Guest Author - Diana Pederson

Finding quality Christian books for your children can be a challenge for any parent. We want our children to learn to love reading. However, those “Harry Potter” books aren’t teaching the values we want our children to learn. Here are two books, one intended for elementary youth, and a Bible for your Toddlers and perhaps, your beginning readers. These books are everything you could ask for.

Dave & Neta Jackson. Hero Tales: Vol. II. Bethany House. 1997.

Each book in this series presents stories of key Christian heroes. The stories emphasize the character traits of: courage, creativity, destiny, discernment, faith, faithfulness, forgiveness, friendship, generosity, honesty, humility, humor, integrity, joy, justice, kindness, love, loyalty, mercy, obedience, patience, peace, perseverance, prayer, reconciliation, repentance, respect, restitution, sacrifice, sportsmanship, surrender, thankfulness, trust, truth, and wisdom. Sixty Christian heroes are included in the total series of books.

Examples from Volume II include Florence Nightingale, Jim Elliot, and John Bunyan. Each story is short, making it more likely that your child won’t lose interest before the conclusion. The stories conclude with a definition of the character trait being emphasized. Then a scripture verse discussing that trait is provided. A series of questions allow the parent and child to effectively discuss the meaning of the story.

Recommendation

I really like this series of books. They should be on the shelves of every Christian family. It is so hard today to find appropriate heroes for our children. Obviously, most of our sports stars aren’t hero material. Sadly, choices such as musicians, movie stars, politicians, or local church leaders can leave much to be desired.

Parents will not have to worry about what their children are reading when they purchase this series of books. I strongly recommend them for upper elementary youth. Perhaps your middle school-aged children would enjoy reading them aloud to their younger brothers and/or sisters.

Juliet David and Helen Pole. Candle Bible for Toddlers. Candle Books/Kregel Publications. 2006.

This is a Bible intended for toddlers. It is also suitable for beginning readers. I loved reading through the simplified Bible stories and looking at the very colorful illustrations. Clearly, this Bible will help your young children learn to enjoy God’s word.

Recommendation

I suggest purchasing this Bible for any family with young children. You may want to give it to your church nursery workers too. It will surely help them teach children to enjoy God’s word.