November 2nd, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

This book review seems like good timing with our current series on pain and loss! Certainly if death and pain is hard for us as adults to understand, it is much more so for children. Stacia McKeever’s lovely book Why is Keiko Sick?: A conversation with your child about why bad things happen is a fabulous resource for parents trying to explain the Biblical reasons for sickness and death to their children.

McKeever’s book is narrated by Emily, an elementary school-aged girl who’s best friend, Keiko, has been diagnosed with leukemia. [Keiko is from Japan, and there is also some information about Japanese culture throughout the story.] In order to answer her questions about why Keiko had to get sick, Emily’s parents pull out their Bible and explain from the Genesis account of creation and the fall why sickness and death are in our world.

I think McKeever does a great job of explaining the “goodness” of God’s original creation, the effects of sin, and why God placed the curse on His creation. She also ties in redemption, salvation, the Seed promise, and the new heaven and earth which will once again be “very good.”

McKeever’s descriptions in this book are well worded – these are two of the explanations that I appreciated the most:

• “even the earthquakes and tsunamis, and the wars that you’ve heard Mom and I talk about… all these are terrible and sad things. But I want you to understand that they are not God’s fault.”
• “‘Keiko is sick because of sin in the world,’ I said. ‘That’s right, Emily,’ he said. ‘Although, I want you to understand that it’s not necessarily because of any particular sin that you or I have committed.’”

The back of this book contains a two page “things to do and talk about together” section. These simple activities, discussion questions, and guided Scripture studies would be great to go through with a child who is starting to ask questions about suffering.

The illustrations in this book are nice, although not fabulous. This is definitely a book I would see us using as a resource when my kids have questions, rather than a fun-to-read picture book! While you could probably start with a younger child who has experienced a recent loss, I think this book would be most beneficial for early elementary ages.

**For more information or to purchase a copy, click on the book cover image to be taken to the publisher’s website. I am an affiliate and will receive a small percentage of the sale of this or other products. I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review from New Leaf Publishing Group. The opinions expressed in this review are my unbiased thoughts as in keeping with my disclosure policy.

October 22nd, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

I officially have my favorite children’s book author/illustrator. This week I was privileged to read two more of Darrell Wiskur’s books. If you’ve been reading my book reviews, you might remember Wiskur as the author of Timothy Whale’s Rainbow and Dinky Dinosaur: Creation Days, two of my favorite Christian kids’ books I’ve ever seen.

Well, I can add a couple of more to my “books I love from Darrell Wiskur” list.

The Really Big Barn on Noah’s Farm, like Timothy Whale’s Rainbow, is a beautifully illustrated, accurate depiction of Noah and the ark. The Really Big Barn on Noah’s Farm is extremely unique because it is a story about what might have happened after the flood. The Bible tells us that Noah planted a vineyard- I wonder what his farm was like? The ark sure would make a great barn…

I love this book because it approaches the flood as an actual event and lets kids’ imaginations soar about what living after the flood might have been like. Wiskur addresses that Noah would have planted the farm and vineyard from seeds stored on the ark; he also discusses that domestic animals would stay on the farm whereas wild animals would have left. He also suggests that as the families grew and needed more homes, that the lumber from the ark would have been a logical source of building materials. The back of the book also has several pages with descriptions of various farm animals, and a page devoted to a brief discussion of the construction of the ark and why it truly would have been useful as a barn and also to be reused for building supplies. Love it, love it.

Take a Trip on the Silver Ship: Undersea Journey is one of a series of two “silver ship” board books. Wiskur’s beautiful illustrations again drew me in right away. He has a marvelous way of illustrating in a child-friendly, yet beautiful and realistic way. This book contains pictures of whales, sea lions, penguins, squid, jellyfish, deep-sea creatures with lights, sea turtles, and even plesiosaurs (dinosaurs that lived in the water). LB loved the little built-in mirror that shows through a cut-out in every page. The rhyming text is pleasant and short (perfect for my active little guy) while still meaningful – “Praise God for creation, heaven and earth, sky and sea; all that is, or ever will be.”

If you’re starting to think about Christmas gifts, I definitely recommend Darrell Wiskur’s books. Full of Truth, beautifully illustrated, well written – they are refreshing to read.

**For more information or to purchase a copy, click on the book cover images or titles to be taken to the publisher’s website. I am an affiliate and will receive a small percentage of the sale of this or other products. I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review from New Leaf Publishing Group. The opinions expressed in this review are my unbiased thoughts as in keeping with my disclosure policy.

October 7th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

If you’re looking for wonderful, fun ways to reinforce Biblical creation concepts with young children… this is a marvelous series! These 8 coloring/ sticker books are much more than your run-of-the-mill coloring book from the grocery store – each one has wonderful, detailed coloring pictures and a sheet of stickers in the middle of the book with the identical pictures in full color – you find the matching scene, put it on your picture, and now you know how to color it (even if you’re not sure what an opthalmosaurus might look like). Even better, these books are packed full of information.

