The Beginner's Bible Animal Adventures: A Board Book Collection

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This cute little box o' books was provided by Zonderkidz for me to review, and the four books have been requested - particularly by our little man, who loves animals of all kinds - many times this week. In the box, you'll find these books:
  • Lion's Big Sleepover (and Daniel's Scary Night)
  • Little Lamb's Big Scare (and The Shepherd's Great Care)
  • Elephant's Big Ride (and Noah's Stormy Adventures)
  • Fish's Big Catch (and Jonah's Second Chance)
 
Rather than being true Bible stories, these would be more aptly described as based on Bible stories (sort of like "based on a true story"). As the titles above suggest, the stories are retold from the perspective of an animal. The facts from the Bible are still there and accurate, though, so I'm not uncomfortable with the retellings. The illustrations, like any other the rest of The Beginner's Bible series, are cute, and the language is richer than a lot of Christian kids' books (multiple uses of onomatopoeia, good use of dialogue). I'm not sure if the box will hold up to the abuse love of two children, but it isn't poorly constructed either.

I would recommend giving this set as a baby shower gift (because right now the set of four books is only $11.69 on Amazon, because the box gives a nice appearance to the set, and because I think every baby shower gift should include a book).

As I mentioned above, I received this for my review. Zonderkidz didn't ask or require anything other than an honest review. I'm a big fan of complementary copies of books, but only my appreciation - not my opinion - can be bought.

Two new I Can Read! books from Zonderkidz

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Woohoo! Two new I Can Read! books to review from Zonderkidz!

While my first review was from their science series, these are from the Bible characters’ series: David and God’s Giant Victory and Daniel, God’s Faithful Follower. The stories are consistent with the accounts found in the Bible (with the Daniel one focusing on the lions’ den), and I’m happy to add a couple of biblical beginning readers to our library.


(In case you’re wondering, these are Level 2 in the I Can Read! Rating, described as being for children who are “Reading With Help” with “engaging stories, longer sentences, and language play for developing readers.”)

One thing I didn’t love about the books was the hair. Oh, my. The hair.

Check out the locks on David, Daniel, the angel, and the lions below.



Jocelyn even tried to argue that David must be a girl because of his hair and headband. Wow. Just wow.

Oh, and one last nitpicky thing: One of the books uses a few pages to describe what went on while Daniel was in the lions’ den; however, Daniel 6 – where that story is found – doesn’t provide that detail. Daniel is sealed in the den in verse 17, he’s found there – fine, praise God! – in the morning in verse 21, and the verses in between are focused on the king instead of Daniel. What is added is consistent with the story – Daniel prays in the den just as he always did – but I don’t like it when children’s stories add to the Word. I've read a couple of other children's Bible accounts of the story this week, and they each did it as well.

The FTC requires that I disclose that Zonderkidz provided these books for me to review. Zonderkidz, however, required nothing from me and didn't ask for a positive review or anything else. Therefore, I like Zonderkidz more than the FTC, but I include this disclaimer because I also like not being fined by the FTC.

Better

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“I would humbly suggest that when we paint our nation’s domestic and foreign policies with such a biblical brush, we are confusing our rhetoric as well as our kingdoms. 'The nations' who 'trample the holy city' are not Saudis who fly planes into our skyscrapers but the very aspects of our society (yes, ours) that turn our churches into strip malls, our worshipers into consumers, and our God into a commodity beholden to the ebb and flow of the market. In a word, it is not America that will get the last word, it is not America that will be vindicated in the end, and it is not America that will be shown to be the last great hope for a backward and undemocratic world. In fact, it is the American love of money that is often the root of much of the church’s evil, and it is our rugged American individualism that accounts for the near-obsolescence of the church in the estimation of many sincere believers today.” (Jason Stellman, Dual Citizens, p. 67)
I don't quote this as an anti-American sentiment. But, just as I think it's wise to consider the sins in our families so that we don't embrace them as part of our spiritual heritage, it's also wise not to confuse political agenda (which can be good or bad, regardless of your party) and USA patriotism (which is mostly good) with Christian faith (which is better, both temporally and eternally).


(Image borrowed from elsewhere the Interwebz. I couldn't track down its original source, though, so let me know if you know where it originated!)