Reading, Writing & Pondering

  Do you know a child who has lost a loved one and is hurting? Moonlight Memories by Amanda Davis is a beautiful story of grief, loss and healing from a child's perspective.  Piper is grieving and hurting as her mother passed away. Her father gives her a telescope since she has trouble sleeping. She uses the telescope--and she uses her heart and imagination each night as she looks at the stars. Along with the stars, she sees the memories she made with her mother. Grief takes time and doesn't looks the same for everyone, something that the author points out in the page before and after the story. I thought this was a beautiful story of comfort and hope for a young child. I also liked the beautiful illustrations on each page from Michelle Jing Chan. Moonlight Memories would make a great gift for a hurting child who lost a loved one. While they may not want to grieve the same way, I think they would find comfort in knowing that other children grieve too. Also, this book is not ...

  If you are looking at this book, then you may be already familiar with Dude Perfect. If not, Dude Perfect is a group of five friends who initially made basketball trick shots for fun. Cory Cotton, Coby Cotton, Cody Jones Garrett Hilbert, and Tyler Toney are the five friends who are all from Texas. Kristin Hilbert is Garrett's wife.  Good Night, Dude Perfect is a fun Bedtime book aimed at ages four to eight. This book is one that has a lot going on in the page illustrations from Alan Brown. Those illustrations are bright and colorful fun illustrations for young sports fans. This book is 32 pages long and a little over 10 by 8 inches in size. It could be fun to read to a child or group of children as well as a fun book for kids to look at on their own. I would say this is sort of a special interest book for kids who especially like sport and those who are familiar with Dude Perfect. The text is fairly wordy--much wordier than Good Night Moon, which this book mimics. I think t...

  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...

Maggie and Morty Raccoon have given up their sneaky ways but they may just have a new struggle. In The Society of Extraordinary Raccoon Society by Randall Goodgame, the raccoons may just feel the need to out-do each other in their giving. However, the young raccoons learn a new lesson on boasting from Matthew 6. Goodgame is experienced with writing children's books and songs. I think it clearly shows in the prose of this book. I like the rhyming tempo and the words that remind children that boasting is not a good way to behave around others. This book not only has rhythm but it has some brightly colored illustrations to go along with it that make the story a stand-out read to young ones. The pages are a heavy slick paper that should be easy for little fingers to get ahold of to turn the pages themselves too. The Society of Extraordinary Raccoon Society on Boasting was a fun read for our family--in fact my husband and I enjoyed it as much as the young ones. I received this ...

I think when we are children, we often don't feel like we can make much of a difference in this world with all of the grown-ups making decisions. Love Does for Kids by Bob Goff and Lindsey Goff Viducich is a book full of stories of adventures and putting love in action to make a difference in the world we live in, regardless of age. Throughout Love Does for Kids, Bob and Lindsey share story after story of growing up and living out their faith in Jesus by loving those around them in practical ways. I continue to be amazed at the adventures Bob and Sweet Maria encouraged their children to be a part of. Secretly, I wish I had been a part of the Goff family growing up and lived out some of those fun times. But the thing is, we can all put our love in action in our own neighborhoods and communities. Children are encouraged to do just that through Bob and Lindsey's stories. Along with each story, Bob and Lindsey relate a story of Jesus loving people similarly. At the end of th...

We all have unique gifts from God. In Thoughtfull by Dorena Williamson, children can see what thoughtfulness means and how that trait is one shown by Ahanu, one of the children in the story. On awards, Ahanu is given an award for being thoughtful. Joshua is Ahanu's friend. On the way home from school on the bus, Joshua hears boys making fun of his friend Ahanu and the award. Ahanu has Down's Syndrome and is differently abled. Through the story, Joshua  learns what it means to be thoughtful and how he can best be Ahanu's friend. This sweet story is good to help young children in various ways. Thoughtfull could help children talk about what it means to be differently abled, how to handle bullies, how to be thoughtful and about our feelings in certain situations. In the back of Thoughtfull , there is a Parent Connection page with a Bible verse, something to read from the Bible along with that verse, and questions to think about and talk about together. This is a great b...

If you are looking for a new book to cozy up and read with your little ones before bed, Night Night, Sleepy Town is an adorable new board book designed to help your little ones feel safe and loved before bed. Night Night, Sleepy Town introduces children to the folks who help keep the town running smoothly--the mayor, the farmer, the policeman, the teacher, and more. Children are reminded that each of these special people take care of everyone in their own special way and encourages the children to remember them and say thank you for them. Adorable brightly-colored illustrations help bring each profession to life for the young readers. This book has short rhyming verses and great rhythm. The illustrations are great. The reminder to be grateful for all of the special people who make the town run each day is such a good idea to help children learn gratitude. Night Night, Sleepy Town is aimed at children 3 to 5 years old and is 20 pages long. It is also part of Amy Parker's s...

