The DragonKeeper Chronicles

For those of you who love dragons, fantasy, and Christian allegory, Donita K. Paul's DragonKeeper Chronicles series is definitely worth reading. (I have only finished the first three books, but I can't wait to read the last two.) The books are a cross between Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern fantasy series, and J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings fantasy-adventures, but with an overtly Christian worldview.

When Kale, a slave-girl, finds a valuable dragon egg, her masters send her to deliver the egg to the Hall, where she imagines she will become a servant. However, a wrong turn leads to her capture and subsequent rescue. As she travels with her rescuers, she learns "Wulder," the creator, is not a child's myth, but a real being. She also learns her destiny is to be the DragonKeeper and train as a wizard. She rejoices in her new-found freedom, and chooses to join Paladin (an allegorical Christ-figure), and live her life performing whatever tasks Wulder places in front of her.

All of the books center around the fight between Paladin and other followers of Wulder, and the evil Wizard Risto and his minions. In the first two books, (DragonSpell and DragonQuest), Kale, uses her roles as DragonKeeper, and wizard-in-training, to help in the battles between good and evil. She is aided by a unique and heroic band of companions, including tiny, flying dragons, an eccentric wizard, a fashionable and kind doneel, and graceful, elf-like emerlindians.

In DragonKnight, the third book, the focus switches to Bardon, a brave but troubled young man, with a mysterious past. He hopes to be a knight, but finds himself himself constantly challenged by new quests.

DragonKnight ends with several family reunions, and a budding romance between Kale and Bardon. The romance is only hinted at through most of book three, and Bardon always conducts himself as a perfect gentleman.

What I Like: Paul's books are full of action, believable characters, and plot twists. They are each epic fantasies, with satisfying endings. There are lots of characters to like and it is easy to become lost in the world of Amara. I can't wait to read the last two books in the series!

Paul has quite an imagination, and dreams up creatures by turns bizarre, lovable, funny and terrifying.

I especially like the lessons Paladin teaches Kale and Bardon. They are true to biblical principles, and even echo biblical passages at times. Kale and Bardon aren't perfect, but they love Paladin and Wulder, and are always open to correction.

What I Dislike: The series is quite detailed, and just keeping the seven "high races" and seven "low races" straight is a challenge. Then, when Paul starts adding names, alliances, and relationships to the story, it is easy to become lost. Also, Paul chose not to capitalize the names of the races, which makes reading even more confusing at first. The books do include a glossary, which may help to preview before reading.

Overall Rating: Very Good

Age Appeal: 10 and up, but even younger readers may enjoy it if they are good readers and don't get lost in the details.

Publisher Info: Waterbrook Press, 2004,2005,2006; ISBN: 1-57856-823-4 (DragonSpell); Paperback, 334-398 pages, $13.99

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Illumination Station

Illumination Station: The Big Adventure, is written by and illustrated by Jennifer Mauter. The story takes place in the town of Illumination Station, a place with only two streets: one named Commandment Drive and the other Temptation Highway. The first leads those who follow it to a life of peace and contentment while the second leads to bitterness and unhappiness.

All the inhabitants of Illumination Station are lightbulbs of varying designs and intensities. Their power of illumination comes from their being “plugged into” God’s word and following his commandments. Those that do shine brightly; those that don’t are darkened bulbs.

The story centers around two characters, Wally and Sam. Wally has been raised to love God and follow Him. His family attends church regularly and his parents are leaders in the community. Sam’s father yells a lot. His family goes to church, too, but their commitment isn’t as strong as Wally’s family and they don’t always shine as brightly.

Sam loves adventures and Wally loves to follow him. This is usually a good thing, but when Sam leads Wally down Temptation Highway, bad things happen and the boys must face the consequences of making poor choices.

The pencil sketch illustrations are both creative and expressive, and they enhance the text.

What I Like: The story teaches children valuable lessons about responsibility, family values, and the dangers of giving in to temptation and making wrong choices.

What I Dislike: There are some typos in the text. They’re not major issues, but they are distracting. And, the author has a habit of starting most of the chapters in the present tense, and then abruptly switching to past tense. Again, it’s not a major issue, but it was a bit disconcerting.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: The suggested age group is 9-12. I think that the style of the book, and the way it is written, is geared more to a bit younger audience, more like 7-10.

Publisher Info: Tate Publishing and Enterprises, 2009; ISBN: 9781606960592; Paperback, 88 pages, $9.99.

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Why Do We Celebrate Easter?

