What If...

What If...Vernesia Womack. Dorrance Publishing. July 2004. Paperback. 40 pages.

"What if a bird could say it's A, B, C's? And a snake could count 1, 2, and 3?"

I received a complimentary copy of What If... from Dorrance Publishing in return for a review. I've taken a while to post this review because I really wasn't sure of what to say about this book. I guess the only thing I could say is that without reading the book description I wouldn't have understood the whole moral of the story. 

"Vernesia Womack, through her book What If..., reinforces the adage that everything should act as God created it to do so, and, by extension, we, as human beings, should treat each other as such regardless of our differences. Read Vernesia Womack's What If... with your child to teach that everything in life has its purpose." 

I really do like that the author wrote this book to teach kids that they were meant to be just the way they are, and that, as the book description says, we, as human beings, should treat each other as such regardless of our differences. It would have been nice if she would have incorporated that message into the book. Something else I would have changed is the black and white pictures. In my opinion, it would have been better if there was color, especially since the book is for kids. It keeps their attention a little more. This book is cute and it has a good message, but when reading it to kids, make sure you explain what it's trying to tell them.

My Rating: 3/5 stars

If you would like to buy this book from the publisher click HERE

(This book was provided for review by Dorrance Publishing Co.)

The Story of Easter

Read and Share: The Story of Easter. Gwen Ellis. Tommy Nelson. March 2010. Hardcover with Dvd. 36 pages.

I received this copy of Read and Share: The story of Easter from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze blogger program. The story of Easter is retold by Gwen Ellis in this beautifully illustrated children's book. It starts out with Jesus' donkey ride into Jerusalem and goes through to His ascension into heaven. This book is written at a level that, in my opinion, kids ages 4+ would enjoy. Each section, which is a two page spread, is titled and has the scriptural reference. One thing that I liked a lot is at the bottom of each page there are questions or "conversation triggers" that make it easy to start up a discussion on what you've just read. There's also a DVD that includes 6 short narrated stories from the life of Jesus and DVD-ROM coloring pages. At the end of the book there are a few pages with pictures from the story that are mixed up. The kids can have fun trying to retell the story in the right order.

"As everyone was standing there staring up into heaven, two angels appeared beside them and said, "Jesus has been taken away from you and into heaven. He will come back in the clouds, just like He was taken away." -The story of Easter

This is such a cute book. Right when I got it in the mail, I let my 3-year-old niece watch the DVD first. She kept wandering off a bit, but it had her attention for the majority of the time. Then I read the book to her and she enjoyed it, but she kept getting distracted. She had fun with the activity in the end and wanted to look through the book and see all the pictures again. Overall, I liked the book a lot and I think it's a very good resource to teach kids the story of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection in a way that they'll understand. This one, I would definitely recommend.

My Rating: 4/5 stars

If you would like to buy this book from the publishers click HERE
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(This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Rest In Peace Layla Grace

"Layla went to play with the angels early this morning. Rest in peace precious Layla. 11/26/2007 - 3/9/2010"
(via @LaylaGrace)

This morning this precious little girl lost her battle with cancer. Layla has touched so many lives during her short time here on earth. Heaven has gained a little angel. As heartbreaking as it is to find out that she is no longer here, I have joy in knowing that she isn't in pain anymore and she is in God's loving arms. Her story has brought people closer to their families and closer to God. My prayers go out to the Marsh family, I'm so sorry for your loss. May God bring you comfort during this difficult time.

~Crystal

The Royal Tea Party (Gigi God's Little Princess)

Gigi God's Little Princess: The Royal Tea Party. Sheila Walsh. Tommy Nelson. April 2006. Hardcover. 32 pages.

Gigi lay on her bed and tried to think of ways a princess could make a royal announcement, "I've got it! I could have a band. There must be a procession!"

 Gigi has big news for her friend Frances. She feels that it is her royal duty to tell Frances the good news. After a few different ideas, Gigi finds the perfect way to tell her friend that she is God's little princess too. This book is the perfect gift for all the little princesses out there. They'll see that, just like them, Gigi is flawed and she makes mistakes, but God still loves her and she'll always be His little princess.

 My niece loves this book. She never gets tired of hearing the story over and over again. This book is beautifully illustrated and the message behind the story is wonderful.

My Rating: 4/5 stars

To buy this from the publisher click HERE

 (This book was not provided by a publisher for review purposes. It's one that I purchased.)