Category Archives: Children

Book Reviews, Children, Theology

Book Review: NIV Kids’ Visual Study Bible, by Zondervan

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NIV Kids' Visual Study BibleZondervan’s NIV Kids’ Visual Study Bible contains hundreds of labeled images, scores of infographics, and countless easy-to-understand study notes in page margins. Provided images, both photographic and illustrated, are from an array of sources, each noted in fine print below the image. The infographics are beautifully simple and informative (parents will likely want to reference these for their own use)! The study notes are likely to be helpful for young readers, and when addressing controversial issues (e.g., the meaning of “day” in Genesis 1) the contributors include several brief interpretations, which is good for young readers and will lead to good questions and discussions with more mature Christians.

This hardcover copy is a brick, and I doubt any kid will be carrying it around. It may be more helpful as a stay-at-home Bible. I imagine the imitation leather editions may be a bit more portable, but not by much. While the layout is quite reasonable and easy on the eyes, there’s still a lot of wasted space in the set margins wherein study notes are place, which contributes to an increase in physical size.

 

All in all (NIV translation aside), I think kids will find this niche Bible interesting and helpful, but won’t want to carry it around.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: The Call of the Swamp, by Davide Cali and Marco Somà

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The Call of the SwampThe Call of the Swamp by author Davide Cali and artist Marco Somà is one of the most down-to-earth-fantasy children’s books I’ve ever read. Let’s be honest; most children’s books are fantasy—intentionally or not—whether in characters and environment, story, or both. We often offer children encouraging illusions (delusions?) of grandeur and present everything with a happy ending tied up in a pretty bow of one’s choice color. While The Call of the Swamp is certainly fantasy—a kid with gills is picked up in a swamp and adopted by a couple that can’t have children—it leaves plenty of room for personal experience and inquiry. Not all lives are the same, and this simple story doesn’t try to force all adopted kids into one box. Cali tells a story of a child who looks different from his parents and who eventually recognizes his differences in a real way and longs to discover and experience his past. And while he eventually makes his way back to his adoptive parents, there is no clear answer for how one must feel or what one must do. Like I said, it leaves a lot of room for adopted kids and parents to talk and wrestle with their context. Wonderful.

Somà’s artwork is brilliant and will spark the imagination of older children who will recognize things not to be as they really are but represent something much bigger. Again, we have here further fodder for conversation.

I certainly recommend this one.

 

*I received a temporary, pre-published digital copy for review from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers via NetGalley.

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: The Berenstain Bears 5-Minute Inspirational Stories, by Stan and Jan Berenstain with Mike Berenstain

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The Berenstain Bears 5-Minute Inspirational StoriesHonestly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Berenstain books when I was a kid. Bears living in tree houses didn’t make a lot of sense, and the Bible messages always seemed a bit off. Of course, I wasn’t your average kid and wasn’t fond of being read to. I’d read something myself or not at all, so I didn’t get any further explanation beyond what I found on the pages. It’s been decades since I last read one of their books, so when I came across The Berenstain Bears 5-Minute Inspirational Stories, I thought I’d give it a shot to see if it’d be something to recommend.

As an adult, I now see the Little House on the Prairie style church, community, and particular denominational undertones, which is going to be received more easily by some than others. (If this was the case with these books when I was a child, then it makes sense why my family didn’t have Berenstain books in our home. However, we did watch the aforementioned TV show, which was easier to follow and from which I learned some interesting lessons.) The cheesy names and artwork are exactly as I remember, and the stories have the same lengthy conflict that’s wrapped up in a tidy single sentence or two. For those who with small children much less critical than I was (okay, I still am, and became an even bigger art snob—just forgive me), these stories may prove helpful when combined with guidance and further explanation.

My only real concern with this Berenstain book in particular has to do with the third story, “The Berenstain Bears Love Their Neighbors,” the Berenstain version of “The Good Samaritan” parable. The “neighbors” are stereotypical hillbilly folk—dirty clothes, clunky car, and all. Their accent and dialect are inconsistently written and the whole story left me rather uncomfortable. The fact that there’s a word missing on page 50 set aside (really, in a simple children’s read-along book), I’d still refrain from using this specific story at all. The rest I could work with.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: Say & Pray Devotions: First Words, Devotions, and Prayers, by Diane Stortz, illustrated by Sarah Ward

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Say & Pray DevotionsSay & Pray Devotions: First Words, Devotions, and Prayers is a cute little board book written by Diane Stortz and Illustrated by Sarah Ward. Every page turn brings a new scene that includes a statement for teachable moments, a relevant Bible verse (or phrase), and a simple prayer of just a few words. Several objects and/or actions are annotated for further teaching. Of course, this is what many of us do when reading with children—pointing to things and asking what they are or asking the child to point out something—but this may aid in literacy. My only real complaint is the repetition of annotation. With the illustrations provided, there’s no reason to annotate the same thing anywhere in the book. That’s just lazy.

