Chapter Book Spotlight: The Choose Your Journey Series by Elizabeth Raum

Meet Elizabeth Raum, author of the Choose Your Journey Series. Read on to hear how each book explores a different aspect of Christ’s ministry and life during Bible times in an interactive way!

Tell us about yourself!

Tell us about your chapter books.

What kind of child are you trying to reach with your books?

Interactive novels, like the Crossroads books, are especially helpful for reluctant readers. The reader takes on the role of a boy and girl who meets Jesus and his disciples. Each section is relatively short and is followed by a choice. The reader decides where the story goes next.

The books are ideal for any young reader who wants to know more about Jesus and the times in which he lived.

Reading the Bible is great, but it’s simply too difficult for many younger readers. The Crossroads books present the Gospel stories in a way that young readers can understand and enjoy.

I had written 15 interactive novels for Capstone Press’s You Choose series. They are all popular historical adventures, and I began to wonder why no Christian publisher had considered such a series based on Bible.

After all, faith should be an adventure, too; it certainly was in the first century. The Gospels are full of adventure—not only in the actual encounters Jesus has with his Jewish friends and neighbors, but also in those he had with various authorities.

Parables like the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan are adventures, too, and like all good adventures, they are instructive. And so I began developing ideas for a Christian series of interactive novels.

As I began writing the Crossroads book, I realized that I needed to see the places where Jesus lived and preached, so my husband and I traveled to Israel.

I’d already written early drafts, but the trip helped me to better understand the topography of the region and to appreciate the distances people traveled on foot. I was astounded to see the “wilderness,” a dry, barren region studded with caves, some of which had hidden the Dead Sea Scrolls. A wall of the temple still stands in Jerusalem, and I sat on the stairs leading to it, the same stairs Jesus had climbed.

JourneyForth Books, a division of Bob Jones University Press, did a masterful job of producing the Choose Your Journey series. I hope these books will help young readers feel as if they, too, have been on a journey with Jesus. 

When I was very young, my mother read to me. My dad told stories about his own childhood, as well as stories about what happened during the work day. My brothers and I played imaginary games, and whenever we said we were bored, Mom told us to read a book.

Little wonder I began to appreciate books. But I never considered writing one until my third grade teacher read a poem I had written and said, “Someday, you’ll be a writer.”

I simply kept writing.

At first, I wrote magazine and newspaper articles, and later tried my hand at writing books. I have an entire file drawer filled with early attempts, all unpublished and for good reasons, but they served as an apprenticeship.

So, perhaps I’ve always known I wanted to be an author. Luckily for me, it worked out!

Charlotte’s Web

Read the kind of books you hope to write, write, and then read some more. Don’t give up.

If there’s one thing I know about writing, it’s that writing takes patience and perseverance. 

A Kidnapping in Kentucky, 1776, a historical novel for middle grade readers, is my most recent. It’s based on the actual kidnapping of Daniel Boone’s 13-year-old daughter, Jemima.

There is a contact page on my webstie: www.elizabethraumbooks.com.

My books are available on ChristianBook, BJU Press, Victory Baptist Press, and Amazon.

If you’re in the market for chapter books, I’d love to share my series with you!

Collar Cases is a Christian mystery series for readers 7-12.

Join investigative reporters Mittens Meow and Alex Digger as they solve mysteries in their small town and learn lessons about character.