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Before I Was Me – Book Review

I was given a copy of the book Before I Was Me to review by author Frank Fraser. I was excited to receive another book by this author as my kids and I have enjoyed reading some of his previous books The Bible Amigos. I have to be honest and tell you that this book exceeded any expectation that I had.

Once in a while a beautiful book comes into your life, one that you know you will treasure in your heart for all your life and one that you just have to give others too. This is one of those books, it is my new go to for baptism and birthday gifts.

I can’t say enough about this book the illustrations are incredible, they grab your attention and are just beautiful. The overall message and writing is very well articulated. Frank captures the wonderment of childhood, the love and gentleness of our heavenly father and packages it all in this wonderful children’s book.

There is a reason this book has a five star rating on Amazon  – do you think it deserves five stars too? You can view this entire book for free at Sophia Press Before I Was Me  and decide for yourself. But I am confident you will agree!

 

The Bible Amigos: Great Bible Series for kids!

bible-amigos-jonah-_1cvrOne things my kids love is books. But they don’t just like anything. Each child has their own preference for topics, writing style, and their own favourites.  With an age range of three to nine, finding a book they all enjoy can be a challenge at times. But one thing they all love is animals and bible stories.

So when Frank Fraser the author of The Bible Amigos Bible Series for kids contacted me to ask if I would like a copy of his two new books to read, I was very interested. Animals, a bible story and a valuable lesson all in one – it sounded a little too good to be true.

The day the books arrived my nine year old daughter had a friend over – everyone loves receiving something new in the mail. So they were both excited to look over the new books. Both girls really enjoyed the books – especially the illustrations. My daughter’s friend said “these are cool for big kids too!”. My nine year old said ” these books have a lot of activity in them and they teach a good lesson”. Being the little artist that she is she added “I REALLY like the drawings”.

bible-amigos-jonah-_6When I read these books to my boys – which I have to admit I have now read them a lot. On the one occasion my son said “It is fun to read. I love it.” My three year old whom enjoys reading but not as much as my older kids whom are book worms, can’t get enough of these books. He has only ever had a handful of books that he wanted to read repetitively – well he wants to read them at bedtime and during the day. He doesn’t want to read one he wants to read both! Although my favorite of the two is Jonah and the Bear!

These stories are well written, with catchy little phrases, they share a bible story and end with a good moral message!

When my friend a mother of three babysat the one evening she had to read the books when she put my little guy to bed. First thing she wanted to know was where she could buy these books because she wanted them for her kids. So if your looking a book that is fun, has a good strong biblical message, one that can speak to varying ages. Then I recommend getting a copy of these lovely books. They are available for purchase at amazon.ca or amazon.com.

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Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing!

I have very exciting news children’s award winning author Sally Lloyd-Jones has written a new book Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing  – we are so excited to read this new book. She is one of our favourite authors for children. Her previous book also illustrated by JAGO The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name is my eldest daughter’s favourite book of all time! We have read it so many times the binding is starting to give – which says alot because the book is so well made. We even bought the deluxe edition so that we have the book on CD and listen to it in the car.

I frequently catch my daughter telling her brother stories and answering his faith questions with quotes from the Jesus Story Book Bible. We have given so many of these books away as gifts too! This book is well illustrated and so beautifully written you can’t wait to read the next story. It is a written starting with creation showing God’s plan of love for  his people and weaving and revealing his plan of salvation through the old and new Testament. It is written for children but every adult who reads this book grows spiritually too! My husband and I would update each other on the stories we missed as we were rotating books at bedtime when we first started to read the book! We just didn’t want to miss out on the journey through this amazing book. You can see my previous post on this book here!

So when I heard an interview on the radio with Sally Lloyd-Jones yesterday answering questions about her new book I was so ecstatic that I per-ordered Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing today for a Christmas gift for the kids. She wrote this book as her niece was being bullied at school and she thought if only her niece knew how much she was loved by her heavenly father it would make all the difference. Then she decided I will write a book with stories to tell her just this and so her beautiful book was written!

Here is a description of the book from its official website: “Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing shares profound spiritual truths from the Bible told in a conversational tone—drawing insights from creation, history, science, and the writings of great thinkers, preachers, writers, and more—to turn the reader’s eyes toward the God who loves them with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always And Forever Love.” Source: http://thoughtstomakeyourheartsing.com/

So if your looking for the perfect gift for a child in your life look no further! I recommend The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name or Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing or for babies and preschoolers try her other amazing  Lift-the-Flap Bible

Ben-Hur Great Story for Boys!

My son recently read the CCC book Ben-Hur – A Race to Glory at grandma’s house. He fell in love with it right away. So much in fact that we have to borrow it to read it again once we got home.  I coincidently had the DVD of Ben-Hur packed away to give the kids for Easter, so the timing couldn’t have been better.

