Just for Me! The Bible

The Just for Me! series includes a number of nonfiction activity books targeting specific age ranges. This title, Just for Me: The Bible, is "a fun guide just for girls ages 6-9." Written by Katrina Cassel, it incorporates stories, puzzles, games and activities with solid information about the Bible.

This book follows sisters Katie and Sarah as they encounter life. Each of their stories relates back to a lesson or introduces a specific story or fact from or about the Bible. Their father serves as a guide on this journey of discovery.

The text is broken into ten chapters. Each includes several invitations for interaction, from mazes, Rebus activities and memory verses to crafts, quizzes and codes to decipher. Every book of the protestant Bible is presented, from Genesis to Revelation, with at least one major story from that book.

The illustrations by Shelley Dieterichs offer simple line drawings done in black and white. An additional novelty: the book comes with a cross-shaped carabiner.

What I Like: This books offers an excellent foundation of biblical knowledge for young girls and does it in an interesting way. I like that the information goes beyond Bible stories to Bible knowledge, like who wrote the Bible, how long did it take, etc. The activities are varied, which is great for maintaining interest. I also like the connections made between then and now. Sarah and Katie's stories help show how relevant the Bible is to us today. This book would be a wonderful tool for road trips!

What I Dislike: The introductory part emphasizes who wrote the Bible and how God told them to write it, but doesn't clearly state that all the stories are historical and true. I wish this point had been made more explicitly. Also, if your child has been raised with thorough Bible teaching, some of this information may be too elementary for her. The book is really geared toward girls with little to no knowledge of the Bible. However, even if the book doesn't challenge your daughter's Scripture knowledge, it will reinforce the lessons she's already learned and help her to apply them to her life.

Overall Rating: Very good.

Age Appeal: 6-9

Publisher Info: Legacy Press, 2007; ISBN: 158411083X; Paperback; $7.99

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