Lily's in London?!

In this episode of the Lily series, Lily’s in London?!, written by Nancy Rue, Lily’s father is taking his family to Oxford, England for a year so he can teach at the university there. Lily, like her siblings Joe and Tessa, has to leave her school and friends. Their older brother, Sam, stays behind in the States.

Lily goes to England with an attitude. She doesn’t want to leave everything behind and she doesn’t like her new home. The house in Oxford has only three bedrooms so she has to share a room with younger sis Tessa who can be a pest; her mother is home schooling the kids; and Lily doesn’t have any friends in England. What is she supposed to do?

In addition to being out of sorts about her new life situation, she finds herself having difficulty feeling close to God. Over the course of a few days she starts exploring her new surroundings. In the process she meets several people - a nun at the Church of England, a girl who lives down the street, the son of a college professor – who teach her that God can be found in all the little details of life as well as the big ones.

What I Like: I liked reading the story because the author included lots of description about places in England that really exist. I’ve been to England and the author’s voice was authentic in terms of making the places seem real, because they really are!

Also, as always, the author weaves important lessons into the storyline.

What I Dislike: Maybe it’s just me, but I think it a bit pretentious for Lily’s family to stay at Claridge’s in London. Claridge’s is a five-star hotel that caters to the wealthy. With rooms that cost about 250 pounds per night (that translates to almost $500 per night), it’s not some place most people can afford to stay. Most readers just can’t relate to that.

Also, the title is a bit misleading. Lily does make a trip to London, but it’s at the end of the book. Most of the story is centered around her new life in Oxford.

Overall Rating: Very good.

Age Appeal: 9-12.

Publisher Info: Zonderkidz, 2003; ISBN: 9780310705543; Paperback, 169 pages, $6.99.

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Special Info: This book is part of the publisher’s popular Lily series. Read our reviews of other books in the series as well as other books by Nancy Rue. Visit the author’s website.

Waiting for a Bubble: Hickory Woods Adventures

My children and I just finished reading Waiting for a Bubble: A Hickory Woods Adventure aloud in the evenings. We thoroughly enjoyed Jim Dober's whimsical animal fantasy, with it's gentle lessons about patience and friendship.

Bumble, a "squwat" (a cross between a squirrel and a cat) and his friend Snap Jaw (a dragon) live in Hickory Woods, a medieval forest. Bumble spends his days helping Snap Jaw (Snappy) cook at the local inn, and studying the Good Book with Jindo, a wise ex-wizard. When Snappy asks Bumble to take over the creation of his famous bubble soup, Bumble has the perfect opportunity to put into practice the verses about patience he has been learning from the book of James.

Snappy, too, has a chance to practice patience. He and Bumble have long promised each other they would see a famous juggling act together for the first time. However, when Snappy is out shopping for meal ingredients, he gives in to the temptation to see the juggling act's pre-show. Snappy's decision disappoints Bumble and the bubble soup is almost ruined because he stayed out so long. Dober redeems the situation by showing us the power of forgiveness and the strength of true friendship. The friends also demonstrate hospitality by giving the leftover soup to the poor.

Dober's pencil sketches of the characters are fantastic. Warm and full of life, they capture the creatures' personalities and were the highlight of our reading sessions.

What I Like: Dober creates a believable fantasy world, within an unequivocally Christian framework. The chapters are short and action-packed, which made it great for reading aloud. The characters are appealing, funny, sweet and adventurous, and children will relate to the situations Bumble and Snappy find themselves in. There are ample opportunities for discussion as you read, but there are also "Parent and Child Thought Questions" in the back of the book.

I also like the way Dober uses the Bible. It is called the "Good Book," but Jindo reads actual verses from the biblical book of James.

What I Dislike: The book needed one more round of editing before going to print. Many of the sentences are wordy or redundant, and some of the dialogue is not punctuated correctly. However, my children didn't notice. I don't want to discourage our readers from buying the book--just don't use it as a model of creative writing.

Overall Rating: Very good due to editing issues, excellent otherwise

Age Appeal: Publisher lists 8-12, but I would say as young as 5

Publisher Info: Xulon Press, 2010; ISBN: 978-1-61579-688-5; Paperback, 136 pages, $14.99

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My Daddy the King is Very Busy

My Daddy the King is Very Busy was written and illustrated by Carol Weshenfelder. Written in free verse, the text rejoices over a Father's love.

Told from a first-person perspective, the book begins by detailing how God made many things. "He's very busy, but He makes time for me because He made me, too!" The story gives several examples of God's love and protection for the earth and its creatures. Each stanza ends with a personal affirmation that "He's very busy, but ..." He makes time for His children, He loves His children and His children are important to Him.

The full-color illustrations fill the large pages. A scroll design serves as the background to each page's text.

What I Like: This book teaches readers that God is personal and He always has time for them. Too often children think of God as distant and out of reach. The author has done a nice job emphasizing the opposite.