If you want to get to the very heart of the Easter message, check out Mark I. Sutherland’s book Why Do We Celebrate Easter? This straight-forward story, nicely illustrated by Julie Hammond, begins with… well, the beginning of the world. Sutherland first reminds readers God created the world. Sutherland then shows the need for redemption by pointing out that even at that very early stage, “God knew that people would one day disobey Him. And when people disobeyed God, God knew that they couldn’t be with Him anymore and their disobedience would need to be punished.”

As Sutherland tells the story, he brings in a theme that is reiterated consistently throughout: God had a plan to bring people back to Him, and that plan involved God’s son, Jesus.

The story shows Jesus taking our punishment “instead of us, so that we could be with God forever and ever.” And it tells about the empty tomb.

After relaying the events following Jesus’ resurrection, Sutherland clearly states how readers can accept God’s saving grace. He ends the book answering the question about why we celebrate Easter.

What I Like: The illustrations were interesting, colorful, and kid-friendly. I also appreciated Sutherland starting with original sin, but then showing God’s plan already in action to redeem us. I especially liked how he repeated, “This was part of God’s plan.” I think that phrase will help reassure children that not only does God love us, but he can work even the most tragic events out for our good and His glory. I suspect this book would be a handy tool to help parents explain God’s gift of salvation.

What I Dislike: At times, I felt like more specific details were merited. Plus I would have liked a Scripture reference to go with the story so that if I wasn’t familiar with the Bible, I could quickly find the information I needed. (For example, if I was I kid, I would wonder why “bad men” thought they were “good enough to get to heaven by themselves” and why “one of Jesus’ best friends, Judas, told the bad men he would help them hurt Jesus.” Providing the reader with Scripture references better equips them to address such questions.) Plus, the author states that Jesus “grew up just like you and me.” While this is true, I think it is also important to note that Jesus was without sin, which is why he was able serve as a Savior for all mankind.

Overall Rating: Good

Age Appeal: The product description lists ages 3-9.

Publisher Info: Dunrobin Publishing, 2011; ISBN:978-0983236306; Paperback or Kindle, 28 PGS., $9.99.

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Coals of Fire

Coals of Fire, written by Elizabeth Hershberger Bauman, is a collection of non-fiction short stories that related to the Bible verse from Romans 12:20-21: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not overcome evil by doing evil, but overcome evil with good." Thus the title of the book.

Each story deals with some real-life characters facing adversity at the hands of their enemies. Although most of the stories are about people who lived later than 1800, some go back further in time, even to the Biblical stories of Jacob and Isaac.

There are 17 stories in all. Each one is no more than 10 pages and each one is proceeded by a Bible verse.

Detailed pencil sketch illustrations by Allan Eitzen are scattered throughout the text.

What I Like: I like biographies. These short biographies are interesting and easy to read. They demonstrate how real people coped with their enemies and those who wanted to persecute them.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Very good.

Age Appeal: 9-12.

Publisher Info: Herald Press, 1994; ISBN: 9780836119572; Paperback, 125 pages, $9.99.

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Special Info: Read our reviews of other books illustrated by Allan Eitzen.

Animals of the Bible for Young Children

Animals of the Bible for Young Children was written by Marie-Helene Delval and illustrated by Aurelia Fronty. Using age-appropriate language, it re-tells stories of the Bible that include animals. Even stories that feature animals in very minor roles get full attention here. With just one two-page spread devoted to each, the stories are short, ranging from one to seven sentences.

At the back of the book all of the include stories are listed with Scripture references so that readers may examine the full texts.

The bright illustrations remind me of Paul Gauguin's works. They feature heavy brushstrokes, a stylized technique, and lots of saturated color.

What I Like: I like the concept. My son cannot get enough books about animals. He loves them! I greatly appreciate the idea of using his interest in animals to get him more interested in Scripture. The index at the back is a wonderful inclusion. I'm always a fan of books that refer readers back to the source, in this case, specific passages of Scripture.

What I Dislike: This book didn't meet my expectations. Based on the book's title, target age range and the summary on the back cover, I expected animal facts and scientific trivia interwoven with Scriptural truths. Instead I got extremely short paraphrases of Bible stories that include animals. This would be fine if done thoroughly, but because the stories are so abbreviated and frequently taken out of context, the meanings behind these stories are lost. The cohesive nature and themes of the Bible are lost. My son (5 years old) was disappointed and became bored very quickly.

Overall Rating: I think this book would be nice for younger kids. For the specified age range (4-8), I rate it Ho-Hum. But for younger children (2-5), I rate it Good.

Age Appeal: The publisher says 4-8, but I recommend 2-5.

Publisher Info: Eerdman's Books for Young Readers, 2010; ISBN: 0802853765; Hardback; 88 pages; $16.50

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