This is a wonderful story for kids but especially for young boys aged 3-8. It is a story of friendship, perseverance, courage and forgiveness. Encounters with Jesus are seamlessly woven into the story too. Whether your looking for a a great story book or a nice movie -I highly recommend Ben-Hur – A Race to Glory to be added to anyone’s library!

Two Wonderful Books we discovered

The Mass – I found this neat book at a Christian book story recently. I plan to use it to help my daughter prepare for 1st Communion. It is written as if Jesus is speaking directly to your child about the mass and why it is so important – in simple language the kids can understand and enjoy!

Saints Tell Their Stories – is a great book with stories written in first hand account from the perspective of the actual saint. This book features great saints like St. Boniface, St. Stephen, St. Therese and many more. A great 1st Communion gift – great from kids aged 5-10! My daughter loves reading one of these at our tea parties!

Great Catholic Books Every Child Should Read!

Great Catholic Books for Kids

I don’t know about you but my husband and I are always looking for great new books to share with our kids to help foster their faith. There are many books out there but we’re always looking for the gem or the hidden treasure that will help them blossom – and that we’ll enjoy reading to them over and over.

So I thought I’d share some of the Jewels we have been blessed to find and that we continue to find along the way. Below is a list of books we think every child should read or have on their book shelf. I have also generated a list of other great books that I’d highly recommend!

Books Every Child Should Read or Have on their book Shelf

Book of Saints – Loyola Kids by Amy Welborn

Sometimes a book comes along and you read it and want to share it with all your friends. I was babysitting for a friend when I found just such a book. Loyola Kids Book of Saints from the very first page I was gripped. I wanted to read more – I couldn’t wait to get a copy of this book to share with my own children, copies to share with my godsons and friends.

The author’s simple and easy to understand language and explanations were refreshing and rejuvenating.  Ever wanted to explain what a saint was to your child or a fellow friend whom just didn’t understand – Amy’s introduction is so beautiful and easy to read and follow it is ageless – not only will your child understand right away the church’s teachings on whom the saints are but they’ll be excited to learn more about the saints and want to strive to be like heavens hero’s!

The short explanations of the saint’s lives are lovely, fun, factual and exciting. Many saint books just don’t keep a child’s attention or use their imagination. This book will have your kids asking for more! It also gives practical ways your child can live out the different virtues the saint exhibited!

A must have for every Catholic Book shelf!

The Weight of a Mass by Josephine Nobisso

This incredibly beautifully illustrated and written book – will leave you lingering on its message for a long time afterwards. Do you really know how much a mass is worth or do you just take it for granted? After reading this book you will be left meditating on the true value you place on a mass. The pictures, symbolism and story are a great tool for you to talk with your child about the mass, Jesus and the Eucharist.  Once you read it you’ll never forget this story that is sure to become a classic – The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith!

This is a wonderful book to give any child whom is preparing for their 1st communion or even as a 1st communion gift.

Take it to the Queen: A Tale of Hope by Josephine Nobisso

We know that as a catholic we try to foster a deep love of our heavenly mother in our children; but sometimes we might struggle to be able to fully explain our ladies role. This stunningly illustrated and wonderfully written book – is a beautiful parallel or retelling of Mary’s role in salvation, of the gift or redemption and a great story of love. This is sure to become a favourite amongst your child! It is a pleasure to read over and over –Take It to the Queen: A Tale of Hope .

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Nothing brings a parent joy like seeing their child’s face beam when they are excited about something that is good for them. Imagine you could get your child to beg for more broccoli or spinach – Well if you struggle with getting your child to ask you to read them the bible – I have a secret to share with you it’s called The Jesus Storybook Bible.

We gave this book to our daughter for her birthday after my sister-in-law had been raving how the whole family was enjoying it. Well we can’t read it enough for our daughter – after each story she begs for more.

* It is important to point out that this is not a Catholic Bible. So although it contains many beautiful bible stories for children, it can be used a starting point to continue the fuller teaching we as the faith believe after reading the stories. I believe that instilling a love of the word and bible stories is very important for our children. If you hide the word in their hearts then it will guide them in their lives. This bible brings the stories to life and shows Gods unending love.

This is the bible told in a way you have never heard it before – it is a love letter to you from God, a retelling of the stories in a whole new way, with important historical and interesting facts along the way. It shows the foreshadowing of God’s plan of salvation and shows how the Old Testament is just that.

Not only will this help to develop a great love of the bible in your child, but it will help them to understand the link between the Old and New Testament – the revealing of God’s plan – Jesus! It will help them understand God’s great love for them and all humanity.

To be honest we all love this book my husband and I find each other retelling the stories that we might have missed when reading it to the children.This is a permanent bedtime book for our kids – my daughter always asks “do you have the book? “And we know she means The Jesus Storybook Bible.

