Sammy, the Little Broken Shell

Sammy, the Little Broken Shell is a sweet book written by Carol Hamblet Adams with illustrations rendered by Linda Clearwater. Your child will enjoy diving into the world of Shellville and meeting the Scallop family.

Sammy is a little scallop that enjoys playing baseball, and has a lot of friends at the Shellementary School that he attends. However, his life changes suddenly when he is walking home from school one day with his sister Samantha. Captain Steve was checking his lobster traps and dropped his anchor down to the ocean floor. Sammy pushes his sister to safety, but in the process, the anchor chips a piece off of his shell.

When Sammy's friends see his broken shell, most of them ridicule him. Sammy feels so alone, and wonders if he will ever have his friends again.

Sammy's teacher, Miss Lucy, got ensnared in one of Captain Steve's lobster traps. No one is able to free her because no one had teeth sharp enough to cut the ropes. However, Sammy's chipped shell is sharp enough to cut the ropes and free his teacher.

Miss Lucy sees the situation as a great way to teach her pupils an important lesson:

"It doesn't matter what we look like on the outside. What matters most is what we are like on the inside, in our hearts ... The very gifts that make us different may help others the most, just like Sammy's broken shell. What's important is to know that no matter what we look like or feel like, we are very special people, just the way we are."


What I Like: This is a sweetly written, interesting story with a good lesson for children. There are also talking points for parents and teachers on the last page of the book.

What I Dislike: I don't dislike anything about this book.

Overall Rating: Excellent

Age Appeal: 4-8
 
Publisher Info: Harvest House Publishers, 2011; ISBN: ;Hardcover, 32 pgs., $14.99.

Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $10.99.

OR Buy it at Amazon.com for $11.69.

Moses' Memory Book

In Moses' Memory Book by Allia Zobel Nolan, you and your children see things from Moses' point of view. Linda Clearwater designed the scrapbook-inspired illustrations.

The book starts with God telling Moses to go to Pharaoh to tell him to let God's people go. As Pharaoh tells Moses he will, then goes back on his word, Moses shares his thoughts on how the Israelites react. When he finally leads them from Egypt, he talks about the frustrations he deals with leading 600,000 men, plus women, children, and livestock, from Egypt.

When the travelers get to the Promised Land, a group is sent in to learn about the land God gave them. Only Joshua and Caleb are confident they can defeat the giants that live there, so the Israelites decide they'd rather not go into the Promised Land. The band stays in the desert until Moses is 120 years old, and as the story ends, the Israelites are set to move into the Promised Land.

What I Like: I really like the concept of telling biblical stories from a first person perspective. Moses' Memory Book has a unique voice that brings the story of Moses to life.

Most of the cartoon illustrations have captions, enlightening the reader on what they're showing. More often than not, the captions are in Moses' "voice," with an interesting aside to the reader.

There's a glossary in back for new words for young readers. Terms like "abacus", "oy veh", and "Pharaoh" are defined.

What I Dislike: A couple of times, Moses' voice came across a bit too Valley-Girl-ish. While it's fun, it isn't believable as coming from a middle-aged man. (Would Moses really have used the term "Ewwwww!" when God turned his staff into a snake? Somehow I doubt it.)

When describing the giants who lived in the Promised Land, they're called Goliaths. While an apt description, if the writer had been historically accurate, she would have refrained from using this term, since Goliath comes from David's time, and Moses would have no knowledge of Goliath.

Nowhere in the book is there a reference to what part of the Bible the story comes from. There's a brief reference to Exodus after the glossary; however, it's only two verses.

Overall Rating: Very Good.

Age Appeal: 8 - 12

Publisher Info: Harvest House Publishers, 2010; ISBN: 978-0-7369-2543-3; Hardback 32 PGS $14.99

Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $11.99
OR Buy it at Amazon.com for $11.69

First Virtues for Toddlers

If you want help instilling good qualities like generosity and patience in your toddler or preschooler, First Virtues for Toddlers by Dr. Mary Manz Simon is a great addition to the family library.

This fat book contains 12 stories (originally published as individual books), each emphasizing a different virtue: kindness, truthfulness, loving nature, patience, forgiveness, friendliness, thankfulness, obedience, joyfulness, generosity, politeness, and a desire to do the best job possible. Each story is short, written in strong rhyme, and has cute pictures of animals drawn by Linda Clearwater, Dorothy Stott, Kathy Couri, and Phyllis Harris.

Here's an example of the text:

"If I make
a great big mess,
I'll be honest
and confess.

I will not steal
from a store.
I will pay
at the door."

Each chapter always refers back to the Bible, offering a simple biblical quote for children to memorize.

The last few pages of the book contain notes for parents, with ideas on promoting virtues.

What I Like: This book is well written and has adorable illustrations. What's not to like?

