Sunday, September 18, 2011

Our Kids Review: The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village

Ellie, a second-grader, dreams of one day being a mommy and a marine biologist. She loves fish, books (just like her mama) and playing with her younger brother. Here are her thoughts on The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village by Francis Chan.

This is a good book. There is a big tractor in it, and it's red. It lives in a little shed. Half of the village pulls it and half of the village pushes it, because they don't know it can move on its own. They haven't read the manual yet.

One night Farmer Dave finds the manual for the big red tractor. He reads it all night and the next morning he tells the villagers. They do not believe him. For many nights Farmer Dave fixes the big red tractor while the villagers are sleeping. Finally one night he plows the field by himself! Without anybody helping him!

The next morning the villagers awaken to find the field all plowed. One says: "It's a miracle!" The second one says: "Who did this for us?" The third one says: "Look! Over there!" Farmer Dave is sleeping on the tractor. They feed lots and lots of people with their leftovers and tell them about the tractor and the manual.

The big red tractor is like us, and God is like Farmer Dave. The Bible is like our user manual. There is a Bible verse in the back of the book: "When the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power." Acts 1:8

What I Like: I like that it reminds me of Thanksgiving because there's lots and lots of food (and sometimes I get hungry). I like the pictures and think it's funny that after they're done pushing and pulling the tractor, they sweat. I also like the sounds the tractor makes: "Putt-putt, ka-boom!" I like the memory verse in the back and I like to tell people about Jesus, so this is a good story for that.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal:
4-8 (Ellie says "Any age, 'cause it's a good book!")

Publisher Info:
David C. Cook, 2010; ISBN: 0781404193; Hardback; 36 pages; $12.99

Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $8.99!


OR Buy it at Amazon.com for $9.35
Also available in Kindle format for $8.88.

Special Info From Tanya: This contemporary parable for children relays the message of Francis Chan's book Forgotten God, a challenging reflection on the Holy Spirit. See our reviews of other books by this author.


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, great job Isabel! I can't wait to read it to my kids!

Proverbs Thirty One Woman said...

I just bought this book for my 4 year old. Both he and his big sis (7) really like it. As an adult, I thought it had the look of a self published book. I think it's the bold type and the computer graphics. But the kids like it and it has a great theme, so I offer no real complaints! Thanks, Ellie!

Tanya said...

Ellie was so excited when I showed her your comment this morning. :) She would love to review more books for you!