Friday, December 12, 2014

Don't Forget to Add these to the Christmas Stocking! Part 1

Please check your local Christian bookstore and give them your business first. So many are struggling.

Suggestion: If you give the book as a gift, consider adding cute colorful markers for writing in the book or the craft supplies to make one or more of the crafts.
For ages 5-8ish girls:


 REVIEW: (I copied these from amazon.com so there are different sizes, styles etc)
My daughters and I have been reading this book together and we just love it! We have really enjoyed the fun activities included in the book and my girls look forward to reading together each day. We love that it all comes from a biblical perspective and that the girls are learning important things, like working together!
 REVIEWS:
Oh my goodness! We started a Bible study with grade 2/3 girls (10 of them) and we all LOVE the book and the small group of girls! We were going to meet every 2 weeks but are now meeting weekly. The book is great, goes through every book of the Bible, some less thoroughly than others, and it is awesome! We gave each girl one of the backpack Bibles for girls as well. This book makes an awesome book to do with a couple of girls.


Just for Me! The Bible

The Just for Me! series includes a number of nonfiction activity books targeting specific age ranges. This title, Just for Me: The Bible, is "a fun guide just for girls ages 6-9." Written by Katrina Cassel, it incorporates stories, puzzles, games and activities with solid information about the Bible.This book follows sisters Katie and Sarah as they encounter life. Each of their stories relates back to a lesson or introduces a specific story or fact from or about the Bible. Their father serves as a guide on this journey of discovery.
The text is broken into ten chapters. Each includes several invitations for interaction, from mazes, Rebus activities and memory verses to crafts, quizzes and codes to decipher. Every book of the protestant Bible is presented, from Genesis to Revelation, with at least one major story from that book.
The illustrations by Shelley Dieterichs offer simple line drawings done in black and white. An additional novelty: the book comes with a cross-shaped carabiner.

What I Like: This books offers an excellent foundation of biblical knowledge for young girls and does it in an interesting way. I like that the information goes beyond Bible stories to Bible knowledge, like who wrote the Bible, how long did it take, etc. The activities are varied, which is great for maintaining interest. I also like the connections made between then and now. Sarah and Katie's stories help show how relevant the Bible is to us today. This book would be a wonderful tool for road trips!
REVIEW:
Just For Me! Friends: A Fun Guide Just For Girls Ages 6-9, written and illustrated by Katrina Cassel, is, as the title says, "a fun guide just for girls."

This girl-friendly book is packed with information and ideas about friendship. The book is divided into nine chapters. Each chapter deals with some aspect of friendship, such as the definition of a friend, how to be a good friend, and tips on finding and making friends.

Each chapter also has at least one friendship-related puzzle, Bible verse and "girl story." Many chapters also have activities and quizzes. The book is interactive with places throughout the pages for the reader to record their thoughts and ideas.

Numerous pencil-sketches illustrate the pages. Answers to the puzzles can be found in the back of the book.

What I Like: Everything.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal: 6-9

Christine M. Irvin - Christian Children's Book Review



Girls ages 7-11, although the interest level goes higher (I'd planned it for 8-12s)
REVIEWS:
Promises for God's Princesses is a devotional book that is geared toward girls ages seven to eleven years old. This book is a ideal pick to getting girls interested in starting daily devotions or if they are just looking for another great one to add to their collection. This book is an ideal choice for all girls no matter what their interest or specific personality type.

In this book there are 100 devotions. The devotions are numbered but not dated. I like the the devotions aren't dated because if one is missed, you can simply just read the next one without worrying about falling behind. Each of the devotions start with a title followed by scripture and a short devotion inspired by the scripture mentioned. At the end of the devotion, there's a application which asks questions and encourages the reader to reach out to God in prayer pertaining to what was read. I would say each devotion could be read in about 10-15 minutes and the application time depends on the style of the reader. I know as well as praying, some girls like to journal and this book would fit well with any specific style as a leeway.

The book is hard cover so it makes this devotional easy to take along without worry of it wearing out easily. The outer cover features cute illustrations of all types of girl characters representing different things such as knitting, reading, painting, soccer, fashion, and more. The inner pages are very light on imaging but still look very nice. The text in the book is a nice teal color. The images on the pages include circles, butterflies, flowers, ladybugs, and an image of one of the girl illustrations featured on the cover. The book is super cute and does well to appeal to the desired age range.

The devotions are written well and offer encouragement, self discovery, and inspiration to Walk with God. Girls will discover who they are in God and how they can be more like Him in their day to day. Rest and reflection are certainly important in our world which seems to be ever so busy. I think teaching girls and offering books such as these to them is most important. I would most certainly recommend this devotional.


"Promises for God's Princesses" by Katrina Cassel is a super cute devotional for girls. I would say that this devotional is appropriate for middle school girls and older. The devotional is girlie, and carries the theme of being royalty in God's family, but it tackles a lot of tough issues that teenagers face. The devotionals themselves are short, only one page (front and back) for every day.

I liked the variety of topics that are discussed in these devotions. Cassel touches on kindness, listening, being an example, filling the mind with good things, hard work, faithfulness, and dignity. The devotions do a great job of pulling together situations that teens can relate to and Biblical principles and truths to encourage Christian growth.

Each devotion has a Bible verse that is the basis for the message, and it is printed in a large, bold font at the top of every devotion. This makes it really easy to know what the bottom line message is, and where to find it in the Bible, for further reading and study. With references to social situations, pop culture, and historical events, this devotion is the perfect daily reading for the teen/tween in your house.

My daughter is a little too young for this one, but I plan on holding onto it for a few years until she is old enough to really understand it better. I would highly recommend this one for those looking for a way to get the girl in your life into the devotional routine. This one does a great job of tying together things that are interesting and relevant with Scripture. Loved it.

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