Joel Anderson tackles another tough subject in his book Tell Me About Love. This book is part of the "Big Topics for Little Kids" series. The author creates an allegory of Christ to explain love. Told mostly through flashbacks, this is the story of a "sad day for some thankful people". They just lost their house to a fire, but they are all safe "thanks to one member of the family". In this story, a dog sacrifices his life to save his family. Readers will learn how the family loved and cared for the dog since she was a puppy. They gave her a family and she gave them her life. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and 1 John 3:16 are quoted at the beginning and end of the story. In the back of the book, questions are provided to prompt further discussion and an application is given to encourage children to show love to their friends and family. The illustrations, done by Joel Anderson and Kristi Carter Smith, are consistent with all the books in this series, though much darker. Nearly every page features silhouetted figures against a pastel sky.
What I Like: The questions in the back are excellent: "Does someone have to die to show love? Are there different kinds of love? How do you know if someone loves you? How does God show His love for us? How should we treat people who do not love us?" These questions and their explanations are the best part of the book.
What I Dislike: The illustrations are dark and boring. The text is almost cryptic. Every book I've read in this series requires a lot of explanation and clarification from parents. I would love to see the topics discussed in a clearer fashion for young children.
Overall Rating: Ho-hum.
Age Appeal: 4-8
Publisher Info: Tommy Nelson, 2005; ISBN: 1400306167; Hardback; $9.99
Special Info: Check out other books in this series: Tell Me About Eternity and Tell Me About Faith (best in the series).
No comments:
Post a Comment