Goodbook Partner Review: Welcome to Bible World by Mike Nappa and illustrated by Emiliano Migliardo

 

What I like about the book:

• This book will build interest in the Books of the Bible, and help create more biblical literate kids. 
• The pictures and seek and find are super fun and mirror secular books, but the hidden items and the attractions in the amusement park are connected to events in the Bible, and events that engage children in the events of the Bible and wonder if these concepts are really true.  
• Scripture references with hidden items that connect to a specific passage that will create a more biblically literate person.  
• The theme park entrances to different areas each lead to a different subset or genre of the Books of the Bible.  The titles given are more fun than traditional titles, and also more memorable.  
• The intro to each park area share the main themes of this section of the Bible, and teach the reader what important concepts connect in each genre.
• The author asks questions to the reader to build the interaction with the kids and the book. 

What I wonder about the book:

• The glossy pages are thick and seem enduring, but I wonder if it will show fingerprints and attract dirt to the pages more than matte format.  

Educational Connections:

• Teach the books of the Bible, teach the genres, and even the timeline as you build interest with this book. 
• Have your children create their own hidden items for new pages or add to these pages with the bible references.  
• Take away- ask the kids to see if other people know what books of the Bible belong in each theme park.  (The kids will need to remember the answer to know if adults or others are correct.) 

Thankful to partner with the Goodbook company and read a review copy of the book.  

Netgalley Partner Review: WayMaker: Finding the Way to the Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of by Ann Voskamp

Ann Voskamp's gift is the ability to share her spiritual growth, grasp of the Word of God, greek/Hebrew words, and their meanings, and her personal story for others to learn from her experiences.  This book is her most vulnerable and personal of all her books.   Because of this, I suspect it is not as applicable for all readers.  It's more complex, more biblically, and theologically in-depth than her previous books.   In some ways it builds on some concepts, she's lived out loud for her readers before, but in many, she is sharing her own personal journey and exodus of sin and losing her way, as well as remembering just what truly her life's focus is. 

As a biblically literate person, about her age, I appreciate her thoughts, her self-discovery of how to focus on God,  abide in the Way, focus on stepping into cruciform, and praise, over choosing to curve to your own desires, addictions, and way.  She continues with the repetition and building on concepts throughout the book as she has in previous writing, but she has learned through her marriage, adoption, and broken heart, each as their own metaphor and dimension, which I believe is more complex than her other books.  As well as the shocking events in her life that many of her readers will not comprehend her experience at all.  But we can all choose to learn from her.  

She continues to share her learning from therapeutic concepts, attachment/adoption with real-life experience, and she is brutally honest about her own experiences.  In her poetic way, she reveals how to live a life focused on dying to self, living in Him, and how easy it can be to alter your own course with minor life changes, but how large an impact that has on your soul your people.  This book is not as easily replicated in the reader's life, as her daily habits and focus require a lot of commitment to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and personal soul-care/reflection.  But for me, they are healthy habits to weave into who I am, and it encourages me to press on and grow in Him.

Thankful to read an Advanced Netgalley copy.  

Goodbook Partner Review: The Prisoners, the Earthquake, and the Midnight Song, a True Story about how God uses People to Save People.

 

See my review of the original edition here. 

What I like about the book:

• Listening Theme.
• Shortened version of the full hardback book.  
• Still gives the gospel.  
• Nice size board book. 

What I wonder about the book:

• Why the image is repeated just as in the hardcover book- but the words are not. From my review of the hardback: 
• Image repeated throughout with the same wording describing the cross, the stone rolled away when Jesus is alive,and the Holy Spirit.   (Jesus forgives, lives so we can live forever, and follow Him as Our King).  
• The cover is a matte finish, and I wish the pages were as well.  

Thankful to partner with the Goodbook company and review this book, all ideas are my own. 

Waterbrook Partner Review: Hues of You by Lucretia Carter Berry, PhD Illustrated by Adia Carter

 

Hues of You is an activity book for learning all about the skin you are in.  This book is very different from a typical Waterbrook kids book.  Although Crowned with glory, started to alter my view of the types of books Waterbrook publishes, it was informed with a biblical perspective and foundation.  

Hues of You has no evidence in the entire book that this is from a bible focused book publisher.  Perhaps I need to change my thinking to a Christian publisher that is entering the same genre as most other publishers I know of, and their trademark books appeal to the masses, and not a particularly biblically literate audience.  I'm disappointed as this book is well written in educating a child on race, ethnicity, culture, etc.  But it sticks to just the large concepts and does not take advantage of the truth from the Word of God, that no matter what hue you are, you are an Imager Bearer of God.  

