God Loves Me More Than That

God Loves Me More Than That 
by Dandi Daley Mackall
illustrated by David Hohn


What an absolutely adorable book!  An instant favorite at our house.


God Loves Me More Than That explores how much, high, wide, big, loud, and soft God's love is for a young child, for all of us.  Through cute rhymes and comparisons that are familiar to a child (a cheering crowd, buzzing bee, kitten's sneeze, ...) Mackall introduces children to the many ways we might begin to understand how big and great God's love for us is - much more than we can understand.  


Illustrations are realistic in that they feature a young boy in each situation interacting with our familiar world.  Cartoonish in that the situations depicted are not always something we can do (ride on a bee).  Colors are bright and engaging, fun and whimsical, delightful to look at and offering many ideas to discuss along the way.


The message is sound and easy for a young child to understand.  The rhymes and fast moving pace keep even young children, toddlers and babies interested.  Great for ages 2-6, adaptable either way.  Such a simple message yet so profound and important to the curious little minds who hear and read this book.  I absolutely recommend this with my highest ratings to every family!


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated for writing this review.  All opinions are my own.

The ABC's of Being Me

The ABC's of Being Me

by Theresa A. McKeown

Published by Dorrance Publishing

The ABC's of Being Me is a sweet little book that addresses a character trait, emotion or feeling beginning with a specified letter of the alphabet.  A is for Appreciate, B is for Beauty...  For each letter, the word being discussed is in bold each time it is mentioned.  A poem or rhyme goes along with each word, identifying other words, ideas or thoughts that mean the same thing, offering learning of new words while also learning what they mean.  

Illustrations are in watercolor format, whimsical and soft, depicting a person for each letter/word depicting in some way what the particular word is.  Humor (H) shows a person laughing.

A book for elementary aged children, first grade-fifth, this book is not appropriate for younger children.  It is fairly long and involved, requiring deeper thought and understanding.

Overall, while the illustrations are cute and the idea is sound, the rhymes feel contrived to me, as if the author was searching for words to rhyme and filling in gaps with words just because they sounded the same as the previous line.  An A for effort, but lacking in interest and feeling forced, the book does not flow very nicely.  I cannot say I am particularly thrilled with this book, though not totally disappointed, I can only give it two and a half stars.

You can find a copy of this book at: http://dorrance.stores.yahoo.net/abcsofbeingme.html or see what else Dorrance has to offer at: http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?dorrance+7XZRvv+index.html

 I received a complimentary copy of "The ABC's of Being Me" as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team.  Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.  I was in no way compensated for this review or required to write a positive review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

The Beginning Reader's Bible

The Beginning Reader's Bible

by Thomas Nelson 

Illustrated by Marijke ten Cate

Compiled by Tama Fortner

An impressive Bible geared toward learning readers, The Beginning Reader's Bible is full of great stories, biblical lessons, resources, memory verses, prayers and so much more.  A hard covered book with heavy duty pages, brightly colored and full of interesting pictures, characters and creatures.  Stories from both the Old and New Testament, some of which include "The Very First Sin", "David and the Great Big Giant", "Jesus is Born" and "The Cross, among many others.  

Each story is titled and references where the selection was taken from in the bible.  Text is taken from the International Children's Bible^®, so they are reading actual bible text.Verses are marked for children to learn and become familiar with how bibles are laid out.  Stories take about 6-8 pages, each with words on only about half of one page and the other half and opposite page are open for viewing the picture.  Prompt boxes are on opposing pages in a small green box, offering children ways to "Remember God's Word", "Do God's Word" and "Pray God's Word" for each story.  

Illustrations are beautiful, engaging and full of life and opportunity to explore.  Illustrations for stories such as "The Cross" are not at all frightening, avoiding images that would be upsetting to a child without taking away from the reality of the story.  There are so many opportunities for teaching within this bible, I am so impressed with the layout, ease of understanding of wording, pictures and extras.  A definite on my list of recommended Bibles for children.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Couples Who Pray

Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between A Man and A Woman
by Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt

Growing up, I often heard the statement, "families who pray together, stay together".  How true, then, for couples as well.  An intimate act that people often feel uncomfortable doing in front of others, prayer is our main source of communication with God.  It has been made into a secret and embarrassing thing that so few are able to share in the presence of others comfortably.  How important it is that someone be able to pray with their spouse, their closest friend and partner.