What I Dislike: Unfortunately, self-published books are often more expensive by necessity. This is one of those instances. I feel $15 is simply too high for the content and quality of this book. Even the sale price of $12 seems too much to me. There are punctuation errors and capitalization issues. My biggest concern, however, relates to the illustrations. They are below par and, frankly, disconcerting. The style is inconsistent; the characters are either unequally proportioned or deformed. Designed for a much smaller format, the computer-generated images appear pixelated and blurry.

Overall Rating: Ho-hum.

Age Appeal: 3-6

Publisher Info: CreateSpace, 2009; ISBN: 1438204280; Paperback; 42 pages; $12.00

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The Goat of Many Colors

At first glance, you may think this is another book about Joseph. But really it's a completely different story, one of a multi-colored, fancy-diving goat, as told by the comedic duo of Flamingo and Anteater.

Written and illustrated by Cuyler Black, The Goat of Many Colors begins with a wealthy landowner named Jacob who owns a lot of goats. Most of them do nothing but eat grass and bump heads, but one of them is special. Gus discovers by accident that he really likes diving. The other goats, however, think he's strange for repeatedly jumping off a cliff into water.

Meanwhile Jacob asks a servant to go get a coat of many colors for this favorite son. The servant misunderstands and thinks Jacob said GOAT instead of coat. Not finding a multi-colored goat, he decides to make one. As the servant attempts to slap paint all over him, Gus runs away into the wilderness where he wakes the next morning surrounded by a herd of wild goats.

Seeing his strange colors the wild goats believe Gus is a special goat sent by God to rule over them. Gus loves being king of the goats! They do everything he tells them to -- that is, until he tries to teach them to dive. The frightened goats huddle close to the water until a young goat accidentally falls in. He can't swim. Neither can any of the other goats! Gus has no choice but to dive into the water and save little Junior. When he does, though, all of his colors wash off.

At first the other goats are angry that Gus tricked them. Gus apologizes for trying to be someone he's not. "I thought you only liked me because of my special colors ... I wanted to be accepted." The goats forgive him and assure Gus that he can just be himself. "We love you just the way you are! And part of who you are is a fancy diving goat! That's a gift from God! And God gave you that talent for a reason." Soon the goats discover they all have special gifts from God. They just need to look for those talents and share them.

What I Like: Everything! This story is witty and funny. The kids love it! The illustrations are inviting, full of character and color. The text is clear and relatively simple, perfect for emerging readers. There's nothing not to like about this book.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal: 4-7

Publisher Info: Zonderkidz, 2010; ISBN: 9780310716341; Paperback; 32 pages; $4.99

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The Healer's Apprentice

From the minute I picked up The Healer's Apprentice, I couldn't put it down. This medieval romance, by Melanie Dickerson, is the first book in a long time I have read from start to finish in one sitting (much to my family's dismay). Styled after Gail Carson Levine and Shannon Hale, but written from a decidedly Christian perspective, The Healer's Apprentice is a tale of acceptance, forbidden love, and surprising twists of fate.

When Rose is apprenticed to the town healer, she breathes a sigh of relief. Now she won't be forced into marriage. However, when handsome and serious Lord Hamline is injured, and Rose is the only one available to stitch him up, she nearly faints. Despite his pain, Lord Hamline is quite taken with Rose. Since he has been betrothed to a princess since childhood, he cannot act on his feelings. He is even more distraught when his attentions cause his rogue of a brother, Lord Rupert, to notice Rose.

In all her decisions, Rose must decide between following her fickle feelings, or following the guidance of Frau Geruscha and the Bible. Rose must choose to trust God for her future, before she can experience peace and find her true calling.

What I Like: In this gripping story, full of twists and turns, I like the realistic portrayal of Rose's emotions and struggles best. She is flattered by the glamorous Lord Rupert, but feels drawn to Lord Hamline, even though he is betrothed. Rose wants to follow Christ and make Frau Geruscha proud, but she questions their wisdom. Rose suffers real consequences when she disobeys, and I think many readers could learn from her mistakes.

What I Dislike: There are a couple of instances of characters asking for a physical sign to determine God's will. God always answers obviously in the book, but I would be concerned readers would try similar experiments, without such clear results.

Also, the font is very small.

Overall Rating: Very Good

Age Appeal: Young Adult (14-21)

Publisher Info: Zondervan, 2010; ISBN: 978-0-310-00000-0; Paperback, 262 pages, $9.99

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Special Note: There are a couple of alarming scenes where Rose and her friend Hildy are accosted by men in town. At one point, the evil Moncore curses Rose, and causes her to have vivid, demonic nightmares.

The Hear-Me-Read Bible

In recent years, Christian publishers have really begun filling a gap by offering a small line of books for early readers. However, it's still difficult to find a decent early reader Bible. That's where The Hear-Me-Read Bible by Dr. Mary Manz Simon comes in.

Containing 18 Bible stories (reprints of separately published, slim early reader books), the text is in large type and features short sentences. Each story is told in 25 words or less. The illustrations are large and engaging. At the beginning of each story, a word list is offered, as is educational advice to parents from the author.