Chameleons can change their colors. In All the Colors That I See by Pamela Kennedy, little ones can follow the sneaky chameleon around and learn all their favorite colors. All The Colors That I See has a fun verse with a little something for the toddlers to do when they look at each page for all the colors--red, green, yellow, blue, and more--in this cute board book. The book measures a little over six inches square. It is the perfect size for little hands to use on their own and it is a fun book to use together as the children learn to find items of matching colors on each of the pages. All The Colors That I See helps make learning colors fun--and it reminds toddlers that each color comes from God. Children can follow the chameleon to learn each color so there is a consistency among the brightly illustrated pages. I also like that there is an activity that the kids can do with each color. The book is fun to read and helps children learn in a fun way. I would recommend this ...

Candy Apple Blessings celebrates many people's favorite season of Fall. This book would be great fun for preschoolers in the upcoming Fall season with it's catchy rhymes and cheery illustrations. What young child doesn't love to pick out a fall pumpkin or help to make and eat candied apples? This board book, generously sized at almost 8 inches square with sturdy pages for little fingers, is full of fun, catchy rhymes to celebrate the fall season. Candy Apples Blessings is a fun book to read to little ones. While it isn't yet fall, I can see where this book would be fun to read with your family all season as it talks about and illustrates the fun activities of corn mazes, decorating for Fall, Fall festivals, going back to school, dressing warmer for Fall with scarves and eating fall goodies. I would recommend it to anyone with little ones who like to read together. The rhymes are all fun and catchy and the illustrations boldly show the fall seasonal pictures to h...

Do you struggle to get your children to eat their vegetables (like we do)? I can't guarantee that they will eat them after reading D inner for Dinos but you sure will have a fun time reading this new book from Tommy Nelson with your family! Dinner for Dinos is a rhyming board book geared for children ages four to eight. . .but honestly the rhyme is just plain fun for any age to listen to. The dino family starts out at the grocery dino-store and "rhymingly" works their way through dinner. The dino family makes meal time a lot of fun and learns how to use their manners and to eat healthy food, among other things. . .including eating their veggies. Dinner for Dinos was a lot of fun to read (over and over) with the rhyming story that was well-written. It is a book that any family with young children would enjoy reading together. It was just good clean fun and a great way to make your own dinner time fun. It is educational in the best way that the children won't ...

Young children never seem to be bashful about asking questions about everything and anything. What do you do when you children ask questions about skin color and why we are all a little different color? Colorfull by Dorena Williamson is a sweet story with beautiful illustrations to help young ones celebrate skin colors of all shades. Colorfull tells the story of Imani and Kayla who are best friends who celebrate their different skin colors. This story is told by Granny Mac and talks about God's colors in food, nature and skin colors. Granny also talks about her gray hair so there is some celebration of age differences to in this book. One of the things I especially appreciate about BH Kids books is the parent connection page. This page includes a verse to remember, a Bible section to read, and questions to think about and discuss with your family or group reading the book. Colorfull has this page in the back of the book. Both the story, the gorgeous illustrations, and the par...

Mark Batterson is one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed The Circle Maker for adults so I was excited to see The Circle Maker Devotions for Kids . This book did not disappoint me either. There are 100 devotions in The Circle Maker Devotions for Kids which is written and designed for children ages eight and up. The book starts off with the story of Honi the circle maker who drew a circle in the sand and didn't budget until God answered his prayer. Batterson also tells the story of the Israelites marching circles around Jericho in one of the first few devotions. Throughout the book, each devotion is designed to inspire readers to pray more and to trust that God will answer their prayers in bigger ways than they can imagine. I especially like this devotional. The Circle Maker Devotions for Kids would be really nice to use as a family or as an individual for children learning to have their own prayer times. Each reading is focused on the a Scripture from the Bible and offers sol...

When God Made Light is Matthew Paul Turner's second children book he has written and illustrated with David Catrow, following their book, When God Made You . Both of these books are beautifully written and illustrated favorites at our house. When God Made Light is written for ages 3 to 8, but it is a great book to read at family storytime. Through lyrical prose, Turner tells how God made light and how that light helps the world around us. Then he shares how the light helps us to flourish as the light of God shines from within us. I especially like that this book has children in it of another color than me in the illustrations throughout When God Made Light . The community where I live is made up of a wide variety of people as I live in a town with a large university. I like that my family can see children of all backgrounds represented in our books as they see children of all colors in our community. At the same time, I think we could all use books like this. God made peop...

Ten Little Night Stars is a beautifully-illustrated sweet children's board book. When I read it to my family last night, everyone enjoyed the rhythmic verse and the adorable pictures. Ten Little Night Stars is a book that would become a classic bedtime book to be read often in my household. It gently takes little ones through all of the bedtime steps and teaches them to count to ten all at the same time. This beautiful little book has a soft puffy cover and thick board book pages making it easy for little fingers to turn in the pages to learn to read it themselves. It is geared to pre-school and kindergarten ages. I highly recommend this one for families with little ones. Ten Little Night Stars would also make a nice gift for a young child. I received this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book.

