Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Jesus Moments: Jonah is the story of Jonah from the Bible told for children ages four to seven.  Jesus Moments: Jonah is brightly illustrated, has 32 pages, and measures about 8 1/2 by 10 inches in size. This book tells the story of Jonah and how he ends up in the whale and going to Ninevah. At the same time, there are places in the story for children to pay attention to as they relate to things that Jesus did in the New Testament. The Jesus moments are marked with hidden anchors and then further explained as the book goes on.  I think Jesus Moments: Jonah is a good way for children to see how the Old and New Testaments are connected. I also like the illustrations. The book clearly tells the story of Jonah and also showed Jonah's bad attitude, which could be something to talk about with the children who listen to the story as well. This book would be good to read at home and also may be good to use at Sunday School or a children's Bible study. I received a copy of this ...

  God's Big Promises Bible Story Prayers by Carl Laferton is a colorful children's book that is just full of various prayers based on the Bible. This book starts out with an introduction on how to use the book. There are 92 prayers included that are based on Scripture. They are aimed at children ages two to six. This book encourages your children to pray Wow, Thank you, Sorry and Please prayers. There are also nine prayers to use at Bedtime. The book is divided into old and new testament prayers as all of the prayers are based on Scriptures. There is also an index at the back of the book. This book is a good size for little hands to hold as it measures about 7 1/2 by 6 inches in size.  I think the bright colors and short but powerful text and prayers are great for teaching little ones various prayers. God's Big Promises Story Prayers would be a great book to use with children as part of your family faith teachings, as part of home schooling, or even along with a Sunday Sc...

  The Little Man Whose Heart Grew Big by Steph Williams is the story of Zacchaeus from the Bible. This little book, measuring about 6 1/2 inches square, is paperback and a fun retelling of Zacchaeus so young ones can understand and relate to the story. I liked how the word little was in smaller type in the story too. Then at the back of the book, there is a short section for grown-ups to help them help little ones learn and there is the NIV version of the story from Luke to read for the original Bible version. The illustrations are cute and I especially love how the artist captures facial expressions. Both the story and the illustrations work together to make a wonderful retelling of Zacchaeus in The Little Man Whose Heart Grew Big .   I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  The Dad Who Never Gave Up by Steph Williams is a wonderful retelling of the prodigal son story. The Dad Who Never Gave Up is told in such a good way that young children today can clearly understand the story. I like that the back of the book has a short section to help grown-ups to help the children better understand the story. I also like that the complete text from the New International Version of the story from Luke is included at the end of the book so you can read the original Bible story and talk about it all together. This book is about 6 1/2 inches square and is paperback so would make a great Sunday School gift from the teacher and it would also be great to put in the book bag to read away from home.  I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  I didn't realize when I ordered The Garden The Curtain and The Cross that this book is part of a series of books. This is the young child's version written by Carl Laferton and it presents the Gospel of Christ for little ones to understand. It is a board book that is aimed at toddlers. For that reason, the wording is quite simple and aimed at helping little ones understand the salvation plan in simple terms. My family liked the simple words and the simplistic Gospel presentation for little ones. However, we didn't care for the illustrations at first in The Garden, The Curtain and The Cross. Then, after reading through it a few times, they grew on us. I think if we had seen the original book that it came from, we may have liked it more from the start. If you are looking to share the gospel with little ones, I do recommend it. I also would like to get more books in the series and that may help other parents too. There is a hardcover book for older children and an activity b...

  The Boy Who Shared His Sandwich by Steph Williams takes the Bible story from John 6:5-35 and tells it in a way that little ones can understand it. This book is aimed at pre-school children from ages two to four years old. The illustrations are cute and the story is told in a simple, modern way. The message of the Bible is clear and easy to understand for this young age group without losing the importance of the message.  The Boy Who Shared His Sandwich also has a page in back with notes for grown ups so that they are even more clear on the Biblical aspect of the story. The NIV version of the verse is printed on a page next to it. I think the helps are great to have handy for answering questions from the little ones. This book is also part of the Little Me, Big God series of storybooks for pre-schoolers. It is not a board book but a paper book with fairly thick pages. I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company. All opinions within this review are my own.