What I Dislike: My only complaint is that the parental notes would be more useful directly before or after the stories they pertain to, rather than squeezed in at the end of the book.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal: According to the publisher, infant to toddler, but because this isn't a board book, most parents won't be able to read it to their baby. In addition, my four year old (who tends to have advanced tastes) really enjoyed this book and it lead to several interesting conversations about good behavior.

Publishing Info: Standard, 2006; ISBN: 978-0784718483; hardback, $14.99

Buy Now at ChristianBook.com for $11.99

OR Buy Now at Amazon.com for $11.24

Noah's Notebook: How God Saved Me, My Family, and the Animals From the Flood

Noah’s Notebook: How God Saved Me, My Family, and the Animals from the Flood, written by Allia Zobel Nolan, is Noah’s diary and his story of building the ark. The book begins with “Entry #1” when God speaks to Noah and tells him to build an ark. “Haven’t told a soul – not even my wife – about this yet. But God talked to me today. Honest. I was standing in my garden, minding my own business, when I hear this voice. It’s not like you could mistake it. It was God, all right. And boy, was he upset.” Noah goes on to describe his conversation with God.

Right from the start, the text grabs you and holds your attention; it’s fast-paced and witty like this throughout the entire book. Noah tells about the animals coming onto the ark, about the rains and the long days on the ark, and the rainbow after the event.

There is a letter to the reader at the beginning of the book where the author explains how she came to write about Noah. She says she has always loved the story of this great adventurer. She wrote the book to “celebrate Noah and his great adventure of faith.” She put herself “in his sandals” and tried to imagine what it must have been like for him to be given such a monumental task.

Near the end of the book is a Glossary that identifies and defines a few terms used in the text such as “ark” and “gopher wood.” There is also a page of trivia titled “Stuff You May Not Know-A About Noah.”

On the last page of the book is a Bible reference from Genesis 9:1 (NIV): “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.’”

The illustrations by Linda Clearwater are delightful. They are not only bold and colorful, they are cartoon-like, making a perfect accompaniment to the text.

What I Like: Almost everything. Although the writing is great and the illustrations are wonderful, there are only a couple of entries about the actual building of the ark. Entry #3 is about planning the ark and how it will be made. Then for Entry #4, the author skips to the ark being finished and ready for the animals. This entry begins: “This is the first time I’ve had a chance to write in ages. But what great news I have. We’re finished, finally. It only took us a hundred years.” I thought there would be a few more entries about the actual building of the ark and how much time and effort it took Noah to do it.

What I Dislike: Other than what’s mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is nothing to dislike about this book. I still very much recommend it as it gives a refreshing look at a very important character in the Bible.

Overall Rating: Very Good.

Age Appeal: The publisher suggests 4-8 as the target audience, but I think “kids of all ages” will enjoy this delightful book.

Publisher Info: Publisher Info: Harvest House Publishers, 2009; ISBN: 0736925082; Hardback, $14.99.

Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $11.99.

OR Buy it at Amazon.com for $10.19.


Special Info: Visit the author’s website. Learn about the illustrator at the Harvest House Publisher’s website. Read our reviews of other books by Allia Zobel Nolan . Read our reviews of other books illustrated by Linda Clearwater.

My Easter Basket: And the true story of Easter

My Easter Basket: And the true story of Easter by Mary Manz Simon encourages a symbolic connection between the cultural aspects and the religious foundations of this holiday. It begins "The colors in this basket are my own special way for me to tell the story of that first Easter Day."

Through sturdy die-cut pages, the text then highlights different colors (green, purple, red, white, brown and yellow) and tells what these can remind us of the biblical story of Jesus. For example, green (this page shows an egg dyed green, but this could also relate to the green Easter grass) reminds us of the palm branches set before Jesus during his triumphal entry. The story, as told through these symbolic colors, goes from Palm Sunday through the resurrection on Easter Day. The book concludes with John 11:25, quoted from the International Children's Bible, New Century Version. "Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will have life even if he dies. And he who lives and believes in me will never die.'"

The illustrations by Linda Clearwater feature heavy outlines, vibrant colors and lots of glitter. While the main part of the book shows an Easter basket and all the goodies stuffed inside, an inset shows the events of the first Easter: Palm Sunday, the last supper, the rock rolled away, etc.

What I Like: Everything! This book incorporates current cultural traditions without making them the focus of the holiday. Rather it reminds children what's important about Easter by giving an accurate, but easy to understand retelling. The book is solid and attractive.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Age Appeal: The publisher says 3 and up, but I think younger children would enjoy it as well. I would say 0-6.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Publisher Info: Standard Publishing Company, 2003; ISBN: 0784713561; Die-cut Board Book; $13.99

Buy it Now at Amazon.com for $13.99!

Special Info: Please note that the book references wine at the last supper. (The color purple symbolizes this.) Also, three of the illustrations show Jesus's face.