 The Compassion Storybook Bible is a new release storybook Bible for young children and I was drawn to review it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, one of the authors is Crystal Bowman and, as some of you already know, I love her children's books. Secondly, it was a children’s Bible that claimed to focus on compassion as it’s driving theme. This immediately drew my interest as I wondered how the authors would approach the Biblical text through this lens and what it would offer children and their families.
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 When you are on the hunt for great children’s fiction, with authentic faith lessons, it can be seriously challenging. Books are either weak on story line, wishy-washy in their faith content, or clogged up with preachy, didactic sermons. But when you find a book that gets this balance right, when the faith lessons are integral to character development and the story itself is also fabulous, you know you’ve got a winner.
That’s how I felt when I read Becca Wierwille’s Road Trip Rescue.  As the northern hemisphere is wading through autumn leaves, and celebrating Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to review this beautiful picture book! Written by Joshua Cooley and illustrated by Hannah Green, I can’t believe my eyes! is a lovely story about a boy and his dad, discussing what it means to believe in an invisible God.
The story starts off with Dad raking leaves. The wind is blowing and his son asks an important question, ‘Is God real? Some kids at school say God isn’t real because we can’t see Him.’ Rather than launching straight into a theological exposition, Dad decides to take his son kite flying.  If you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ll probably know one of the causes close to my heart is preventing modern day slavery and the trafficking of people. It’s a topic I write and speak about, and I’m always on the look out for useful resources to help young people learn about and respond to this global issue. The problem is, because of the nature of the topic, it’s a difficult one to talk to children about. We know the world has its ugly side, we know we want to equip children to respond with empathy, safety and compassion. But we also know stories about human trafficking can feel heartbreaking and hopeless.
Andrew Dittmer has addressed these issues with creative sensitivity in his newest children’s picture book, Eight at a Time.  I met Alycia W Morales over breakfast the morning before the 2023 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. While I figured out whether I liked North Carolina style grits and why the bacon didn’t bend, we chatted about books and writing and life. Over the course of our conversation, I learned Alycia had lost a son only a few years before. His name was Caleb, he was only 19 when he died.
How on earth does someone navigate grief like that? How do you pick yourself up and keep going, day after day, when the grief and loss is so raw and heartbreaking? I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like, and yet Alycia has faced her grief and written about it in her new book. |
The Penny DropsIn high school I used to write what I'd call 'thinks' - little bits of writing about whatever topic or issue I was mulling over at the time. I still write these little pieces. Categories
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