The illustrations aren’t my favorite, but tiny tots don’t really care about style. However, I’m not sure that a yellow blob labeled “eggs” is very helpful (perhaps sunny side up would have been better illustrated than scrambled). I also may be making too much of this, but when the white family is large and happy and even includes a handicapped child in a wheelchair while black families included a single mother and child (even coming out of a church building), I think there’s room for criticism in its underlying social commentary.

It’s a nice idea, but I wouldn’t pay for this book in particular.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: Jesus: A 365-Day Devotional, by Zondervan

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Jesus: A 365-Day DevotionalZondervan’s Jesus: A 365 Day Devotional makes an effort to connect Jesus to all of Scripture through 365 short devotionals for kids. Each contains a starting Bible reference (268 in the Old Testament; 97 in the New Testament), a half-page of text, and a concluding prayer of one sentence. Less than make an attempt to reference from where the Jesus-connection is made and simply say something like, “See? Jesus is like this.” Much of it is typical Evangelical, happy-happy-joy-joy talk that doesn’t push any sort of thinking and wrestling with Scripture. In fact, I noted only seven lessons that point to anything difficult and/or accountability for a Christ follower. It teaches kids simple, sloppy theology like: repent means do the opposite (89), the point of Job is that you get a really good reward (145), just say “yes” to God to live forever (148, 246), ask anything in Jesus name and he’ll give it to you with no reservation (154), and if you’ve ever said “yes” to God then you have eternal life even if you give up and walk away from him (251).

The premise of this book is good, and there are, of course, some lessons that will prove beneficial; however, this is not something I would encourage kids to use. As always, should one choose to use it anyway, I encourage parents/guardians to work through such things with children and know what they’re reading.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: God’s Little Lambs Bible Stories, written by Julie Stiegemeyer, illustrated by Qin Leng

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God's Little Lambs Bible StoriesGod’s Little Lambs Bible Stories is a children’s book written by Julie Stiegemeyer and illustrated by Qin Leng. The physical copy is vertically a bit longer than the length of my hand and a bit shorter horizontally. It has a soft front cover, hard spine and back cover, and sharp right corners. Stiegemeyer’s writing is her simplification and elaboration of thirty-five stories from the Bible, beginning with “Who is God?” and ending with “Paul Tells about Jesus.” Every story (usually four pages in length) has a few Scripture references under the title and end with a small text box with a single sentence as a take-away moral/lesson. I found Stiegemeyer’s storytelling wanting—I’m not sure the age level of the language and book’s presentation match—and took issue with the accuracy and portrayal of several stories even after taking into consideration artistic expression and it being a children’s book. Leng’s illustrations are beautiful, multiethnic sketches with ink and watercolors. I really appreciate the design (layout, text placement, fonts, etc.), but find myself wanting to show it and not read it.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: Great Stories of the Bible (I Can Read! / Adventure Bible), Pictures by David Miles

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Great Stories of the BibleGreat Stories of the Bible is a collection of six books in one from the Zonderkiz® Adventure Bible series with an “I Can Read!” level of 2 (reading with help). The stories include:

(There is no table of contents in the book, so I’ve included page numbers below. One may want to write them down on the first page for easy flipping.)

God’s Great Creation (pp.2–33)
Facing the Blazing Furnace (pp.34–65)
Ruth and Naomi (pp.66–97)
Miracles of Jesus (pp.98–129)
A Father’s Love (pp.130–161)
The Good Samaritan (pp.162–192)

Each story is greatly simplified for children and ends with a page that includes some or all of the following: a verse, character profile(s), and a few sentences about the story or another verse. I’m certainly not opposed to paraphrasing, simplifying, and taking a bit of artist liberty in retelling Bible stories, but just with adults (i.e., Eugene Peterson’s popular translation The Message) there’s bound to be some potentially harmful storytelling. Consider the following example from The Good Samaritan: “After a long time, a third person passed by. This person was a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans did not get along. The Samaritan saw the man lying in the dirt. He knew that the hurt man needed help. He forgot that Jews and Samaritans did not like each other” (182–183). I’m sure there are those who will disagree, but I think kids pick up on subtle messages like “the Samaritan only helped the Jew because he forgot they didn’t get along,” meaning it would have been okay to ignore or be mean to him if he had remembered. The point of the story is that the Samaritan helped despite his cultural stigma. Perhaps I’m not indicative of your typical American kid, but I would have definitely run with a poor understanding of that parable if I had read this.

