“Snuggle time Devotions that end with a hug” created by Stephen Elkins; illustrated by Mark Jones, Simon Taylor-Kielty, and Ruth Zeglin

About the book: Every devotional ends with a great big hug!  Little children love getting – and giving – hugs!  Hugs generate warmth, affection, and feeling of acceptance.  This book will get you and your child laughing, playing, and hugging – all while growing closer to God!

Features:  52 fun-filled, activity-based devotions that let children know they are loved and cherished by God; 52 treasured Bible stories kids will want to hear over and over again; 51 Bible verses kids can hide in their hearts forever; and 52 special “hug time” moments for you and your child to share!  

Review: A very nice devotional book for children and their parents, geared to older preschool age through early elementary.  Our daily lives are busy and often it’s challenging to find time to do devotions with our children.  This book is simple, straight forward, and easy to incorporate into our day.  Teaching our children to have one-on-one time with God is critical and an absolute must, and it most definitely should begin with the early years.  Each devotion is divided into four sections:  “my snuggle up story,” “my snuggle time takeaway,” “my Bible time activity,” and “hug time” and can take only 5-10 minutes of your time.  Depending on the child’s age, you may be able to extend your “snuggle time.”  Each devotion also has scripture references at the beginning.

My only complaint about this book, and it really is not a complaint, is that the title initially was misleading to me.  When I first saw the book, I thought it was for bedtime.  But this was my mistake. Once you look through the book, you will see that it is an “anytime” book.  Because with small children, that’s exactly what you have to look for – any time during the day! (reviewer P.Howard)

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided to facilitate this review from the Tyndale Blog Network on behalf of the publisher and author. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. No compensation was received for this review.

Easter Stories and Prayers (Little Blessings) by Kathleen Long Bostrom; illustrated by Elena Kucharik

About the book: Celebrate the real meaning of Easter with this special collection of four Little Blessings books.  Each title is written to help kids learn more about Jesus and the sacrifice that was made for us.  This volume also includes a special note from the author, Kathleen Long Bostrom, to help readers understand the meaning of Easter and the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.

Review: This is the first time I have read anything written by Kathleen Long Bostrom.  I did enjoy the stories collected in this one volume.  For me, the target reading age would be 3-yr old and up to early elementary.

Pros:  The illustrations are very nice and calming.  They have a little bit of an old-fashioned feel to them and for this Nana, that is sweet.  There are four books in this one book – easy to keep up with. The titles:  “Why is There a Cross?” – “Who Is Jesus?” – “What is Prayer?” – “What about Heaven?”  Each story is written in a very easy rhyming manner.  It makes reading the stories fun for adults and is engaging to children.

Cons:  The title is a little bit misleading.  Because I’ve never read anything written by Ms. Bostrom, I was expecting the “Easter Story” and while it does have some of the details, it doesn’t go as far as the title implies.  Also, there is no table of contents to list the different stories.  Again, because I wasn’t familiar with Ms. Bostrom’s writings, I thought that this was just “one” book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book.  I don’t know that we can ever stop teaching about our children about prayer and talking with God, even when their young adults.  To quote Ms. Bostrom….

“Talking to God is a great thing to do.  And God’s always ready to listen to you.” (pg 78) 

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Tyndale Blog Network on behalf of the publisher and author to facilitate this review. Opinions expressed are solely the reviewers. No compensation was received for this review.(reviewed P.Howard)

Lucado Treasury of Bedtime Prayers – Prayers for bedtime and every time of day! By Max & Denalyn Lucado; illustrated by Lisa Alderson

About the book: Parents can do so many things for their children.  We can tie their shoes so they don’t trip and fall.  We can make sure they have warm clothes and full tummies.  We can even help them tackle some of the mysteries of higher math.  But the most important thing we can do is teach them to pray.  Childhood is the best window for learning prayer.  We can teach them to talk to God about everything, anything, anytime, and all the time.  We can’t promise an easy life, but we can equip them to face life.  We can’t be with them always, but God can.