Couples Who Pray addresses the need for couples to be able to do just that - pray, together and without fear of ritual, sounding silly, etc.  It is such an intimate act, and one that should be shared between a couple.  An act that can draw a couple closer together as they become comfortable going to God together, sharing their deepest hurts, strongest desires and greatest joys.  Being able to pray together adds a whole new depth to any marriage as it requires a greater trust as well as a mutual relationship together in Christ.

Assuming the couple shares a relationship with Christ (the essential goal of the book), encouraging those who do not to seek Him out, this book does not set out to "save" marriages so much, but to help grow marriages and offer practical ways to grow closer and possibly repair hurts.  A 40 day challenge that has been taken up by many notable celebrity couples, their journeys are shared and offered as encouragement to the reader.  Easy to read, light and friendly in approach.Highly recommended for every couple.  A wonderful book for the couple just starting out on their marriage journey as well as for those who have been at it for some time and need some challenges.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://booksneeze.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Goodness of God

The Goodness of God
by Randy Alcorn

What a thought provoking and mind altering work!  Alcorn puts into words some of the biggest questions we as hums ask about why things like evil, natural disasters, and other bad things happen to us.  "Why did God let this happen" is a question most every person has asked at one time or another.  In his book, Randy Alcorn addresses these questions and many more as they relate to God's goodness in a world full of sin, pain and evil.  Through biblical reference as well as cultural events and personal stories, he author addresses a multitude of topics within the realm of God's goodness and it's existence though our human comprehension of events might cause us to believe otherwise.

An appropriate book for someone facing a life struggle or difficulty, this book offers sound explanations and reasons that are biblically based and comfort.  A great gift for a friend or loved one (or self) facing troubled times and looking for some peace and understanding.

Well written, easy to read with shorter chapters, one can invest a short time to complete a chapter.  Yet, each chapter contains so much information and depth that the individual headings and resulting sections could constitute a reading session themselves.  Plenty of room for possibility of a book study, small group or personal growth study.  A solid book full of ideas, thoughts and stories that will cause the reader to pause, consider their own lives and their world and begin to see things in a new light.  To realize that God is good and ever present in the bad.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  I was not required to write a positive review and received no compensation for doing so.  All opinions contained in this review are my own.

This is Your Brain In Love

This Is Your Brain In Love: New Scientific Breakthroughs for a More Passionate and Emotionally Healthy Marriage
by Dr. Earl Henslin

Dr. Henslin uncovers the five types of lovers: Scattered Lover, Over-Focused Lover, Blue Mood Lover, Agitated Lover and the Anxious Lover.  For each type, a questionnaire is included to help readers determine where they fall.  Henslin then explains each type and some of the whys and hows of this person's brain as it relates to sexuality and spirituality.

Written with humor, the book has it's intriguing portions, filled with interesting facts and ideas, backed by science and research.  For those not into scientific reasoning, who just want to understand the basics, this book can be a little over the top with research and cited along with explanations.  While it can be an easy read for anyone, even with the extra science and research thrown in, it spoke more to my husband than myself.  I got lost in the research, medical references, brain scan pictures and discussions and the general science, only really tuning in to the basics.  This book is a bit deeper than the usual self help relationship book out there.

Absolutely written for married couples, Henslin seeks to encourage readers to understand who they are, how they tick, and how they can come together to form an even stronger bond in their marriage.  For the couples into the hows and whys, this book may be for you.  For the readers and couples into the help and practice, a little less so.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://booksneeze.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Shelter of God's Promises

The Shelter of God's Promises

by Sheila Walsh

In this beautifully flowing book, Sheila Walsh paints a picture of God's unfailing, un-ending, unconditional love for us through her words, thoughts, anecdotes, stories, biblical references and scholarly quotes.  Each chapter is broken down into short sections all contributing and flowing into the overall thought for the chapter, such as Promises.  Well written and easy to read, whether in a complete chapter all at once, or in short sections throughout the day or even week, this book offers a lot of food for thought and contemplation.

Offering insight on ten different topics under the umbrella of God's promises and the shelter and protection they provide, Walsh offers hope, joy, learning and confidence in walking daily with Christ.  I found this book difficult to put down and also found myself really reflecting upon my own life in terms of each of the ten topics, finding times where each promise was indeed visible in my experiences.  Written in a way that softly and gently reminds one of God's love and promises through some of life's most difficult times, the author brings in bible characters and their stories of struggle to illustrate His timeless promises.

I would consider this book worthy of a small group study material as well as individual reading and reflection.  Well worth the read, you'll find yourself at peace and understanding a little more deeply Christ's love for his children.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://booksneeze.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”