We need to be careful how we teach these stories to small children because they stick with them. I remember talking to a friend years ago—both of us missionaries and well educated—who still had flannel-graph (remember that?!) info and stories stuck in his head that didn’t jive with Scripture because it was engrained at an early and impressionable age. Some may say, “But isn’t reading Bible stories helpful and better than other books?” Well, I don’t think that’s a “yes or no” question when it comes to books like these, but if one is going to read these books with a child I recommend reading an actual Bible (not another paraphrase like The Message) and take the time to explain Scripture in a way the child can understand. Am I giving little kids too much credit? I don’t think so, though I obviously can’t speak for everyone’s children.

As for the bulk of the book, the illustrations by David Miles are still a little too clean-cut and Caucasian for my liking, especially in an age where we’re becoming much more culturally sensitive and aware of those in Scripture. Kids, however, will probably like the chalky pastel drawings.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: Snuggle Time Prayers, by Glenys Nellist, Illustrated by Cee Biscoe

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Snuggle Time PrayersThrough Zonderkidz™, author Glenys Nellist and illustrator Cee Biscoe have created Snuggle Time Prayers, a cute board book of bedtime prayers intended for ages 2–4. It’s small enough for a young child to handle comfortably, which may help with engagement. The cover is a bit cushioned, which may help if not handled quite as well. 🙂

The text consists of fifteen rhyming prayers base on a paraphrased verse of in the Bible (perhaps from the author or a translation for kids by Zondervan with which I am unfamiliar—there is no notation either way). Each takes up no more than two pages (no page turning needed) with accompanying anthropomorphic illustrations in full color (they appear to be soft pastels) appropriate for the content and easily incorporated as a teaching and learning opportunity.

Most of these prayers are not necessarily indicative of bedtime prayers, which extends its applicability. Not all children are going to relate well to each of the prayers, but there appears to be enough here to find a few for everyone. I would recommend using the book as a fun and helpful starting point from which parents and children pray in more specific and relatable ways.

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews, Children

Book Review: M is for Manger, by Crystal Bowman & Teri McKinley, pictures by Claire Keay

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M is for MangerMother and daughter Crystal Bowman and Teri McKinley have collaborated with artist Claire Keay in creating a children’s alphabet book based on the story of Jesus’ birth as recorded in the gospel of Luke. The beauty I find in M is for Manger is in its format. Every letter (including illustration) is on the left page of the open book; on the right is a small illustration on top, four lines of rhyming poetry telling the story (including the word beginning with the relevant letter clearly visible), and a verse from Luke at the bottom (the authors must choose from an array of translations in order to fit the alphabet as best they can, though they primarily use the New Living Translation). Some may find this a bit unwieldy for reading to children, but I think it’s best to approach it in a number of ways that best suits the child and setting. One may simply go through the alphabet (some pictures, like “H is for Holy,” aren’t going to make as much sense without explanation), read the poetry by itself, or even just go through the Scriptures. If it was all read and explained at once, I do think it will lose a lot of connection and particularly detract from the story written as poetry.

I’m a fan of watercolors, and am particularly fond of this medium for illustrations in children’s books. So, kudos to Keay for her soft and “easy on the eyes” pictures!

Now, how does one find an “X” and “Z” in the story of Jesus’ birth? You don’t, so you make it up! Given the purpose of the book, I don’t feel so cheated when “Expected” is used for “X” and “Zillions” (of stars) is used for “Z.” It’ll just take a little bit of explaining on the adult’s part. Another means of expressing some letters of the alphabet is by weaving humanity into the story by further demonstrating the importance of Jesus’ birth for all people—always a good thing!

Overall, I think it’s a cute little book that’s not overtly “Christmas” (thankfully, the authors don’t include any of the controversial “nativity scene” stuff that isn’t even found in the birth passages, though I’d still make the manger out of stone rather than wood ;)). I can see this being used in an out of season, at home and in “Sunday school” classes.

 

*This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I offered or provided any compensation.