  Deborah and the Very Big Battle by Tim Thornborough helps young children understand the story of Deborah. This story tells what happens when we stop listening to God--and how he rescued Deborah and Barak when they started listening to Him. Moses and the Very Big Rescue tells the story of Moses in Exodus in a fun new way with a counting lesson. Little children learn about Pharoah, Moses and the plagues that God sent to get Pharoah to listen to him and let the people go.  The illustrations for both of these books are vibrant and eye catching. The wording is simple and yet interesting for young minds to be interested and to learn the Bible stories. The books are written for ages 2 to 4 year olds. It also helps that they have simple ways to help the kids stay involved like putting fingers to lips when someone speaks and hand to ear when someone is listening in Deborah and the Very Big Battle. My family thought they were great! It is also nice that these stories are a part of the...

The Promises of God Storybook Bible by Jennifer Lyell starts with a note to all of the grown-ups. In this introduction she shares her experience in teaching Sunday School for many years to all ages. She shares why she chose to write this book and how she hopes it touches the hearts of both the children being read to and those doing the reading. I immediately felt encouraged that this was a book full of blessings to all that learn about the promises of God. I also love that the stories in this book start with the premise that God always keeps His promises. Then the last story reminds us that Jesus is coming back some day--He promised. I thought the illustrations in The Promises of God Storybook Bible brought the stories to life with their vibrant colors and detailed pictures. I like the way the stories are told. These are a good length for shorter attention spans. Then each story ends with just a few questions to help bring about some good family discussions. This book would be gr...

"What better way to spend the last few minutes of the day than smuggled up with your children, pouring God's love into their hearts?" This question from the back of God's Words to Dream On: Bedtime Bible Stories and Prayers by Diane Stortz nails it. This gorgeous book with it's vibrant photos and succinct wording has over 52 stories to read with your children. Each night there is a Bible story, a bedtime blessing leaving the kids with something positive to reflect on, a Bible verse to think on, and a short sleepy-time prayer tied to the theme of the story. God's Words to dream On is aimed at children four to eight years old, but would also be great in a family setting of mixed ages. The pictures in God's Words to Dream On are quite well done. They are so bright and eye-catching, especially for young ones to look at. I think the stories are a good length for young children to read or hear. The short prayers, verses and blessings are also just right ...

Jesus Loves You is a vibrantly illustrated book sharing how a young one's life with Christ could be if they receive His Love. On each page, author Christine Ropjian writes about how Jesus loves us from the time before we were born, to the first day of school, to attending college, to getting married, and more for a lifetime of living and serving Jesus in His Love every day. Jesus Loves You is a nicely illustrated children's book. It is easy to understand although I found the vocabulary to be a little large for young children. Jesus Loves You could also be a way to share Christ with someone much older. Always, it would be a good reminder for any age, that Jesus loves us through all our lives. I received a copy of this book from the publisher at no charge. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book.

The Big Picture Interactive Bible Story Coloring and Activity Book is a great book for kids who like to color and do activity type worksheets. This large book has more than 200 coloring pages and more than 150 activity pages. This book is 384 pages total. It retails for 6.99 and I honestly thought it was a great buy for all of the fun things to do in this book. Along with the fun, kids are learning about Jesus and the Bible too. The Big Picture Bible Story Coloring and Activity book starts out with a note to parents explaining the goal of this book--to turn our young people's hearts to Jesus. This book is also designed to stand alone or to be used in companion with the Big Picture Bible and related books. The second page of the activity book offers a Parent Connection page to do a devotion and ask questions with your children along with the book. Then this big book is divided into Old Testament and New Testament activities. Besides all of the coloring pages, the activity pages...