Review: I absolutely love this book!!  But I’m also a fan of Max Lucado.  The simplicity of the book and the beautiful illustrations only add to the enjoyment.  Lucado and his wife Denalyn have put together a book of timeless poems & prayers, plus added several of their own original prayers.  At the beginning of the book, the Lucados have a “Dear Parents” letter that encourages us to teach our children to pray, to forgive and receive forgiveness, to have hope and that God truly cares about them.
 From there the book is divided into several categories:  “Good Morning, God,” “God You are Great!”, “My Family and Friends,” and ending with “Good Night, God.”

A couple of poems/prayers:

“Tell God all about your messes.  Your sins.  Your mistakes.  He can fix them – and He won’t even need a Band-Aid.” By Max & Denalyn 

“Dear Lord…Please give me what I ask, dear Lord, if you’d be glad about it.  But if you think it’s not for me, Please help me do without it.”  -- Anonymous

“Treasury of Bedtime Prayers” also includes several scripture references.  Most of the references are quite familiar and should most definitely be ones we are teaching our children to memorize.  This book is not only for children, but for anyone who wishes to be reminded of God’s goodness and how much He cares for His children.  I plan to use some of them in notes that I will be sending out to family and friends.

Again, this is a wonderful book and one that I believe everyone should have in their library!  It is never too early to teach our children about prayer. (reviewed by P.Howard)

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by BookLook Blogger Review Program on behalf of the publisher and author to facilitate this review. Opinions expressed are those of the reviewer. No compensation was received.

Lift the Flap Bible (Candle Tiny Tots) by Karen Williamson & illustrations by Louise Anglicas

ISBN: 9781781281307
Hardcover/Board $12.99

About the book: What's under the flaps? Find out in this collection of eight very simple Bible stories in a large cased board book format. Each story is told across a double-page spread and there are flaps on every page. Bright, quirky illustrations full of wit and color from Louise Anglicas are perfect for this engaging introduction to Bible stories.

Stories are: Noah and the Ark, Moses and the Bulrushes, Daniel and the Lions, Jonah and the Great Fish, Born in a Stable, Boy with Loaves and Fishes, The Lost Sheep, and Man Lowered Through the Roof.

My thoughts:  Lift the Flap Bible is a wonderful beginning Bible.  Its target age is 10+ months – 4 years of age. The stories included in this book are some that most people are familiar with:  Noah and the Ark; Moses and the Basket; Daniel and the Lions; Jonah and the Great Fish; and the birth of Jesus  -- just to name the most familiar.  The pictures are very simple, but quite colorful and just plain fun.  The pages are strong, thick cardboard and are easy for a toddler to turn.  The flaps are also easy for a toddler to open. However, I’ve seen very few flap books where the flaps were able to withstand the constant bending by little hands.  

I sat down with my 4-yr old granddaughter to read this book and she absolutely loved it! After we read the book together, she then sat alone for quite a while and went back through the book.  We have several “beginner bibles” in our book collection, but this Lift the Flap Bible has moved to the top of her favorites.  She has a newborn brother and she actually tried to “read” the book to him!  Thanks for a great little book! (reviewed by P.Howard)

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate this review from Kregel on behalf of Candle Books Publishing and Lion Hudson. Opinions expressed are solely my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Two Renegade Realms by Donita K. Paul

Review: This book is a fantasy and is about several Realm Walkers. A Realm Walker has the ability to travel through portals to other realms. It is discovered that there is going to be an attack by two renegade relams. Cantor and his constant, a dragon names Bridger, along with Bixby and Dukemee, two other Realm Walkers, set out to look for Chomountain, who will be able to help them stop the attack.  When they find Chomountain, he doesn't know who he is, due to a spell that has been placed on him.  The others are amazed at his powers once he realizes that he is Chomountain.  The group splits up to find more dragons to help in their quest.  They find the dragons have been captured and drugged to keep them from escaping.  Once they free the dragons, they travel on to find more Realm Walkers.   They discover that there are many other realm walkers who have been captured, as well.  Once they are all freed, they set out to figure out how to stop the invasion. Chomountain is able to look ahead in time and see how they are invaded and is able to figure out the best way to stop the invasion.  The Realm Walkers and dragons prepare to attack the invaders before they land and are able to prevent an attack from ever taking place.