They also sell this book as a deluxe set with the stories on CD- we own this and it is wonderfully read –great for car trips or quiet time at home. It sure beats many of the books on CD we get from the library.

The best price I found for this book was at Christianbook.com

The Story of Christmas

The cover of this book never really drew me to it – but as they say you can’t judge a book by its cover – and this book proved that to me! This wonderful book The Story of Christmas retells the story of Christmas with scripture – it is craft-fully done. It is a wonderful retelling of the birth of our Lord in a simple, straight forward way that you’ll enjoying reading to your child all Advent long! Your child will be able to retell you the true story of Christmas in no time at all!

For younger children: A great way to start Christmas morning is by reading this story followed by singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. This book makes a great gift, stocking stuffer or thank you gift to your nativity patient participants at only $1.49 a copy at Christianbooks.com it’s hard not to give this to all the kids on your list at Christmas!

Treasure Box Set

This wonderful set contains 20 books – which you can purchase individually or as two separate 10 book sets. It was originally written as a sort of Catholic Children’s magazine and has become a timeless classic. Each book has a story of a saint, Mary or Jesus as well as a story about an angel which is continued in other books. It is full of other short stories, poems, game/craft ideas and a lesson or prayer on the back. I’m not sure what draws people to magazines – but you whatever it is they have mastered it and replicated it here for your kids but without the advertising and it is only packed with goodness, values and fun. Kids just can’t get enough of these wonderful books. They are packed with faith filled learning for your kids. My husband and siblings had these as children and carry many fond memories from the stories, games and crafts they learnt through them.

You can get these for a great deal as a set from Seton Books or you can buy them individually or in various set at Holy Heros (Tip: join their Advent or Lenten Adventures or summer camps to receive a coupon for 20% off)

 

 

 

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Nothing brings a parent joy like seeing their child’s face beam when they are excited about something that is good for them. Imagine you could get your child to beg for more broccoli or spinach – Well if you struggle with getting your child to ask you to read them the bible – I have a secret to share with you it’s called The Jesus Storybook Bible.

We gave this book to our daughter for her birthday after my sister-in-law had been raving how the whole family was enjoying it. Well we can’t read it enough for our daughter – after each story she begs for more.

This is the bible told in a way you have never heard it before – it is a love letter to you from God, a retelling of the stories in a whole new way, with important historical and interesting facts along the way. It shows the foreshadowing of God’s plan of salvation and shows how the Old Testament is just that.

Not only will this help to develop a great love of the bible in your child, but it will help them to understand the link between the Old and New Testament – the revealing of God’s plan – Jesus! It will help them understand God’s great love for them and all humanity.

To be honest we all love this book my husband and I find each other retelling the stories that we might have missed when reading it to the children.This is a permanent bedtime book for our kids – my daughter always asks “do you have the book? “And we know she means The Jesus Storybook Bible.

They also sell this book as a deluxe set with the stories on CD- we own this and it is wonderfully read –great for car trips or quiet time at home. It sure beats many of the books on CD we get from the libraryJ

The best price I found for this book was at Christianbook.com

Princess & the Kiss: A Story of God’s Gift of Purity and The Squire and the Scroll by Jennie Bishop

Ever wanted to start teaching your child the special gift of purity at a young age – well here is the answer. These artfully written books were written by the author with just that in mind. She has written a book for young girls Princess & the Kiss: A Story of God’s Gift of Purity and one for young boys The Squire and the Scroll to help teach them about the special gift that they are and that they posses and how it is too precious to be given to just anyone. It is a slightly longer story so I recommend it for children with longer attention spans or from about age 5. These are a beautiful way to teach your princess or knight how to live virtuously from a young age. They are beautifully illustrated too!

 

Great Books Highly Recommend for Kids and Preschoolers

Great Books Highly Recommend for Kids and Preschoolers

Veggie Tales Storybook Bible

If your kids love these little veggies, they are going to love this sweet little bible. The book contains pictures from actual cartoons – each story begins with a question, is followed by a cute retelling of a bible story veggie tale style – with a great lesson to answer the question, a scripture verse and the actual bible passage the message is based on. It always wraps up with “Remember God loves you and made you special”. Our kids really enjoy this book especially the pictures. They sit flipping through it again and again.

I love finding deals we bought this at Costco and Christianbooks.com for only $9.99!

God Made You Special

A beautiful little book God Made You Special that tells your child just how unique, special and beautifully they are made by their creator God. It incorporates pictures of children from different cultural backgrounds, making it suitable for everyone. It lets your child know that Jesus is their friend and wants a relationship with them!

I love this little book – it was the book of 2009 for me I gave it with all my birthday, baptism and Christmas gifts – until all the young children we know around us owned it! It just is that sweet.

If every child could just hear God`s love for them and know how special they are what a world it would be!!

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