Good Book Partner Book Review: The Prisoners, The Earthquake, and the Midnight Song. By Bob Hartman

A True Story about How God Uses People to Save People.  

Tales that tell the Truth, a series of books from The Good Book company.  This book releasing today June 1st, is another fast favorite for this Mom, kidmin leader, curriculum writer, elementary educator who LOVES any way to whisper or even shout the Word of God to our children.  This book does not disappoint.  So many potential ways to engage your children, even during this pandemic and an upcoming summer of not all our normal activities.  

What I loved about this book:

• This event in history from Acts 16:16-40.  The Philippian Jailer with Paul and Silas in jail accurately told with added themes to engage the readers. 
• Illustrations by Catalina Echeverri, the right amount of reality blended with images to SEE the sounds you also listen for, and to understand what is occurring at this time. People of different skin colors are well represented in the people in the book.  So vital in children's books.  
• Themes:
• Light you see on the cover, coming out of their mouths and all around, is throughout the pages of the book and it represents sounds like praising God.  
• Listen: lots of descriptive language, onomatopoeia:words visualized like earthquake, snoring or sawing a zigzag visual snore, ... and the light you see is really representing the sounds heard.  
• Rich use of language: to represent opposites (up/down, beneath/rising up), to match the sound all can hear with a gray zigzag n the prison,  as well as teaching vocabulary a sword's scabbard,  and the concepts of complaining/grumbling opposite of praising God.  
• Do you hear that? on every few pages. 
• 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).  What a great set of concepts repeated several times in the book, so it will be quickly memorized.  

What I wonder:

• could the Bible reference be part of the subtitle so that in a quick scan, adults see the immediate connection?  
• what age this is intended for?  The books in this series are picture books with a fair amount of text, so I've often used them in the primary ages from Kindergarten to Grade 3.  The amazon description says ages 3-6, but I like to use it with older kids as well, and think it would only work well for young kids if one on one. 

I plan to use this book in our Sunday School lessons from Acts with grades 1 and 2 children.  I would recommend this book for any child who would sit and want to interact with the adult reader from preschool on and I believe all ages will enjoy the book.  

Thankful to have an advanced copy of this book as a partner of The Good Book Company.