The Christian Alphabet Book: Teaching Children about Jesus, Prayer, and the Bible by Tracy Sands

 

I found this an interesting idea for a book. I'm not really sure what I expected it to be like, but I don't think this was it. That isn't to say that for the most part it wasn't a decent book, it just didn't quite meet what I was anticipating.

 

Each letter of the alphabet has been given pictures that make up the letter (and the meaning behind each picture is described at the end of the book in case you wanted to know the reasoning). Each letter is also assigned a word or theme and then has a two page spread explaining that theme. For example..."A" is for Always. This page talks about how God always loves us and is always with us. The page has a question section to get the kids thinking and then a prayer at the bottom to help guide them in praying (I don't think these are meant to be prayers that are memorized, but are for a guide only). The right page always shows the letter with the various pictures represented and has a "Seek and You shall find" section that just adds a little bit more fun to the child to be looking at the pictures. In addition to all of that, there are verses for the children to memorize for each letter as well.

 

Each two page spread is packed with information and at first glance could be a little overwhelming. I felt that in some ways the author expected kids to already have a Bible background even though this book is supposed to be helping give them that Bible background.

 

I have a two and a half year old and I was hoping that I could read this with her for our nightly devotion time, but that will have to wait until she is much older. For now, she may enjoy looking at the pictures and finding the images but much of the other content is for an older child.

 

Another thing that kind of disappointed me was that explaining how to become a Christian wasn't really even touched on until you got to the letter "J". At first I thought this book was going to completely skip over the part about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. If we don't know we are sinners and we don't think we've really done anything wrong then that takes away the whole reason why we need a Savior. Fortunately, later letters did explain this a little better.

 

Overall, I find this book an interesting concept. I'm not sure that I would go out and buy it myself, but I can see it being helpful to others. If you were not raised in a Christian home and are a new Christian yourself, then I can see how this book would be beneficial to have on hand to teach your kids as it does give a lot of the basics. If you are looking for a Bible story book, this isn't one at all.

 

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from The BookCrash program. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All the opinions in this review are my own. 



 

To Love and Cherish by Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller

This is the second book about Bridal Veil Island; however, it can be a stand alone book. I know because while I read the first book, it was so long ago I really didn't remember any of it but never felt lost reading this book.

This book is about a couple that is in love, but can't seem to ever be on the same page. Their names are Melinda Colson (who wants nothing else but to marry her beloved) and Evan Tarlow (who wants to be able to support a wife and children and doesn't want to get married until he can do so).

From the very beginning Melinda wants to marry Evan and when he doesn't propose when she thinks he should, she gets very frustrated with him. Since she is the maid for a rich lady (though she was once well-to-do herself...read the book to find out more about that) and he is a groundskeeper for Bridal Veil Island, their lives aren't their own to decide for themselves. Melinda leaves Bridal Veil Island (which is a resort that very rich people went to during the winter months) and heads back to Ohio to work with her employer.

When a hurricane hits Bridal Veil and Melinda hears no word from Evan she panics, quits her job, and she and her brother head south to make sure that Evan is all right. Melinda learns very quickly that a lot of times when we rush ahead of God's plans things will often go awry, but when we wait on God's perfect timing and we don't try to push our own agenda through God often blesses.

While this book is written from a Christian perspective, I didn't feel like it was overly done. I got frustrated at times with the character of Melinda, but overall really enjoyed and felt like I could relate with her. I didn't really like the character of Evan and really didn't see why Melinda liked him that much, but it was still enjoyable to read about their struggles anyway. Overall, this book was fun to read. If you are looking for a book full of history and some deep thinking, find something else to read. But if you are looking to relax and pick up a book, then you'll probably enjoy this one.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Bethany House. I was under no obligation to give a positive review, these are just my thoughts on this book.