There was some back story at the beginning and it was not always easy to make sense of it.  There were some enjoyable parts to the story and seeing how the Realm Walkers cared for each other was nice.  I would recommend this book to older teens/young adults who are interested in fantasy. (reviewed by T.Lyles)

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy of this book was received from the publisher.

Clouds: A Compare and Contrast Book by Katherine Hall

Paperback ISBN: 9781628554571, $9.95

About the book: There are many different kinds of clouds all around us. Clouds come in diverse shapes and colors. Some clouds are fluffy and others are wispy.  Some clouds float high in the sky and others sit low on the ground. Some clouds warn of storms and other clouds tell of fair weather.  Compare and contrast the characteristics of different types of clouds through vibrant photographs.

Review: This is a lovely picture book filled with photographs of the variety of clouds. Each cloud and picture spread has a single sentence giving a single statement about the type of cloud depicted. It is a descriptive statement and not a definitive one. I would have like to have seen the actual type of cloud pictured named. If not in the actual text, then in a little side box.

The back of the book contains a variety of information about vapor and condensation and the creation of clouds. This is the “For Creative Minds” section and will generate some activity to explore evaporation and condensation.

The four major categories of clouds are identified and there is a matching activity to facilitate learning.

All in all, this is a basic and nicely done book. At first it comes across a bit flat to the reader, but upon further in-depth reading and exploration one can find much to learn.

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Arbordale Publishing to facilitate this review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer. No compensation was received for this review.

Little Seed & Little Fox ~ It Will be Okay – Trusting God through fear and change by Lysa TerKeurst (illustrated by Natalia Moore)

About the book: Growing up brings change (whether we like it or not).  Change can trigger fears that are sometimes real and sometimes imagined.  How do kids learn early on that in the midst of these uncomfortable times, they don’t have to be afraid?

Little Seed and Little Fox are facing fears, changes, and brand-new things.  And they don’t like it one bit!  Through unlikely friendship, children can identify with the main characters and will:

• Discover that God is always with them as they overcome new or scary circumstances
• Replace doubtful thoughts about God’s plan as they learn to trust Him through change
• Build their relationship with God by introducing them to the scripturally based characteristics of who God is

“It Will Be Okay” will show your child that in the end, it really will be okay because we have a God who is good and kind and always watching over us!

Review: When I saw that Lysa TerKeurst had written a children’s book about “being afraid,” I was excited to receive a copy because I have read several of her books and enjoyed them.  She definitely has a way with words.

First, this book is beautifully illustrated and not childish looking even though it is a children’s book.  I love the colors and the simplicity.

The two main characters:  Little Seed & Little Fox are most definitely unlikely companions; but isn’t that how God works from time to time – putting unlikely people together to do great things.  There is actually a third main character – the Farmer.  The Farmer is “behind the scenes,” but you know he’s there.  This is a wonderful picture of how God is ever present and all knowing.  If we can instill this fact in our children at a very young age, then although they may still be afraid, they can and do know that God is “ever watching over them.”  What a gift to our children.

The story line is very simple and covers a topic that has been in place almost from the beginning of time – Fear and how do we handle that fear.  The book does not say that we will never be without fear, but it reminds us that even through those scary times that we have a Heavenly Father who sees and knows and cares.  I also think you can apply this same thought to your children as a Parent – that you are there for them and always will be if the Lord allows; but ultimately they need to trust in God.
The author has included 10 scripture verses in the front of the book to memorize with your kids. Scripture memorization is always, always a great reminder of God and His truths and His protection. When we can’t be there to help our children when they are afraid, they can pull scripture from their memories and heart to ease their fear.  The verses are well known and a wonderful addition to the story.

I easily recommend this book! (reviewed by Paula H.)

About the Author: Lysa TerKeurst is the New York Times bestselling author of Made to Crave and Unglued. She isn't shy about admitting what a mess she can be. But she's been learning God's lessons and sharing them on her blog (www.LysaTerKeurst.com) and in her books. Lysa is president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and writes from her sticky farm table in North Carolina where she lives with her husband, Art, five kids, three dogs, and mouse that refuses to leave her kitchen

DISCLOSURE: We received a complimentary copy from Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for our review. Opinions expressed are solely our own. No compensation was received for this review.