Catherine DeVries

Emma, the young narrator in this picture book, takes us to her room on a play date. Her mother calls her down for a snack. When she prays, she uses and briefly talks about the Lord's Prayer that she has been learning. When returning to the room, she teaches the prayer to her stuffed animal. The illustrations by Ryan Jackson in this picture book are colorful and certain to please young audiences. My biggest problem with the book has to do with the manner in which the stuffed animal was show more introduced. The narrative seems to imply that a question was asked earlier for which Emma is now giving the answer so that the reader will know if he guessed correctly. It is possible this will be corrected in the final version that will be marketed. The author still fails to break down certain phrases in the Lord's prayer for the intended audience level. It is, however, a book that many Christian parents and schools will want to purchase. This review is based on an advance reader's copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review be written. show less

I had a conversation with a co-worker about the challenges of getting children to read. Her son is a visual learner and has trouble with comprehension. Because he is uninterested in what he is reading, he rushes through assignments, losing both the ideas behind the stories and the joy that reading can bring. 5-Minute Adventure Bible Stories may just be the right kind of book for those struggling like my friend’s child. Each story is boldly illustrated bringing favorites from the Bible to show more life. The vocabulary is challenging, but fun, with lots of words that cause a child to visualize the scene presented. For example, in the first story in the book, The Adventure Begins, the water that God created is described as trickling, bubbling, and whooshing. Fun and vivid! There are over 30 stories from both the Old and New Testaments and each takes just a short time to read — perfect for those who are learning to read or struggling to maintain attention. But . . . I bet your child will not be able to stop at just one! There is an added bonus at the end of each story — a truth to meditate upon and a Bible verse to memorize. So whether you are looking for a book for family reading time or a book to help stimulate your child’s love of reading, 5-Minute Adventure Bible Stories is a great choice.

Recommended.

Audience: children ages 4-8.

(Thanks to Zonderkidz for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

This beautifully illustrated bible is sure to be a hit for children. The illustrations are done very well as the brilliant colors dance across the pages. I loved the way the Bible stories are told in easy to understand ways that help children grasp the concepts of each theme. As I started the first story I immediately felt like the story came to life. The words are simple but effective with God's word explained in an easy to use format I loved that at the end of each story is a summary of show more what the story was about. It also includes a question to discuss with your children as they share what they thought about the story.

I love this bible because I love how it is kid friendly and so easy to read and follow along. It will be a great way for parents to share God's word while seeing the stories pop off the pages. I loved that there is a prayer included at the end of each story . This is a wonderful way to pray with your children and reinforce what they just learned. It is a very appealing bible with illustrations in color and stories written in a way that children of all ages will be able to understand. The Action Storybook Bible includes The Old and New Testament with scripture references that help identify where the stories are found in the Bible.

In today's wave of technology for children, I can see how this bible would appeal to them. They are a generation of visualization and this bible hits high marks in achieving this. The book is sturdy with pages that are not easy to tear. I am very impressed at what is included at the end of the book. They have included several people from the Bible and wrote an individual excerpt about them. This is a wonderful reference if you are wanting to talk about a particular person from the Bible. I am very impressed with the overall way the book is written and illustrated. This is a must have Bible for children as they learn about His Word.

I received a copy of this book from LitFuse. The review is my own opinion. show less

In this second book of the HeartSmart series, preschoolers are invited to join five-year-old Jackson for a day at Grandpa’s farm. I did not like this one as well the first in the series "Let's Learn About the Lord's Prayer". In this book Jackson and his friend (the reader) gather eggs, feed the lambs, and brush the horses. When it looks like a storm is coming, Jackson and his grandma go in the house and let Grandpa and his dog, Beau, gather up the sheep and lambs to get them safely in the show more barn. This reminds Jackson of a story that he heard in church. He and grandma talk about the 23rd psalm and how Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The psalm is actually printed in its entirety at the end of the book. This would be a good book to have in a Sunday School classroom or early Kindergarten class in a Catholic or Christian School environment, as well as in any Christian home.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less