Saturday, December 14, 2019

8 New Christian Kid Reads


Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls… I don’t personally have a coloring Bible and find that I prefer journaling to illustrating the things I want to ruminate over or remember… but I still enjoy following #biblejournaling on Instagram and seeing the beautiful art others create. I was very excited about this book because I have three young daughters who all love coloring and know there’s a pretty good chance at least one of them will be thrilled by this concept. I’m nothing if not idealistic so I get very excited imagining granddaughters someday pouring over their mother’s journaling pages and finding a deep spiritual connection over favorite verses and stories.

Braver Stronger Smarter: A Girl’s Guide to Overcoming Worry & Anxiety… this great workbook was full of exercises to help young girls with anxiety. I never recognized as a kid or teenager that I had anxiety; I just thought I was a freak. If I had had a book like this I would have been able to really examine the why behind my racing thoughts and irrational panic. I hope my family never needs this book but I'm grateful we'll have it if we do. There is a lot of helpful information here on naming your fears, recognizing the lies you're telling yourself, and positivity to help battle those big feelings.

Epic Devotions… My son loves the Epic Adventures bible story book and he's been enjoying this devotional too. I think my brother would have loved this comic book-style devotional as a kid. My son was even inspired to start his own comic book

God Made Me Unique… This short and sweet book, by Joni Eareckson Tada, is a great way to introduce a child to the special needs community or to bring comfort to a special needs child who feels different and left out. The book features a boy in a wheelchair, a possibly ADHD boy who uses a fidget spinner to help him focus, a child who walks with braces, a deaf child, a boy who uses a ___ dog, and a young girl who wears headphones to avoid loud noises (common among Autistic children).

Gus Loses His Grip… This book greatly disturbed me after all I've learned this year about eating disorders. Gus is presented as a raccoon with a sweet tooth, it his behavior is actually very alarming. He's hiding stashed of sweets and binge eating his whole stash- "And then he remembered-- he ate it all last night. Every last piece. He simply couldn't stop." The story also mentions him hiding candy wrappers all week and eventually leads to Gus stealing candy, then Papa relates by observing that he himself has a shopping problem. I didn't care for the way the story was all wrapped up in a neat bow with what psychologists refer to as spiritual bypassing... Rather than acknowledging a genuine problem and seeking the reason, observing triggers, reaching out for help if necessary, practicing better coping mechanisms, etc- little raccoon takes on blame for sinning via sugar addiction and cheerfully decides he'll stop and enjoy all the pleasures God gave us instead of obsessing over candy. If only addiction were so easy! I appreciate the author's heart and good intentions but there's a whole world full of people wondering why praying away their addiction isn't working and a book like this makes me very nervous for children (and the grown-ups reading it to them) who already berate themselves for whatever sin the struggle with most. He's a counselor and I'm not, but I've also learned a lot from other licensed counselors and psychologists this year and find their methods more effective. All that aside, I did love the illustrations and I still have great respect for the good intentions. 

The Moon is Always Round… This book is very short and simple, about a family grappling with a stillborn baby and using a moon metaphor to show that God is still good. I read a negative review just the other day saying children's books shouldn't be sad. Well, children shouldn't be sad. But here we are. I am very glad to know that there's a book out there to help a child process it. The author discusses his own family's stillborn experience in the back and I think the world of him for the courage to share and the hearts he will touch as a result.

Tori Comes Out of Her Shell… This book uses Tori the Turtle to illustrate a lesson a loneliness, Jesus being our friend, and friendship. I did wish the story felt slightly less preachy and slightly more like a story but it was still good and one I won't mind reading to my children. I also like the illustrations and the pocket bible verses in the back.

Why do we say Good Night... I have a couple little ones who get out of bed every few nights to come tell me they are scared. I love the idea of pulling them into my lap and reading this very short and simple book, complete with quirky illustrations, about a little girl afraid of the dark and her mother offering her comfort and reminding her that God is always watching out for her.

*I received a free copy of each book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls from Zondervan (HarperCollins Christian Publishing) for this review. This post is sponsored by Zondervan


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2 comments:

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Thanks so much for your comments! I always read them, don't always have time to answer quickly. Sorry about that!