All God's Children

All God's Children, by Ken Ham, answers a question that many children have: why do we look so different from one another? The book features children that are Asian, Russian, African, Indian, American Indian, Mexican, Saudi Arabian, Eskimo, Aborigine and Australian.

The book uses rhyme to tell how we all began with Adam and Eve and then goes on to describe the fall, the flood, and what happened at the tower of Babel:

"After the Flood, Noah's family grew and then did something bad.

They built a tower to worship the heavens - now that was very sad.

So God gave them different languages, and forced them to move apart.

The different groups moved to different lands to begin a whole new start."

What I Like: The book has a really cute shape and each page shows the continent that the child featured comes from. The children are also pictured in their native dress, so this book is very educational as well.

What I Dislike: The rhyme is awkward in spots which makes it hard to read out loud.

Overall Rating: Very Good

Age Appeal: The publisher says 4-8, but I'd say younger - it's a board book, after all!

Publisher Info: Master Books, 2005; ISBN:0890514399 ; Boardbook $6.99.

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Special Info: Check out our other reviews of Ken Ham books.

Coming Home

Coming Home, written Max Lucado and illustrated by Justin Gerard, is an allegory, based on Jesus’ promise to his disciples that he would return and take them to Heaven to be with him always.

In Max Lucado’s story, three people, a ship’s captain and two young boys, Argo and Arion, are shipwrecked on a gray and desolate island. Several years after the shipwreck, the captain sails away from the island, leaving the boys behind. Before he leaves, he tells them, “I am going away for just a short time. I’m going to Bluestone to prepare your place. But I will come back and take you to be there with me.” He also tells them to remember what he has taught them and to be ready for his return. He gives them brief instructions, one of them being to stay out of the island’s forest. The captain is gone for some time, and of course, one of the boys, Argo, wanders into the forest while the captain is gone. When the captain returns, Argo is hesitant to greet the captain, as he knows he disobeyed the captain’s commands. But, the captain welcomes both boys onto the boat so they can set sail for their new home in Bluestone.

The painted illustrations are dark and gray, which mirrors the text, and they are extremely life-life and painted in great detail.

What I Like: Although it is a bit gloomy, the artwork is beautiful in its detail.

What I Dislike: I generally enjoy Max Lucado’s books. This story parallels the story of our lives on earth while we wait for Jesus to return and take us home to Heaven. The writing, itself, is flawless, and the artwork extraordinary, but I think the story falls short of his usual style and clarity. I like the idea of a story that is an allegory for the promise of Jesus’ return, but the setup for this story was a bit vague. There is very little background given at the beginning of the story as to how the three were shipwrecked or how long they’ve been on the island. When reading the story, I kept wondering why the captain was able to leave the island by himself and was not able to take the boys with him. That was never explained and it seemed odd that the boys would be left there by themselves.

Overall Rating: Very good.

Age Appeal: The publisher suggests 4-8 as the age group for this book, but I think it would be more like 6-12.

Publisher Info: Crossway Books, 2007; ISBN: 1581347561; Hardcover, $15.99.

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Special Info: Read our reviews of other books by Max Lucado. Visit the authors’ website. Read our reviews of other books illustrated by Justin Gerard. Visit the illustrator’s website.

The Silly Family

Adding to Kathlerine Pebley O'Neal and Laura Huliska-Beith's fun and wacky series of picture books, The Silly Family is a book stressing the importance of having a good sense of humor.

The Silly family (mom, dad, and three kids) lives up to their name. They love knock-knock jokes, hand buzzers, and squirting corsages. In fact, they are so silly that when they try to help set up the church picnic, the organizer, Mrs. Albright, isn't sure how much help they can be. But the Silly family works hard preparing tables and decorations until everything is nearly done. But where is Mrs. Albright's table centerpiece of dried flowers?

The faces of everyone in the Silly family drop. Hmmm...could those dried flowers be mistaken for a pot of dried weeds? In their effort to help, they realize they threw away Mrs. Albright's carefully planned decoration. They feel awful. Nothing about this is funny.

Then one of the children sees Mrs. Silly's squirting corsage, and they decide to use it as the centerpiece, instead. All is well...until the pastor leans over to give the flowers a sniff and gets squirted in the eye. The congregation is silent and the Silly family holds their breath. But after a moment, the pastor laughs...and snorts and hee-haws. "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face!" he says. (A rephrasing of Proverbs 15:13.) The congregation laughs along with him, and everyone's glad the Silly family is present to bless all around them.

What I Like: I love O'Neal's clever, fun writing and Huliska-Beith's silly, colorful illustrations. This is a cute book that reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously, and my three year old loves it.

