Bash and the Chicken Coop Caper

Just when I thought this series couldn't get any better, now this one had mystery! I think this is getting better and better. This book is just marvelous. Totally recommended!

The second book in the Bash series is just as delightful as the first!

A blizzard has blown through, and Ray is at the farm with Bash until the roads clear enough for Ray's parents to come get him. Bash determines that he and Ray are going to harvest the fruit of the Spirit - you know, love, peace, patience, joy, self-control, and so on. So they go out looking for opportunities to put some fruit into their basket. Shenanigans ensue.

Lauren Rodriguez and her family have moved to Ohio following the death of her father. When her mom's car ends up in a snowbank, Ray and Bash and Gulliver J. McFrederick the Third (the rescue hog) get Lauren, her brother Tyler, and her mom to safety and warmth at the Gobnotters' farm, and the community lends them a helping hand. Lauren is grieving her father's death, and Ray can't seem to say anything right to her, no matter what he says.

Strange things are afoot in the chicken coop, and Ray is determined to figure out what's going on. Bash thinks Mary Jane is pranking him. Mary Jane thinks Bash is pranking her. Ray just wants to solve the mystery.

Once again, Bash has a good heart but sometimes lacks common sense. Shenanigans ensue. We see superpowered supersleds, a snowball catapult with a very unique feature, and a cow wearing Aunt Tillie's Sunday dress, among other things. This was another that I read out loud with my ten-year-old, and we were just guffawing at times.

This is Christian fiction, and faith is an important component of the story. Lauren struggles with why God let her father die. That's something that many of us may have wrestled with, and it's written in a way that kids can relate to and understand. As a new Christian, Ray has to trust Jesus to help him explain why he believes to Lauren. And the kids learn an important lesson when it comes to cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Sometimes you just plant the seed and let it grow.

I love these books. They remind me that even when life is hard and doesn't turn out like I planned, it can still be an adventure, and God can still work it together for my good. On to book three, Bash and the Chocolate Milk Cows!