The Bible stories included are: Creation, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, baby Moses, Jericho, David and Goliath, Jonah and the big fish, the birth of John the Baptist, the first Christmas, Jesus feeding the crowd, the Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha, Jesus blessing the children, Zacchaeus, Jesus entering Jerusalem, the first Easter, and Jesus filling the nets. Here's an example of the text, from the story of Noah:

"Look at Noah. Noah was God's helper. God said to Noah, 'Make a boat. Make a big boat. I will send a big rain,' said God. Hurry, Noah! Hurry! Drip, drop. Hurry, Noah! Hurry! Make a big boat. Drip, drop. Drip, drop. Drip, drop, splash! Noah was God's helper."

What I Like: My 5 year old was really excited to have a Bible she can read herself. This is an attractive book, with plenty of interesting, cartoonish illustrations. The text is ideal for beginning readers. Most kids will find some words challenging, but plenty of easier words are included, too.

What I Dislike: I really only have two small complaints about this book. One pops up during the story of David and Goliath. Instead of saying King Saul offered David his armor, the author writes that a "soldier"offered his armor. My only other complaint is the way the book ends. Although we never learn why Jesus died and was put on the cross, we do learn about his resurrection. Then, the last story in the book is about Jesus telling the disciples where to fill their nets. This seems like such a weird way to end the book. Did Jesus come alive again just to tell his friends where to fish?

That said, this book clearly isn't meant to replace a child's "read-to-me" Bible. Although this book covers a lot of famous Bible stories, the text is necessarily limited. Think of this as a supplemental Bible designed to give your kids their first experiences in reading the Word every day.

Overall Rating: Very Good.

Age Appeal: 4 - 8.

Publishing Info: Concordia, 2010; ISBN: 978-0758618894; hardback, 352 pgs., $14.99

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Special Info: Read our reviews of other books by this author, including some of the "Hear-Me-Read" thin chapter books reprinted in this Bible.

The Bible for Young Children

For a speed through of the Bible, The Bible for Young Children is an attractive option. Offering a quick, simple overview of the Bible, this book by Marie-Helene Delval begins with a simplified version of creation. God creates light, the sky, moon, stars, plants, birds, and animals. Then, skipping over the creation of humans, Delval writes: "God gave the earth to men and women and their children so they could love there and make it even more beautiful!"

This story easily segues in the story of Noah: "But then people became mean, so mean that God was sorry that he had given them the world." But the story of Noah doesn't flow so smoothly into the next story: Abraham and Sarah. In fact, there is no transition at all between the two stories. Noah's story ends. Turn the page. Abraham's story begins. There is no break of any kind.

The rest of the book proceeds in this manner, running one famous Bible story into the next, mostly without transition. We learn about Jacob and the "ladder of light," baby Moses, Moses and the burning bush, God parting the sea, Moses recieving the Ten Commandments, Samuel, the annointing of David, David and Goliath, King Solomon asking for wisdom and building God's temple, Jonah, Daniel and the lions, Isaiah predicting Jesus' birth, Jesus' birth (at it's very simpliest: "This great king came - the Son of God! He was a baby, born in a stable. Mary was his mother, and he was called Jesus."), a brief explanation of Jesus choosing his diciples, the parable of the lost sheep, a brief explanation that Jesus healed people, a brief explanation that some people loved Jesus and called him the Son of God but others wanted to kill him, and a brief explanation of Jesus' death and ressurrection. The book ends:

"Jesus is alive forever! Jesus is the light that is stronger than the darkness!"

What I Like: I have never read a more fast-faced overview of the Bible for young children. Delval covers the basics, giving kids an almost instant idea of what is in the Bible. (Although not necessarily what the Bible is about; more on that in a moment.) The illustrations by Gotting are a bit dark in color at times, but they are refreshing, impressionistic, and less "dumbed down" than what's offered in many children's Bibles.

What I Dislike: I wish there were better transitions throughout the book. If the author could not transition via words, some sort of visual break would have been helpful. I also wish more emphasis was put on Jesus, even in the Old Testament stories. I'm also not thrilled with the portrayal of Jesus - it leaves out the most important part of the Gospel. According to Delval, Jesus' message was simply: ""Listen to the good news! God loves you all! You are his dear children!"

I also find it odd that the author mentions the Ten Commandments a couple of times, but never tells us what they are. (The accompanying illustrations show the Commandments in Hebrew, not English.) Also, there are times when the text is borderline inaccurate. For example, Delval says the Hebrews had to "work like slaves" for the Egyptians. In fact, they worked exactly like slaves because they were slaves. In another example, when writing about the resurrection, the author says Jesus rose "in the morning." This makes it sound like he wasn't dead for three days.

Overall Rating: Despite the downsides to this book, I rather like the "speed through" aspect of it, and think it makes an interesting introduction to the Bible. On this basis, I give it a rating of Good.

Age Appeal: 4 - 8.

Publishing Info: Eerdmans, 2010; ISBN: 978-0802853837; hardback, 96 pgs., $16.50

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Special Info: See our reviews of other books by this author.