From a teacher's perspective, this book approaches these delicate topics that could lead to upheaval amongst parents and community members, in a very neutral, secular informed way.  It speaks of accepting what others believe about themselves.  It speaks of recognizing that no two people are the same, but even that I have an issue with, as I am an identical mirror-image twin, and my sister and I share the same DNA.  Our kids as babies struggled to tell us apart.  So while this book attempts to be structured for anyone to recognize how unique and varied an individual is, twins are not always that unique in skin tone, hair, etc.   But it is interesting that when we spend time in the sun, our skin reacts very differently. Likely because my twin has been a lifeguard for 30 years and spent a lot more time in the sun than I ever have.  

If you want to learn how to be open-minded and approach this sensitive topic with a child, this book might be for you.  But honestly, my own children, and many whom I have loved and led in my decades of being kid-focused, do not really see the hues of people's skin tone as a deal- it's really not any different than eyes or hair being different.  The concepts that I suspect this book is trying to reduce or reframe from remaining commonplace, are often taught or caught, in light of recent events in the US, yes our kids may need tools to understand the ignorance of many grown-ups who judge another person by their skin hue.  But I have to wonder if we focus on this celebration of hues, will it help or hurt in the long run if a child hasn't spelled out hues with a connection to one being better or worse than the other.  

Thankful to partner with Waterbrook and get a copy of the book to review.  These are my thoughts, and mine alone.  

I did get a physical copy- and must say, the book itself is a lovely size, has thick nice pages, that will endure coloring, sharing, and using this as the activity book it is intended to be.  But I did not like all of the print and font selections, finding aspects of the book challenging to read, and not really child-friendly when it is so tiny and fancy at the same time.  

Waterbrook Partner Review: Crowned with Glory by Dorena Williamson Illustrated by Shellene Rodney

Releasing February 8, 2022  

 What I like about the book: 

• I am grateful to discover a book that integrates faith into the concept of a child's identity and builds up the beauty of ethnic hair as well as the concept that a girl has so much potential. 
• It is good to see a book that will normalize that our 'crowning glory' can be very different from another person, but it still reflects our glory.  I Corinthians 11 alive for girls. 
• I love the fact that this is a book about celebrating a girl's full potential that incorporates learning to Worship and the Word.  It's a natural aspect not the focus of the book. 
• This book builds up girls that have often not been portrayed in picture books.  It promotes the concept that different is not bad, it is beautiful and worth celebrating. 
• I learned a new word: Melanated. This means highly pigmented.  
• I love the spirit and personality that is expressed in the girl's life details. 

What I wonder:

• there are biblical concepts implied in the story, the references at the end would be nice.  
• will this be appreciated by those it represents? or will it be seen with a critical lens? 

Thankful to partner with Waterbrok-Multnomah and review this book. 

Waterbrook Partner Review: The Inventions of God (and Eva) by Dave Connis Art by: Amy Domingo

 

What I Like About the Book:

• The concept- that God invented Eva, and Eva invents things too, I believe an attempt to build STEM education with a biblical worldview perhaps?  
• The Artwork has personality, style, life, and definitely builds style in the text and concepts of the book. 
• The book connects how God views Eva and the reader/listener. 
• The author's perspective and tone to share from Eva's perspective (a creative kid). 
• The concepts communicated through the book- God made Eva to be like Him, God makes all things new, even the hint at what makes God happy.  
• The book has a good kid perspective with fun words like "whirligig, loofapus, dazzle, pizzazz,...) As well as the character's facial expressions that sell her thoughts. 

What I Wonder About the Book:

• The art on some pages is so bright and busy, it distracts me, will it distract the littles who are the intended audience?  I think the style of the book will encourage re-reads, and noticing the details, so I'm not sure. 
• The 'third' comparison is a bit awkward to me, we hear about God- He's compared to Eva- and Eva's compared to her creations, repeated in what she likes, what God likes, etc.  I'm just not sure that it doesn't need a different transition- I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is an element that is a bit awkward to me.  

Thankful to partner with Waterbrook and read a physical copy of the book.  It was released in November, but my new job has distracted me a lot from reviewing books.  

thegoodbook partner review: Two New Books by Steph Williams

Little Me Big God Series ...by Steph Williams

These books are 6.7" by 6.7"inch books.  Made of thick paper, and the perfect size for little hands.

What I like about the book:

• Physical size, structure, illustrations, limited words per page, illustrations. 
• 1st page: A story Jesus told or a true story from the Bible.
• well-done illustrations- friendly, warm, unique. The stories have life. 
• Note for grownups in the back- so helpful and clear. 
• Scripture Text included in full. 

What I wonder about the books:

• how many more will there be? 
• how the author makes the concepts so relatable and within a child's grasp and understanding.