Today we are going to share with you some wonderful religious themed books for different ages. This post will also include three Hazel's Corners! The first is Princess Prayers by Jeanna Young, Jacqueline Kinney Johnson, and Omar Aranda. This a sparkly book filled with prayers for various times of day and different events for your little princess.
The prayers are simple, but beautiful. They go through many different themes on which to pray from I Am Sorry to God's Love and Praise the Lord. The words of the prayers are written in a simpler version of church prayers. They sound a lot like the ones said in churches, but have simpler words for kids to understand and read.
I liked this book. I think it is a great book for girls when girls want to pray and want ideas for what to say. I like how it has prayers for the morning then other prayers and then the nighttime prayer at the end. I like the pictures because they have detail. I give this one four stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Our next book is Love Letters from God: Bible Stories for a Girl's Heart by Glenys and illustrated by Rachel Clowes. In this book the stories of fourteen women from the Bible are shared along with a personalizable letter from God. The letter shares God's love as well as relating the story to qualities the girl should thrive for or already possesses.
The overall messages of the letters is God's love and support. It is a wonderful way to learn about the strong women of the Bible and see how their lives relate to a young girl's life.
Each story is on one side of the page with a colorful illustration that continues on the other side. Then there is a folded card that is on the page that contains the letter.
I love how the letter brings the stories into the girl's life and time period. It personalizes the story for the child and reminds her of God's love. The illustrations are also beautiful and aid in picturing the story. It once again provides a look at some of the women of the Bible and shares a bit of their lives with the girls. The stories can be a bit simplified, but that makes it perfect for the younger girls.
Our next book is the first book in a series of five books (so far) called Chime Travelers by Lisa M. Hendey and illustrated by Jenn Bower. It involves twins who are Catholic and attend a Catholic school at their church. There seems to be some magic in the church bells. When the twins are at the church and alone as the bells toll they have magical experience of traveling through time and to different parts of the world. In the first book, The Secret of the Shamrock, Patrick is cleaning the confessional when the bells chime and the next thing he knows is he is in Ireland with a shepherd. He realizes the shepherd will become St. Patrick as their adventure goes on.
Throughout the story the reader learns about St. Patrick and his life while the boy, Patrick, learns to share in St. Patrick's faith and love of God. All Patrick wants is to get home and all the shepherd wants is to get home as well. The shepherd was kidnapped from his family and forced to be a slave. Patrick meets St. Patrick before he is a priest while he is a slave and escapes with him. Then he travels in time again and sees Patrick as a bishop in Ireland. Imagine Patrick's confusion when he spent days upon days in Ireland, but in his time no time has passed. His twin sister is not sure she believes his tale about Ireland but does notice something is different about him.
This chapter book is a pretty easy reader. Each chapter has an illustration in it, but not on every page. It is ideal for kids in grades 2-5. Hazel and I are reading the entire series together at bedtime. I find them interesting to learn a bit more about the catholic church and teach her a bit about it. Steve is Catholic, so it is part of her family history as well.
I thought this was a good book. I like the idea of if but would like to change a few things. I think kids would like it, because you always want to read more to know what happens next. I would give this book four stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The final book today is for your high school students and/or graduates. It is about finding a college where you will be able to keep God in your life. It is Welcome to College by Jonathan Morrow. Going off to college is a huge step in life. It is often the first time where a young adult has to make many choices for him or herself on a daily basis. It is also a time when many people stop going to church and pull away from God and their religious practices. (I know I did.) So as a mother who is raising her daughter to be a good Christian, I do wonder what will happen as she gets older. Will she get to college and forget all the Christian schooling we are putting her through now? Will she feel pressure to do things that are not very Christian? Will she go to church regularly? Is there something we can do to make sure she can maintain her Christian faith while she is away from us? What happens when she has professors or peers that questions our beliefs? Well this book answers it all.
This book helps prepare the Christian young adult for college and the experiences and questions that may happen there. It addresses the Bible's view on alcohol as well as on evolution. It will also make the reader look at his or her own faith and personal beliefs. Life is a journey and college is a huge adventure for many young adults. This book is the perfect book to help explore his or her own faith and give him or her answers as well as guidance through this first time away from home with people from different areas and cultures. Do you know someone who needs this book for their next journey?
