Peace on Earth: A Christmas Collection

My children and I love Mary Engelbreit's picture books - so when I saw that Engelbreit had a new Christmas book called Peace on Earth: A Christmas Collection, I couldn't wait to snuggle on the couch with my kids and dig in.

Any Mary Engelbreit book really begins with the illustrations. Colorful, cheerful, and full of childhood delight, the illustrations in Peace on Earth don't disappoint. You'll find lots of rosy-cheeked children, plus beautiful angels, cute critters, and sublime biblical characters.

The text in this book is all borrowed - a collection of Christmas carols, poems, prose, and excerpts from the Bible. The book begins with a brief re-telling of Jesus' birth, followed by a Christina Rossetti poem ("Love came down at Christmas,/Love, all lovely, love divine"), an excerpt from the gospel of Luke about the angels announcing Jesus' birth to the shepherds, another poem, and so on.

I was unfamiliar with most of the content, with the exception of the Bible stories and the carols. One gem was "Friendly Beasts," a poem without attribution, about the animals in the stable where Jesus was born. I found it one of the most little-kid-friendly inclusions:

"'I' said the donkey,
shaggy and brown,
'I carried His mother
up hill and down.
I carried her safely
to Bethlehem town.'
'I,' said the donkey,
shaggy and brown."

Ethel Van Deusen Humiston's poem "A Child's Christmas Eve Dream" is sweet and fits in well with the "Peace on Earth" theme, imagining a time when all children will be free. William Blake's "The Lamb" was a hit with both my children, as the author reminded a lamb he was made by God and that Christ was well named after him. Carols included are: "The First Noel," "Silent Night," "Angels We Have Heard on High," and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." Bible excerpts or retellings included are: Jesus' birth in a stable, the shepherds encounter with the angels, and the magi following the star and worshiping Jesus. There are also some gorgeous full page "posters:" Beautiful illustrations with Engelbreit's signature sayings on them.

What I Like: Both my children and I enjoyed this book. Perhaps not as much as Engelbreit's other books - but we're still glad to add it to our collection. The illustrations are lovely and much of the content is great.

What I Dislike: My children (5 and 8) found some of the text slightly on the boring side. There are a couple of rather philosophical pieces that are better suited to an older crowd. In addition, not all the text is specifically Christmas related. Examples include the poem "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and "Let There Be Peace on Earth." I didn't mind this too much, but my children did.

Overall Rating: Very Good.

Age Appeal: 5 to adult.

Publishing Info: Zonderkidz; 2013; ISBN: 978-0310743408; hardback, 40 pgs., $17.99

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Special Info: In this book, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are sometimes shown with halos. Also, check out our reviews for other Mary Engelbreit Christmas books.

Miracles of Jesus

Miracles of Jesus as retold by Carolyn Larsen is a delightful recounting of our Lord's best known miracles, including the healing of a blind man, the healing of the ten lepers, and the healing of Jairus' daughter.  The book also includes the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, the calming of the storm, the raising from the dead of Lazarus, and the Transfiguration.
All in all, Larsen includes eleven Bible stories to capture the minds and hearts of young readers with the truth of God's Word.

What I Like: I like the simple way in which the author retells the Biblical accounts of Christ's miracles.  She has the ability to break down the elements of each miracle into bite-sized pieces that are easily digestible by children even as young as three years of age. At the same time, she does not "dumb down" the vocabulary of the book but stretches the young reader not only spiritually but also intellectually.

Each story is preceded by a reference to the passage in which the miracle is found in the Bible.  Parents are thereby encouraged to read the account directly from the Word of God before reading the retelling of the Bible story. The book is very well-suited to bedtime reading or family devotions. It also works well as a read-alone book by older children.

The beautiful illustrations are reproduced from Standard Publishing's Classic Bible Art Collection.

What I Dislike: Since I am a stickler for Biblical accuracy, I read this book with a fine-tooth comb, looking for any discrepancies from the original Bible story. While Larsen remains true to the Biblical story, she does paraphrase some of the words of Jesus as recorded in the Bible. While her intent is to simplify for the young reader, I believe that, when it comes to the direct words of Christ, they should not be altered or paraphrased.
 
