Action, Adventure, and the Fruit of the Spirit

Looking for summer reading for your children or grandchildren? The Brady Street Boys 1980s Adventure series by Katrina Hoover Lee is a good choice. What drew my attention to the series was that one of the boys, Gary, has a wooden leg. Several years earlier, Gary had cancer, and his leg was amputated to save his life. The stories are told from Gary’s point of view. I read the first book and was so impressed that I bought the rest of the series.

The books center around three boys (Terry, Gary, and Larry) who live with their parents on Brady Street in a small town in Indiana in 1987. It is summer, and their mother has a weekly project to help the boys learn about the fruit of the Spirit. There are nine books in the series, one for each fruit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

In addition to covering the fruit of the Spirit, there is a story arc that ties all the books together. Gary has doubts about whether the amputation was absolutely necessary and wants to talk to the surgeon about it. They find out that the surgeon has left the hospital, and no one there seems to know where he has gone. The boys and their parents track the surgeon through the nine books. 

The stories are well written, and the characters are well developed and likeable. There is plenty of action, adventure, and spiritual content. Both boys and girls can enjoy reading this series. The reading age is 9–12 years old. I highly recommend them.

Here is the order of the books: 

1.        Trapped in the Tunnel

2.        Facing the Fugitive

3.        Noise in the Night

4.        Tricked on the Tracks

5.        Rivals on the River

6.        Fire in the Feed Mill

7.        Perils of the Produce Patch

8.        Blast on the Beach

9.        Surgery in the Swamp

Amazon has the updated (and more attractive) covers.