Book Review: I'm Not A Scaredy Cat

I'm Not A Scaredy Cat by Max Lucado is a adorable story of a cat who gets frightened by everything. However, he has a cute little prayer he says in every scary situation. My little one wanted to read it as soon as this book arrived and thought the book was very funny. We loved the little prayer and will be practicing the prayer so we have something to remember when we get scared. I would recommend this book for any little one who gets scared easily or may get scared at night time. Teaching them this prayer could help them be brave, like this adorable kitty. We loved the illustrations and the good quality hard cover.

Book Review: Kid's Visual study Bible

The Kid's Visual Study Bible really is misnamed. It should say Teen Visual Study Bible. There are a lot of elements I like about this study Bible.

1. There are summary ("Cliff's Notes") for key ideas on the sides of each passage.
2. I liked the colored illustrations, pictures, maps bring the Bible to life.
3. I like that for each each book of the Bible, there is a summary page with:
- Who Wrote this Book?
- Why was this Book Written?
- What happens in this Book?
- What do we learn about God in this Book?
- Who are the key people in this book?
- Where did this happen?
- What are some of the stories in this book? (I especially love this part because it's an easy way for us to find our kids' favorite Bible stories).

Even though I think this Bible is much to old for my kids, and probably wouldn't give these to them until they are in their teens, it's still a wonderful Bible. I'm not sure how the teen will react to given a "kids" Bible, but the layout and the additional information is very good.

Due to some topics covered in the studies, I would recommend this version for teens, not kids.

Book Review: Little Book of Bible Stories

Little Book of Bible Stories by Jean Fischer is an adorable little Bible for toddlers and preschoolers. This is a great little padded board book for little hands. We loved the illustrations like all precious moments collections. The thing I appreciated about this book was that each story has a short cliff's notes version of our favorite Bible stores, along with a little prayer and Bible quote. Each story also has the Bible reference. My little ones loved seeing their favorite stories, Jonah and the big fish, Daniel and the Lions, and of course pictures of baby Jesus. I would definitely recommend this for a baby's first Bible... great idea for baby shower gifts, first birthdays, baptisms, baby dedications.

Book Review: Fraying at the Edge

Fraying at the Edge, the second of the Amish of Summer Grove series, was excellent. Similar to the first book, I couldn't put it down! I loved the idea of the Amish gal learning to live in the English world, and the English gal learning to live in the Amish world. It gave a new perspective to me regarding how each of these groups view the other world. I loved seeing Ariana grow as her eyes were opened to the English world, as well as Skylar learning the wonderful values of the Amish, love, family, and hard work. The relationship between Quill and Ariana is so frustrating and keeps you reading! Loving this series by Cindy Woodsmall. My favorite series by her thus far!

Book Review: Ties that Bind

Ties that Bind was easily the best Cindy Woodsmall book I've read! I was immediately captivated by the characters and could not put the book down. I literally couldn't put the book down. The over 300 pages went way too fast. Luckily, I had book 2 readily on hand once I finished this book. Like all Cindy Woodsmall's books, I loved the down to earth characters.

Book Review: 5-Minute Bible

The 5-Minute Bible is just as the title says... 100 stories and 100 songs that takes 5 minutes to read. When I first got the book, I was a little confused. Even though it says songs... there was no CD, a web-link to download the songs, no sheet music, nothing to help parents with the songs. Even though I know many of them, there are a lot of new ones I do not know. My littles want me to sing them all, but I have no idea. I guess You Tube will have to be our friend for this one. However, the kiddos seem to love the stories and want to read a bunch at a time. The references to each story in the Bible are available, along with the main theme and lessons are highlighted. I would recommend this book for preschoolers and early readers. This would be a great devotional Bible for those who can read. Great idea for stocking stuffers for Christmas for your early readers!