Are you a Christian parent trying to teach your child(ren) how to pray? The Prayer Bible for Children is designed to help you give your children a heart for prayer and learning the Bible together. The Prayer Bible for Children uses the ICB translation. This translation is created especially for children. This particular Bible has large easy-to-read text with 160 pages of special prayer articles highlighting beloved prayers throughout the Bible. It also includes 64 color pages of poem prayers, Scripture prayers, and a children's question and answer section with the questions kids most ask about prayer. Along with all of the prayer helps, this children's Bible has a How to Use the Bible section, an article index for easy reference of the articles, a dictionary and a concordance. The Prayer Bible for Children also includes a matching prayer journal as a bonus to record prayers and answers to prayers with your child. I thought The Prayer Bible for Children was both nice...

The Marvelous Mud House is a beautifully illustrated and well told story of children in two cultures and how they came together to create a lesson in joy and contentment. Ben and his family live in America. Like many American children, Ben is always wanting more and better things. Then Ben and his family visit George and his Mama in Kenya. Mama George is often telling her son that God will provide and He cares for them in their small grass hut limited mainly to essentials. The Marvelous Mud House is a story of two different cultures and how change can happen with those cultures collide. The Marvelous Mud House has fun, bright illustrations. The writing is well done and the story is one that should be easy for children to relate to. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8 years, but it would make for rich discussions in families with a variety of ages. I like how there is a Parent Connection page in the back with Bible verses to read and questions to ask. This is a good book t...

Love and Kindness are two virtues that we hope to instill in our children today. Love and Kindness by Christine Topjian would be a good book to read with your children to spark discussion on how we can be kind and show love to those around us. Topjian shares several examples in Love and Kindness that could help children see ways to be kind when they have the opportunity. Love and Kindness also helps readers know that Jesus loves us and shows that love to us through various ways, reminding us to be loving to others as Jesus is our example. Love and Kindness would be a helpful book to read with elementary age children. This paperback book is bright and colorful. Love and Kindness has several good reminders to the kids to demonstrate love and kindness whenever they have the opportunity. I like that this is a larger book for talking with children in a group too. It measures 8 1/2 by 11 inches. Besides using it with a family, I think it would be a good book to share at Sunday Sc...

Coloring is still one of my favorite things to do. The Big and Little Coloring Devotional has something to offer both children and adults in one nifty package so both the young and the older can enjoy coloring. This dual age coloring book devotional allows adults to read a short uplifting devotional reading and to relax while coloring a more complex coloring picture. On the opposite page, there is a simpler picture for children to color that is age appropriate for younger ones. The Big and Little Coloring Devotional has 112 pages of uplifting pictures and readings to do together. I love the idea of this intergenerational coloring devotional. I have to be honest and say that I don't have little ones to color with me right now, although I am not above borrowing nieces or neighbor children to color with me with a mom's blessing. However, I still found the readings in the Big and Little Coloring Devotional to be encouraging and fun as an adult. They are short and refreshin...

What better way time to discuss families then on the way to a family reunion? In God Gave Us Family , Little Pup's wolf family is having a family reunion in the woods. As they travel to the reunion, Little Pup asks his Mama and Papa all sorts of questions about families. They give him some warm and reassuring answers as they remind Little Pup that God gives us each a family. Little pup learns that families come in all different sizes and types, but we need to love the family He gave us. God Gave Us Family is written for children ages 3 to 8. This book is positive and affirming, besides being fun to read as a family. Along with the story, I especially love the adorable illustrations of the wolf family and their camping reunion in the woods. I would think many families would be able to relate to this family camping adventure with illustrations of family members roasting marshmallows, sleeping in tents, playing games, hiking and catching lightning bugs to put in a jar. Even thou...

Children often find themselves feeling afraid. Max Lucado's new book, I'm Not a Scaredy Cat , would be a great tool to read with children to remind them that they can face those fears with God. This large-sized full-color adorably illustrated children's book is a fun book to read with little ones. The rhyming is so cute and the illustrations are vibrant and eye catching with the kitty's actions. I'm Not a Scaredy Cat follows a scaredy-cat as he faces all of his worst fears in some silly misadventures. As he faces each of those fears, Lucado shares a child's prayer version of Philippians 4:6-9. I'm Not a Scaredy Cat is such a fun book to read with little ones. It is a good reminder that God helps us face our fears and have courage. The roughly square 10 by 10 inch book is a good size for family reading time. This book could also make for some good discussions on fear and how God helps us through our fear in a way little ones can relate and talk about...