As you might have noticed in back in July (when I was planning to post this review… did I mention I’m behind???), we’ve been coloring in the God Created the Dinosaurs of the World book. As I mentioned in that post, this book gave us some great ground for discussing God’s creation of the dinosaurs, the fall of man, and the consequences of sin. If you have a dinosaur lover at your house, this book is fantastic – each page has detailed drawings of different dinosaurs; they all have the scientific names next to them, along the pronounciation and what the scientific name means. (ie: “Euoplocephalus”; you-OP-lo-KEFF-ah-lus; “well-armoured head”) Below each picture is a paragraph of information, including everything from things like what they were thought to before and after the fall, where it lived, similar animals alive today, etc. The fall is discussed very clearly with how sin affected the world and animal behavior; the flood is also discussed, including the fact that Noah would have taken dinosaurs on board the ark, many perished in the flood and some were preserved as fossils, possible reasons why they died out after the flood, etc. I also really appreciated that this book discusses endangered reptiles today and what it means to protect them as God’s stewards of the earth.

God Created the Sea Life of the World, God Created the Plants and Trees of the World, God Created the Birds of the World, God Created the Animals of the World, and God Created the Insects of the World all look excellent, as well. Each one, as in the dinosaur book, covers God’s original purpose in creation, the effects of sin and the fall, conservation issues today, and the glory and intricacy of God’s creation. These are not “little kid” coloring books – the pictures are intricate and beautifully drawn, and there is a lot of theology and science packed into the paragraphs below each picture!

God Created the World and the Universe covers a huge sweep of information, from the days of creation, the fall of Lucifer, the fall of mankind, Noah’s ark and the flood, the effects of the flood – fossils, fossil fuels, Grand Canyon, etc, the sun, planets, water, seasons, the moon and tides, and more! So, yeah – lots of information, to say the least! Again, there are matching stickers for each page and the drawings are extremely detailed and educational.

As impressed as I was by the other books, I must say that God Created the People of the World is my favorite. Seriously, this coloring book is more detailed than the vast majority of Bible curriculum I have ever run across! Included in this little book you will find: God’s creation of the universe, the intricacy of God’s creation of man (including a picture of DNA strands and a detailed page about the senses), the creation of Eve as Adam’s perfect counterpart, the responsibility of man and woman as stewards of God’s creation, the fall, Satan’s continued deception of sinful man and the need for God’s promised Seed, the progression of man’s development of technology, the flood, the tower of Babel, flood stories common to other civilizations – although they are confused, it shows the oral tradition being passed down because all people are descendants of Noah’s family, the fact that all people on earth are one race and of one blood, and Jesus’ eventual return and triumph. That is amazing to me.

Like I said, these are not “little kid” coloring books. They are not something to throw on the table as an activity to keep the kids from destroying the house while you make dinner. They are, however, excellent tools for parents looking for ways to intentionally teach their kids the Truths of God’s Word on a deeper level than Bible stories. If you’re homeschooling, these books deserve a place on your “must have” list (and they’re very affordable, too!). If you’re not homeschooling but want to take seriously the task of teaching your kids the Word of God and engaging in discussions with them, these are great tools to facilitate that. I have found that sitting at a table coloring together spawns lots of conversation, already – why not make it conversation about Truth?

These fabulous books are available for only $3.99 each! Stock up! :) You can also purchase the entire set here.

**For more information or to purchase a copy, click on the book titles or cover images to be taken to the publisher’s website. I am an affiliate and will receive a small percentage of the sale of this or other products. I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review from New Leaf Publishing Group. The opinions expressed in this review are my unbiased thoughts as in keeping with my disclosure policy.

October 7th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

Absotively Posilutely Best Evidence for Creation is a story about four kids who are searching for the best evidence that God created the world. Along the way, they discover and share fascinating facts about giraffes, frogs, the stars, and dinosaurs.

After teaching each other the interesting things they had been learning and how they saw that only God could create such magnificent order and obvious design, they visit the Creation Museum together and learn that the best evidence that God created the world is actually the Bible itself- only God was there, only God can tell us what happened. Ultimately it boils down to what we trust – the Bible, or mankind’s faulty reasoning.

I want to give this book a glowing review. I love the concept of it. But to be honest, the writing style and illustrations didn’t blow me away. It also felt a little like a Creation Museum infomercial. :) That being said, what they’re trying to do in this book is wonderful. The science facts are fun and interesting to read – if you have a science-minded 2nd-5th grader, they would probably love to learn and quote these interesting tidbits to everyone they know! This is also a great introduction to the concept of worldview, and why we interpret the same evidence differently than the secular world.

Absotively Posilutely Best Evidence for Creation is written by Carl Kerby and illustrated by Dan Lietha. It is published by Master books.

**For more information or to purchase a copy, click on the book cover image to be taken to the publisher’s website. I am an affiliate and will receive a small percentage of the sale of this or other products. I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review from New Leaf Publishing Group. The opinions expressed in this review are my unbiased thoughts as in keeping with my disclosure policy.