Good News, Bad News

By: Alexandra T. Chakos

Narrated by: Constantino Garcia

Length: 1 hr and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Eight-year-old Steven desperately wants to win the top prize in his school’s fundraising campaign—a shiny new BMX bike. The good news is that just selling lots of boxes of cheese and sausage will help him win. The bad news? He’s willing to break rules and bend the truth to make his dream come true.

Meet Steven and his family:

• Older brother, Paul, who is glad he doesn’t have to sell stuff.
• Little sister, Sophia, who tries to keep the peace between her battling brothers.
• Dad, an Orthodox priest, busy with his own fundraising to build a new church.
• Mom, just trying to keep up with all the activity.

Enter into this charming world of a young clergy family—a place where God’s presence is revealed in unexpected ways.

©2022 Alexandra T. Chakos (P)2023 Alexandra T. Chakos

Heartwarming

What a lovely surprise to find this book being narrated by a child around the same age as the children in the story! I loved that, and so did my 7 year old. My older children wanted more of a full cast, but we still enjoyed the story and the narration.

The story itself, of a family of five, with two boys who would love to own BMX bikes but have a few obstacles to get them, is absolutely heartwarming, a perfect read for the fall or around Christmas. My children, also in a clergy family, loved that this was a story about a clergy family. All families will enjoy the typical conflicts and struggles a family will go through, and those who are not in clergy families will get a peek into what it's like to be a PK, too. PK's all over the world will appreciate your empathy!

I gave this book to my sister, who also has a young son, and they read it together in one sitting. She told me it brought tears to her eyes, too. Enjoy this lovely story in print or in audio - it is a delight.

Good News, Bad News is good news!

Good News, Bad News is a wonderful story about honesty and generosity, individuality and strengthening the nuclear family. We listened to the audio book version, and found it to be a perfectly timed story of integrity and brotherhood. I think this book is an important read because it is filled with realistic scenarios and biblical parallels that apply to the lives of my 5 and 7 yr old sons. What do we do when no one is looking? Is it better to disobey and win, or be obedient to what is right and trust God for all we need? This story makes biblical virtues tangible in an age appropriate way, and I would highly recommend this book to any Orthodox friends with children between the ages of 5-10. As a bonus for the audio version, the book was read aloud by a boy of that same age range; my boys enjoyed listening to a story read by their peer.

A sweet story with powerful parallelism

My children and I just finished Good News Bad News by Alexandra Chakos, and it was a delightful summer read! My girls especially loved that the narrator was a child...it was perfect for giving the story a lightness that kept it moving well.

We enjoyed the parallelism in the story's title and chapter headings...it framed the story's tensions well and mirrored the hard choices that are sometimes part of growing up.

We especially love how the author resolved the main conflict of the story (trying not to give too much away here)! It seemed perfect in that it didn't reward bad choices but still left us feeling that things were resolved the way they ought to be by the story's end.

We love having Orthodox Christian representation in children's books (especially books that aren't necessarily about being Orthodox! It's such an important part of giving my children mirrors (as well as windows) as they grow.

We'll be looking for more titles by Ms. Chakos!