Reading, Writing & Pondering

God, You Are: 20 Promises from the Psalms for Kids by William R. Osborne is written by a pastor as a devotional. There are 20 short "You are" devotionals written to help children understand the character of God. Each reading starts with a Bible verse, then there is a short devotional reading, followed by a prayer. God You are Holy, My Deliverer, a Shepherd, My Shield, and Everywhere. These are just a few of the 20 topics addressed in discussing God's character in this book. There are beautiful illustrations by Brad Woodard for all of the devotions. I think this a a nice devotional that could be used for family devotions, home-school devotions, Sunday School devotions or for another similar group of children. The book is 48 pages long and is about 7.2 by 8 inches in size. It is hardcover but does not have a dust jacket. God You Are is aimed at children ages four to eight but I think it would be good for the whole family if you use it in a family setting. I received a copy...

Psalms for Little Hearts introduces children to the psalms and what they can mean to us as children of God. Dandi Daley Mackall writes modern psalms based on the Bible so children can understand them and relate to them understand that God's word is written for them. There are 25 psalms in Psalms for Little Hearts targeting children ages 8 to 12. Although I think children as young as five would find value in this book with others reading it with them. All of the psalms are all labeled with what the message of each one is: God's Beautiful World, God Gives Me Joy (when I feel sad), God Fights for Me! (when they are the underdog), Give Thanks (teaching gratitude), and God Listens (for when hope is needed). These verses all rhyme and are ones that children could relate to. Then, at the end of each verse written by Mackall, she has a portion of the psalm from the New Living Translation of the Bible so readers can read the psalm she based her verses on. The illustrations of P...