New Growth Press Partner Review: The Acrostic of God by Jonny Ransom & Timothy Brindle

 

What I like about this book:

• Scripture on each page to go with the Letter about God. 
• The size of this book is a good size for reading aloud. 
• The QR code that links you to a rap to listen to of the whole book!
• The content and the purpose of the acrostic are to help children learn who God is, be better able to pray and talk to God. 
• Word Choice- uses accurate and biblical terminology, enhances the main concept well, and defines the concepts.  
• Images connect to the concepts and are simple.  
• It comes with an audiobook version of the book- and it is read with rhythm.  

What I wonder about this book:

• Word Choice- the book is for 5-11-year-olds, the vocabulary is complex, and some of the words are defined with words that may still challenge the younger children, but with rap and repetition, it may work! 
• what the kids will think of the rap-- I love the minute you hear of the chorus- and it will make it so much easier to learn about God!  
• I wonder what the CD or download really consists of- I expected the music I heard in the ad to be what you would hear when you used the QR code, but it's just the book being read aloud, complete with the pages turning heard.  

Thankful to partner with New Growth Press and read a pdf of the book.  

The Goodbook Partner Review: Do Great Things for God Gladys Aylward

What I like about the book: 

• Another new woman from history with such an interesting life.  Now I want to go on and read more about her story since my curiosity has been peaked.  
• Gladys decided at a young age, she wanted to be a missionary in China, and she stayed fixed on that goal, despite a struggle to get there.  She is a great example of resilience, overcoming several obstacles that got in the way of her goal.  This is a socially emotional-appropriate concept for this generation.  This would be a great educational connection.  
• I love that we know she was a little woman, many girls need to know that size doesn't matter, you can still impact the world in your own way.  
• The adventure that Gladys went through to even get to China, sounds completely unreal.  But yet it is true.  I love that this book will spur discussions about how you can get on a train to China, and it ends in Siberia.  So much can be done to extend the learning about what Gladys's experience could have been like.  
• Gladys Aylward's story will bring discussions of binding a girl's feet, orphans in a way moving to safety, why Gladys couldn't go back to China, how she ended up in Japan, and it's overshadowed with the constant in her life, reading exciting bible stories wherever she went.  

What I wonder about the book:

• Will these short books for littles, spur a series with more details for older readers or even adults?  
• How does the author chose these woman?  

 Thankful to partner with the Goodbook company and read an early copy to review. 

Good Book Partner Review: Do Great Things for God Betty Greene by Laura Caputo-Wickham Illustrated by Heloise Mab

 

What I like about the book:

This biography is of a person whose desire was to become a pilot like her brother.  

• Is shares her story, flying as a woman in World War 2, helping train pilots, and then becoming the first MAF (Missionary) pilot.  
• The illustrations are well done with facial expressions that enhance the biography, engage the reader, and bring it to life.  
• I like that this explanation of her life shares that she was brave, calm in stress, and relied on God.  
• I liked meeting a new historical figure who lived as the exception for a woman in her lifetime. 
• I like the integration in an authentic way of her trust in God, as well as the recognition she got to combine her favorite things flying and love of God.  
• I liked the connection that I got after reading Corrie ten Boom, Betsey Stockton,  now Betty Greene and knowing that this is a series of stories of women for young children seeing how women have served God in unique ways.  

What I wonder about the book: 

• The author English spelling for practice which is practise, so my only concern is that a teacher or parent notices the change and comments that it is still spelled correctly, to our American children.  

Partner Review: Trapped in a Hot Air Balloon by Mark Wainwright Abeka publisher

 

This book was sent to me by the author directly.  It's such fun to read a book by someone you know.  The book is geared toward middle-grade readers, and it's a suspenseful novel.  

What I liked about the book:

• Such details, about the characters, hot air balloon facts, and amazing descriptive language.  
• Reading the story, made me feel as if I was experiencing being trapped in the balloon flying adrift and lost over the earth.  It's believable. 
• The characters came to life (and there are moments where you do not like their selfishness and attitude, but it was very relatable and true to their ages/development.)  
• One of the reasons the characters came alive was the author did such a good job sharing their metacognition- or the thinking going on in their heads- which made them likable and awful depending on the moment, but this also brought their spiritual lives out and helped the reader process how the Lord Our God is with those who believe in any situation.  Jenny's thinking about scripture and God was authentic and realistic.  
• The back story is integrated across the timeline of the two lost children floating out away from

What I wonder about the book: 

• could you really float as high up as the kids did and survive?  I haven't researched it for myself.  
• will this become a series of books?  You get to know the characters well and it would be interesting to find them again.  

Teaching Connections:

• Research on the atmosphere, oxygen level, temperature, etc. as well as research as to what speed the balloon must have flown and what level of wind you would need to travel up and across the way the kids did.  Has this type of accident happened? if so when, where? So many possibilities and so many research or science experiment-type questions to pursue. 
• This book would be an excellent writing model for style and using descriptive language in your writing.  

Thankful to read a copy of this book and review it, all thoughts and opinions are my own.