Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing

November 15, 2012
Grades 1-4 Illustrated with dramatic, soft-edged digital artwork, the 101 free-verse poems in this spacious collection present Christian messages from the Bible to talk about at home and in church groups. The frequent question-and-answer format adds to the conversational tone, starting with lines accompanying an image of a huge horse leaping across the end pages: God loves the horse / how much more must he love you? Dance! shows the whole universe dancing around the sun. In contrast is Cataclysm!, which discusses planets that are in uproar because we sinned. Some entries are lighthearted: just as you don't put porridge in a car engine, the Bible says don't put anyone except God in the center of your life. Most, though, are serious and may disturb some, even as they stress forgiveness: God transformed murderers such as Moses and St. Paul into heroic leaders what could he do for you? At the bottom of each page is the biblical passage on which the poem is based, and appended sources are paired with more things to think about. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2013
Over one-hundred daily devotions for children are presented on handsomely illustrated spreads, each one elucidating a Biblical passage with conversational text and child-friendly images. Christian families may find this to be a helpful tool to teach children simple wisdoms such as "if Jesus can calm a storm on a lake, he can calm the storm in your heart."

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)