my family it connects my books with my kids and that's fun for me. I really love how the kids face things my kids face and we can have great discussions and lots of laughs as a family.

Rayena: I like the family dynamic and adventures they go on.

Ephraim: The story was good there were moments I wish I could physically join the characters.

Hannah Beth: I love Ashley she is so bubbly and funny. I really love all the characters they are people I can relate to. I like how they work everything out as a family.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book. It’s one of her newer books about the Baxter family. I really enjoyed reading all of the Baxter family stores because the characters are all awesome in the book. I over all recommend this as a wonderful book to read.

[Margaret Fraleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of the Baxter children.

There is a field trip for Luke, a dance recital for Kari and
school projects.

And there is a winter blizzard predicted.

Excellent story of how these events are handle.

[Patricia Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashley struggles when her teacher takes some time off. She has a hard time learning how the new teacher operates. Brooke struggles when a popular girl excludes her at lunch. Erin adjusts to getting glasses. growing up.

[Mallory Swagger]

I read the actual book I just can’t find the non audiobook version

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, highly relatable children’s book. This family copes with everyday ups and downs while learning about love, family and faith.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very great book. Highly recommend it for a pre teen or teen

[Mary Wynegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book as always. She is a fantastic author

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...God was with them, and He had given them this beautiful family. And that was more important than anything in the world. "

I wish I were a Baxter! Great series!

[Gale Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!!! The Baxter children are very exciting. I especially like the snow adventures and making a snowman.. I think everyone should read KAREN Kingsburg books

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy all books about the Baxters whether it is geared for my age group or not. Can't wait for the next one!

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this family

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

was a quick read since it’s a children’s book. but great message. was fun to read since it talked about italy and stuff that i’m going through rn.

[Kathy Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about growing up in a large loving family

[Dana McReynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate these books for young readers. Sweet and funny although I’m not convinced that Ashley accurately portrays a 5th grader, even a silly one.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet book and educational! Love it

[Isabel Bentler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. Not only was it understandable for a kid. But it also teaches you lessons through what the characters are doing.

[Whitney Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great family read aloud!

[Aji Vijay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atlast i completed this book. Every chapter gives me hope and strength and answers for some questions. I highly recommend everyone to read Baxter Family Children series😍💓❤️🥰

[Shirley Whitehead]

Need

Baxter Family Children Books
Bk 5