What I Dislike: Younger children probably won't get a lot of the jokes; they may not know, for example, what a hand buzzer is. For this reason, this is not my favorite of this writer/illustrator duo's books.

Overall Rating: Very Good.

Age Appeal: 4 to 8.

Publisher Info: Zonderkidz, 2008; ISBN: 0310709873; hardback; $12.99

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Special Info: Be sure to check out our reviews of other books by this author/illustrator combo.

I'll Love You Anyway and Always

I'll Love You Anyway and Always by Bryan Chapell is a sweet story of forgiveness, both the small kind and the very large kind.

Katy is happily watering the flower garden when her mother warns her not to water Daddy's special orchid. But Katy, thinking a good watering will only make her Daddy's flower more beautiful, waters it anyway. When evening comes and the entire family goes out to the garden, the orchid is wilted. Katy's head hangs as low as the flower's. "Will you still love me?" Katy asks her father.

Taking his daughter on his knee, Daddy replies: "Because you disobeyed, you and I are both sad. But nothing you do will ever make me stop loving you. I'll love you anyway and always." Then he explains he loves Katy the way God loves us all.

He tells the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and how God replied: "What you did will not make Me stop loving you. You were not careful to obey Me, but one day I'll send a Savior to rescue you and the world from all the evil you have caused. I'll love you anyway and always."

He tells the story of Noah's flood, and how, despite all the bad things Noah's children and grandchildren did, God said: "I will love you anyway and always."

He explains the story of Abraham and Sarah and their baby, Isaac. "You don't yet understand how," God said, "but I'll love you anyway and always."

He tells the story of Pharaoh and the Israelites and the parting of the sea. Even though the Israelites disobeyed God after all he'd done for them, God still said, "I'll love you anyway and always."

He tells the story of David and Goliath, and how David later disobeyed God. But God still said, "I'll love you anyway and always."

Then he tells the story of Jesus' birth, his death, and what it means. And even after that sacrifice, when we disobey, God still says "I'll love you anyway and always."

The next day, Katy's little brother Taylor goes into her bedroom and eats all of a chocolate bunny Katy's been saving. When he apologizes, Katy's initial feeling is anger, but then she remembers all her daddy told her the day before.

"Katy picked Taylor up in her arms. He was so big that she almost toppled over. Still she hugged him and said, 'Taylor, because of what you did, both you and I are sad. But I'll love you anyway and always.'"

What I Like: This book does a nice job of making God's forgiveness realto children. I especially appreciate how Katy is shown displaying God's love to her sibling. The illustrations by Tim Jonke are soft, but realistic, and do a good job of telling the story.

What I Dislike: The text is a bit on the long side for younger audiences. Since Katy appears to be a preschooler or kindergartner, paring down on the number of words per page would improve this book. Some people might find the ending a bit too moralistic, and while I do think it's slightly more heavy-handed than I'd like, typically small children don't understand books that are too vague in their message.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: 4 to 8.

Publisher Info: Crossway, 2001; ISBN: 158134306X; hardback; $15.99

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The Sudan Project

It’s hard to turn on the news and not get a report about the plight of people in Africa. Those in Darfur, in the Sudan, have been in the news a lot, with horrific stories about the death of thousands of people in that part of the word. Melissa Leembruggen, a member of the Ginghamsburg Church, was so touched with the story of these people, she decided to write a book for children to help them understand what’s happening there; thus, The Sudan Project was created. In addition to being the title of the book, The Sudan Project is a special endeavor, sponsored by the Ginghamsburg Church, to help the people of Darfur. The church has been active in relief work in the region.

But this is more than just a story about Darfur and the Sudan Project. It is an interactive book, written partially as an alphabet book. Each letter of the alphabet features a short blurb and a short poem about the subject matter. Most of the sections include questions the author asks about the reader’s thoughts.

Many words are highlighted in the text and are later defined in a Glossary in the book’s end matter. There is also a section called “Unit Study Plan” which gives simple ideas for learning more about the Sudan Project. The lesson ideas are broken down into different study areas, like geography, science, history and art. Additional end material includes: “Questions for Further Discussion,” “Hands-on Involvement,” and a recipe for traditional Sudanese Lamb Stew.

The illustrations are mostly photos of people, places and things in the region that go along with the corresponding letter of the alphabet.

What I Like: Everything. This book provides a comprehensive look at the Sudan region and what is happening there. Its format is ideal for children, making it a perfect learning tool for the school or church classroom.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal: 9-12.

Publisher Info: Abingdon Press, 2007; ISBN: 068765050X; Paperback, $10.00.

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Special Info: Read an interview with the author at this website.