Reading, Writing & Pondering

    The Adventure Bible and Adventure Bible Guide help bring the Bible to life for kids. The Bible is in the NIV version and has the full text. It could really be enjoyed by someone of any age. However the side bars do target children. This Bible was my son's favorite Bible growing up and now they have updated it and added the guide to go with it--which I think is truly helpful. It is full of helpful Bible information in a bright, vibrant way that is also in bite-sized chunks for better understanding. I also like that they added the Adventure Bible Guide as a companion to the Bible as the kids can learn so much from both. I think they would make a great gift--maybe even an Easter gift, since it is coming up. Adventure Bible Guide: Explore the Stories, People and Places of Every Book in the Bible – an ideal companion to the NIV Adventure Bible:   Explore the Bible like never before! This companion to the bestselling Adventure Bible gives young readers the key detail...

Joni Eareckson Tada's story is one of the first that I heard as a young Believer. I like this new biography about her for children from the Do Great Things for God series. Kristyn Getty writes about Joni in a way that is easy to read and understand. The illustrations work well with the story to help young reader's visualize the story better. Subtitled, The Girl Who Learned to Follow God in a Wheelchair, this book roughly measures 9 1/2 by 7 1/2 inches, a good size for the age group it is aimed at--ages four to seven to learn from. This book is especially helpful for children to see that some people have challenges and are differently abled. As this book shows, God still loves them and works in their lives.  I like that there is a timeline at the back of the book showing the important events in Joni's life. There is also a prayer to pray for those who are not Believers. There are questions to think about. Then the last two pages of the book show some work sheets that can be...

  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...

  It doesn't matter our age, there are times we are all tempted to worry. When Worry Whispers by Joyce Meyer is aimed at children ages four to seven. This 32-page book is a good-sized jacketed hardcover book measuring about 9 1/2 inches almost square--a great size for reading aloud or reading alone. I think When Worry Whispers is on target for what kids may worry about and how they feel when they worry. This book is a Christian-based book with talk about God and a Bible verse at the beginning of the book. The illustrations by Marcin Piwowarski is colorful and eye-catching. I like that they include children of all colors in the pictures. This is a good book for both those struggling with worry and to remind kids that aren't worrying yet that they don't need to because God cares for them. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  All About Christmas by Alison Mitchell is sure to have some answers for questions from those early elementary students--ages 7 to 11. This is a large book that is roughly 9 by 10 inches in size and almost 50 pages long. There is a lot of good information in All About Christmas. It is a book that could be read straight through or one that you could use the table of contents to find the information that you most want to learn about Christmas. There is also a glossary in the book and a quiz, for those who want to test their knowledge after reading through the book. As a homeschool mom, I would also like this book to use with our studies around Christmas. There are drawings and there are also actual photos in the book that back up the information presented. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.