Saturday, July 17, 2010

Tell Me the Secrets


When their ball goes sailing through a window, three teenagers - Landon, Eric and Shannon - are forced to meet their new neighbors. Josh and Melva are a couple who have just bought the Shadow House, a spooky-looking house in town. It turns out the couple are retired missionaries and they are finally settling down in town.

The kids and the couple become very good friends. The husband has a book he calls his book of secrets - the secrets of life - which is a collection of stories he has gathered over the years. Whenever one of the kids has a question about a problem in their life, Josh digs out his book and finds a story that is appropriate for the occasion. The stories use parables to teach lessons or offer guidance when needed in the areas of forgiveness, peace, victory, etc.

Tell Me the Secrets, by Max Lucado, incorporates the collection of stories into the story line of the book’s characters. The title of the book comes from Josh’s explanation of the stories.

The book is divided into chapters. Each chapter is referenced by a Bible verse. All the chapters incorporate some type of extra story into the book’s story line although not all of the stories come directly from Josh’s “book of secrets.”

The illustrations by Ron DiCianni have a spiritual quality about them as they are all use light to create the appearance of a spiritual being in the midst of illustrations of earthly beings.

What I Like: I like how the author incorporates the extra short stories into the storyline.

What I Dislike: However, having said that, I think I should point out that once again he has re-used some stories from previous books in this collection of stories. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I just thought I’d mention it for those readers who are familiar with Max Lucado’s work.

Overall Rating: Very good.

Age Appeal: 9-12.

Publisher Info: Crossway Books, 2004; ISBN: 1581345224; Hardcover, $16.99.

Buy now at ChristianBook $12.99!
Or buy at Amazon.com $11.55.
Special Info: Visit the author’s website. Visit the illustrator’s website. Read our reviews of other books written by Max Lucado. Read our reviews of other books illustrated by Ron DiCianni.


1 comment:

Ticia said...

I remember reading this at one point a while ago in college and loving the concept.