Marty Machowski

"Did you know if you are a boy, then boy is in your blood? And if you are a girl, that girl is in your blood too?

This question is found in God Made Boys and Girls and it is the perfect way to begin a conversation with children about gender and God's role in choosing whether a person is male or female. Author Marty Machowski has written a book that targets children ages 3-5 and he uses Bible scripture to support his theory that gender is 'God's good gift'. This 32 page book is filled with show more bright, colorful illustrations and easy-to-understand language and best of all, a wonderful explanation of how gender is determined. As he explains how chromosomes determine our gender, he mentions the gender code. An attention-grabber for sure because what child doesn't like codes and coding? He also points out that God gives each of us different interests and talents and it's okay for a girl to be good in sports or for a boy to like to cook or do ballet. These talents and interests have no effect on the gender that God chose for us!

As I read this book, I was once again reminded of the changes in our society and the constant blast from social media to promote the trans-gender movement. This is very confusing to children and we need books like this to help explain what is Biblical truth. I especially liked that at the end, Machowski offers a special section titled "Truths About Gender to Share with Children" and he shares more information about people who have genetic disorders. He also encourages us all to pray for those who are confused or have willingly rejected God's truth. We must be willing to share God's Word with them but to do so in a kind and loving way.

I have a young granddaughter in Kindergarten and I know that she will soon hear comments from her classmates that will confuse her and I am thrilled that this book will be available to share with her. This is an excellent, No!, it is an exceptional book that every parent and every teacher should have!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from New Growth Press but there was no obligation to post a positive review. These are my own thoughts. show less

God Made Boys and Girls: Helping Children Understand the Gift of Gender by Marty Machowski aims to help parents discuss gender with young children. With its simple and colorful illustrations, plus a school room setting, I think the book will interest my daughters. The basis of the book comes straight out of Genesis. It recalls the creation story to emphasize that God created each person with a specific gender. It also manages to work in the salvation message of Jesus coming as a baby and show more later dying to atone for our sins.

What I liked:
It speaks against false stereotypes, affirming a child’s unique interests and abilities.
It advocates for showing kindness to anyone who may be confused about gender or have a chromosomal disorder that affects sex organs.

What I didn’t like:
The girls being “double XX, extra special” felt repetitive.
It predisposes girls to the complementarian marriage role ideology when it presents Eve as a helper for Adam.
I was raised on the type of ideologies in this book, but I’m not totally on board with its message. If God doesn’t make mistakes and gives the gift of gender, then why do people have genetic disorders? I won’t take up space writing out my questions and thoughts here, I’m just going to leave it at: I don’t buy into everything presented in the book.

I will likely use God Made Boys and Girls by Marty Machowski as a supplement to our homeschool curriculum. It’s not a book I’d leave laying around for them to read at will as I had mixed feelings about it. Christian parents with conservative ideals will like this book the most as it makes strong statements that gender does not change and should be embraced as a gift from God.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. show less

Children have lots of questions about God and heaven. While most kids have ideas of what heaven will be like, do they know what God says? Kids (and many adults) picture heaven as up in the sky, among the clouds, with angels who have wings and harps. They have a general understanding that heaven is with God, but few realize our ultimate destination is not up in the sky.
In God Made Me for Heaven, Marty Machowski shares deep theological truths through a creative story. Told through the show more perspective of a grandmother sharing her hope of heaven to her grandchildren and their friends, this picture book beautifully illustrated by Trish Mahoney includes a gospel presentation and speaks about eternity in simple language kids can understand.
God Made Me for Heaven invites children to understand that God made each person for heaven and provided a way to get there, through his son Jesus. In heaven, there will be no more sickness, suffering, or death.
Together with their parents and caregivers, children will have the opportunity to have life-changing conversations about how God invites each of us to live with him and enjoy him forever. show less

As the father of five daughters, I have had ample occasions to read Children’s Bible storybooks. The majority of such storybooks are quite simple and to the point. They don’t often interact with the story at a child’s level other than to make the tale more imaginative and seem more story-like. Few storybooks really serve believing parents well.

"The Gospel Story Bible" by Marty Machowski (New Growth Press, 2011) is much different. It is uniquely designed to help facilitate the show more parents’ task of teaching their children the Gospel, as they recount the various stories in the Bible. The stories include discussion questions at the end, and are usually presented in a fairly straight-forward, stick-to-the-text manner. Sometimes, however, a little more explanation is woven into the story. And each story wraps up with an application to the Gospel or to the flow of redemptive history. The book’s emphasis is on communicating the Gospel intent of the Bible stories rather than on wowing the children and parents with how imaginative a reshaping of the Scriptural story this new storybook can provide.

My children appreciate the sheer number of Bible stories covered by this book (78 stories from each testament) – many of which are not addressed in other, smaller Bible storybooks. And the vivid colors and interesting illustrations also enthrall their young minds. The illustration style is unique and more artistic than you’d expect. The intent is not to depict a true-to-life version of the story so much as to provide an intriguing image that illustrates it. For my part, I think this style is perfectly suited to the book’s overall feel with its bright and colorful pages. Sometimes the smaller font, which is often colored white against a dark color background, can be hard to read however. But the size of the font helps keep the stories at two pages in length, allowing the book to stay fairly compact even as it covers a large number of stories. The glossy hardcover makes the book attractive yet also keeps it sturdy and durable.

The author’s aim in producing this book is stated in its sub-title: “Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments.” And the book dovetails well with a Sunday School curriculum covering both the Old and New Testaments that has also been developed by the author (and published by New Growth Press). This curricula along with the storybook, would also serve well in a homeschool setting, as children of a wide variety of ages will be blessed and instructed through this material.

I encourage Christian parents everywhere to pick up a copy of this book. Check out some sample pages and even explore the available SS material as well. We would be remiss not to add one more tool to our arsenal as we aim to teach our children the Bible. And of course just learning facts isn’t the key, we hope they learn and embrace the Gospel. And this is what makes "The Gospel Story Bible" so compelling. I highly recommend this book.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by New Growth Press for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review. show less