Overall Rating: Very good

Age Appeal:  3 years and up

Publisher Info: Standard Publishing, 2012; ISBN: 978-0-7847-3526-8; Hardcover, 32 pgs., $7.99.

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Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims

It is pretty hard to imagine what those before us went through. Imagine: crossing the ocean on a small boat, in filthy conditions, with people who hate you. In Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims by Rush Limbaugh, history comes to life as you experience what it was like in the New World alongside William Bradford and Myles Standish, including their trip across the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower.

Rush Revere isn't your ordinary, boring substitute history teacher. With his talking horse, Liberty, he has the ability to actually show his pupils history. Liberty has some special powers, namely the ability to time travel anywhere in American history. And, when Rush Revere jumps on his back and Liberty calls out the special words, they can jump through time and walk and talk with anyone in American history.

For this lesson, Rush wants to teach the kids in Manchester Middle School's honors history class about the Puritans. Using Liberty's abilities and the help of his one-of-a-kind iPhone adapter, Rush jumps back to the time of the launching of the Mayflower from Holland, and broadcasts his experiences with William Bradford back to his class. But one pupil, Freedom, is suspicious, and sees Rush and Liberty make the jump. When they return, Freedom confronts her teacher, along with Tommy, who is the class troublemaker.

Rush Revere comes clean with Tommy and Freedom about Liberty's abilities, and asks the two middle schoolers if they'd like to experience history for themselves. They agree, and soon, they're taking part in the Puritans journey to the first Thanksgiving.

What I Like: I really love EVERYTHING about this book! I will admit: I have been a listener of Limbaugh's radio show for 20 years, and when he announced he was releasing this book, I was excited, but a little trepidatious. Could he write fiction? Other than a few minor fumbles in craft, I found the writing wonderful, and the story engaging. But, with a horse named Liberty, it has to be good!

The book is a treasure in and of itself. The cover is beautiful and the pages are works of art. Inside are multiple illustrations and photographs, some for the purposes of story-telling by Chris Hiers (website published December 2013), but others which come from sources like Getty Images or the Library of Congress to show the lives of the Puritans who landed at Plimouth (as they spelled it.)

Tommy and Freedom are both enjoyable characters to get to know through the story, and are believable kids of an indeterminate middle school age. When they go back to 1620-1621, it's very authentic, especially when they make faux pas, referencing present day things like salsa and county fairs (which the Puritans wouldn't have been able to experience.)

And, while Mr. Limbaugh is no theologian, it is evident throughout the pages he wanted to make sure God was included in the story of Thanksgiving. William Bradford frequently references God and their desires to escape religious persecution, as well as God's hand on their journey. Even facing great difficulties, his belief that God's blessing would be on their journey strengthened not only the Puritans but the others who traveled with him aboard the Mayflower to the New World.

Also, at the end, there's a quiz from Liberty the horse. Answers are found at the TwoIfByTea.com website. 

What I Dislike: All of the very minor issues I have are with craft, as well as one issue towards the end of the book with a layout problem. William Bradford "writes" a letter to Rush Revere to invite him, Tommy, and Freedom to what would be the first Thanksgiving, and the placement of said letter is a couple of pages later than it's referenced, so you have to jump a couple pages up, then back, after reading it or the story doesn't make much sense. However, and it does not detract from the overall quality of the book.

Overall Rating: Excellent

Age Appeal: Marketed for 10 - 15, but kids younger and older would also enjoy this.

Publisher Info: Simon & Schuster, 2013; ISBN: 978-1-4767-5586-1; Hardback, 212 pgs., $19.99

Special Info:  While not foul-mouthed, Liberty the talking/time-travelling horse is a bit of a smart-mouth and can be a trouble-maker. Depending on the age of your children, you may want to discuss the fact that speaking to adults in the way Liberty does is not appropriate.

Also, Freedom is a Native American/Indian girl who "has the ability to communicate with animals." This does not play a major role in the story, although there is a scene where she communicates with a deer.

Buy it as a hardback at Amazon.com for $11.99. Also available in a Kindle format for $5.99, Unabridged audiobook on CD for $11.69, or an Audible.com download for $11.95.