Category Archives: Christian

The Beauty Book~The Lily Series – Nancy Rue

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The Lily Series is a group of Christian books that include fiction as well as non-fiction titles and devotionals.  The Beauty Book explores beauty on the inside as well as the outside and is targeted to a “tween” audience.  It does an excellent job revealing what true beauty really is as well as tackling common questions and concerns of young girls in a God-centered manner.

While this complimentary book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.

The Easter Story – Patricia Pingry

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The Easter Story is a board book that does a great job explaining to young readers why we celebrate Easter.  The text is clear and well within the grasp of a preschooler’s understanding, and the pictures are beautiful and truly enhance the text.

Happy Easter from Once Upon a Storyville!  I hope you have wonderful day with family and friends. 

God Gave Us Christmas – Lisa Tawn Bergen

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God Gave Us Christmas begins with Little Cub asking his Mama about who “invented” Christmas.  The Little Cub wonders if it might be Santa.  Mama Bear explains that God invented Christmas and ultimately takes a journey with Little Cub in order to let him see that God is everywhere and how He gave us Christmas.

I really appreciate how this book directly addresses why we celebrate Christmas but also includes an explanation about Santa:

“Did God give us Santa?”

“Santa Claus reminds us about many good things like generosity and care.  But it is God and Jesus that we celebrate most come Christmas.”

God Gave Us Christmas is a sweet and wonderful Christmas book which includes beautiful illustrations.

My First Hands-On Bible

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My First Hands-On Bible is an outstanding Bible for preschoolers.  Our daughter was ready for something more than her Bible story book, but I just could find what I was looking for until I found this!  The structure of this Bible allows parent and child to explore the Word of God through fun activities and discussion questions.  Each Bible story is told using actual Bible text (New Living Translation).  Within the text, there are colored handprints.  These images signal a little activity that involves your child in the Bible passage through movement, searching for things in pictures, and role playing.  At the end of each passage are follow up questions that help the child apply the text to his/her life as well as a prayer.  There are also activities provided which allow extension of the story in your child’s normal routine.  Finally each passage ends with a “Jesus Connection” which reinforces that Jesus is the center of all scripture and a real part of life.

While this complimentary book was provided for review by Tyndale House Publishers, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.

God Loves Me More Than That – Dandi Daley Mackall

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God Loves Me More Than That is a sweet book.  The author uses a rhyming format to help the reader understand just how much He loves each of us.  I really wanted to love this one, but it was just good not great.  I found some of the comparisons a bit forced while others simply seemed a bit confusing.

Overall God Loves Me More Than That is an enjoyable book with an important message that is brought to life through colorful, eye catching illustrations.

While this complimentary book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.

The Beginning Reader’s Bible – Illustrated by Marijke ten Cate

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The Beginning Reader’s Bible is a Bible story book.  It contains thirteen stories from the Old Testament and thirteen stories from the New Testament.   Each story is beautiful illustrated and is enhanced through special sections including:  bible verse study, real world application ideas, and a prayer.  Another great feature in this book are the various charts and lists that are included as reference material – Ten Commandments, listing of the 12 Apostles and the 12 Tribes of Israel, charts to note when stories were read and Bible verses were memorized, as well as a copy of the “Sinner’s Prayer”.

The Beginning Reader’s Bible is a lovely hardbound book which would make a wonderful  gift for a little one.

While this complimentary book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.


Really Woolly Bible Stories – Bonnie Rickner Jensen

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Really Woolly Bible Stories is a delightful collection of  Bible Stories from the Old and New Testmaments.  It is a padded board book that features the “really woolly” characters who are extremely cute and appealing to children as well as adults.  The Bible stories are each told in rhyming verse and are perfect for preschool aged children.  The final pages of the book include a prayer which is a lovely conclusion to the text and a wonderful introduction to prayer for children.

This book would make a wonderful Christmas gift for a little one!

While this complimentary book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.

Rumble! Zap! Pow! – Diane Stortz

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Rumble!  Zap!  Pow! is a Bible story book with a twist.  Each story is presented in comic book format.  The selected stories all focus on the action packed adventure found within the Bible.  Although the book is written for preschoolers as per the verbiage on the back cover, I wonder if the format might not be a better fit for early elementary children.  Graphic novels are not a traditional format for children between the ages of 3-5 and a bit of explanation would probably be needed for some.

Each Bible story in the book ends with “power words” which is a Bible verse and an activity.  I really like the activity tie-in element of this book.  Each activity provides a solid extension for parent and child to enjoy.

While this complimentary book was provided for review by Tyndale House Publishers, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.

A Christmas Prayer – Amy Parker

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A Christmas Prayer is a wonderful book that focuses on the true gifts of Christmas.  It features a family preparing for the holidays and focuses on the actions of their daughter.  As the story of Christmas is told the daughter recreates the nativity scene using her own toys.  As she finds each figure for the nativity scene she thanks God for the role each played.

This book was a quick favorite for our daughter.  The rhyming prayer is charming and makes the Christmas story accessible for young readers, and the illustrations are beautifully done and make the story come to life.

This one is a winner!

While this complimentary book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.

One Hand, Two Hands – Max Lucado

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One Hand, Two Hands is a new children’s book from Max Lucado.   The first thing that caught my attention were the wonderfully engaging illustrations.  Starting with the cover, each picture captures snipets of  a little girl’s  action packed day in a magical way.  The text itself focuses on all the things the little girl is able to do with her very own hands from holding a cup to digging in the dirt.  As the story continues, the little girl’s hands move from play to helping, showing kindness, and ultimately love as she prays a prayer of thanksgiving to God.

This book is a terrific tool to use to start discussion about service to others as well as being simply an enjoyable tale.

While this complimentary book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers, no other compensation was given.  All remarks are my personal and honest opinions.