If He Had Not Come By David Nicholson

This is an amazing book! Especially around Christmas! This is one of our family favorite Christmas stories that we will read year after year. It's a tradition now for us.
This book gives the question what would happen if Jesus hadn't come? And there are some amazing discussion questions to explore that more.
It is a great book to read as a family, to read in church to a Sunday school class, etc. The message is fantastic, the story flows so well.
A little boy is getting ready for Christmas and looking forward to the presents he hopes to get. He reads the bible before bed with his father, and goes to bed thinking of what they read. Then he wakes up and there is no Christmas, there are no places to help people in need, and there are rude people all around. He is so lost in this new world and cannot understand what happened?
This story shows so many great points about Christmas and Jesus, and the NEED for Jesus. A few great points are that Christmas isn't just about presents, what would happen to our world if there was no Jesus and no forgiveness for our sins? It really got my children thinking on this, and thinking how the entire world would be if things were changed like this. This story captured their attention and had them asking all sorts of questions throughout. They didn't once lose interest, and fully enjoyed this story. I highly recommend it to families, and to put it on your Christmas book list.


I rate this book:: 5/5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟


This book is available on Amazon.


Click here to see my review on Goodreads.



::Product Description::

• Age Range: 4 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 1 - 2
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Westbow Press (May 16, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1490818103
• ISBN-13: 978-1490818108
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a BookLook member in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

God's Easter Miracles

:::From the back of the book:::

In God's Easter Miracles, the sea kids learn that Easter isn't about the Easter bunny or candy. It's about Jesus Christ giving up His life for all of us, and how we are to sacrifice ourselves for others. 

Paul, who is autistic, struggles with relationships, Jimmy doesn't want to share, and Lenny clings to life due to a terrible boat accident. On Easter Sunday, the children witness the power of their prayers. Their Sunday School teacher, Miss Linda, tells the children, "Truly, God has blessed us with many Easter miracles. Lenny was healed, and Jimmy asked Jesus into his heart." Even Paul has a miraculous change of heart. A true lesson of becoming more like Jesus is learned in this beautiful Easter story of love and grace.



:::My Thoughts:::

God's Easter Miracles, written by Lee Ann Mancini, is part of the multi-award winning Adventures of the Sea Kids series. It is a fantastic book for the littles, and would make an amazing addition to any home or church library. It is a great book to teach children about Jesus's love for us. There are many different great learning messages contained within the pages of this book. From teaching the important of prayer not only for yourself or others, but also teaching about compassion and friendship. We greatly enjoyed this book. We read it as a family and my children that can read on their own read it alone as well. It is more than just a book to read. There are little symbols hidden throughout the book on the pages for children to find, which makes it very interactive as well. The story flowed nicely and is very easy for children to understand which is wonderful. This is a book that far extends beyond just Easter, but has great lessons for everyday life. The pictures are also very well illustrated. They are nicely done, colorful, and fun. It will definitely pull your kids into the pages, and transport them. I can't wait to check out more books from this wonderful author. I highly recommend it.



:::Find this book at some of the following:::
Amazon   ChristianBook.com   Walmart   Barnes & Noble  




:::Product Details:::

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
• Grade Level: Preschool - 3
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: GLM PUBLISHING (February 1, 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0997332514
• ISBN-13: 978-0997332513

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a BookCrash member in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

The Behemoth Dinosaur In The Land of UZ

::About the book::
The behemoth walks to the well to get water and sees his friend Job. Job becomes excited to see him and hugs him. Many villagers want the behemoth out of the village. But at the end, everything changes.


::My Thoughts::
I love dinosaurs, my kids love dinosaurs, and let's be real who doesn't love dinosaurs? So I was quite excited to get the chance to review this book. I thought it would be fun for my kids, and so we got to try it out.
This book is great whether you speak English or Spanish because it has translation for both. It's rare to see a bilingual book so this is a nice feature. This is good to know before you start reading the book so you don't get confused.
The story is kind of hard to follow, and doesn't really capture the readers interest like it should. Still it has possibilities, and if you have a young one that uses a lot of imagination then really it isn't all that bad. It isn't something I would say run and purchase right away, but everyone is different. What we may not have liked, you may. So you will have to use your own judgement on that. I don't think we will personally read this story again. It was kind of a once and done for us. It was hard to follow, there were some grammatical errors which is fine for me because I know what the writer means. However, it's not so fine when you have a young reader trying to make sense of the words themselves. This is a great little story to learn more about Job, I just didn't feel many other lessons were present in this book.
I do like that finally there is a book that mixes Dinosaurs with the Bible. This will engage young readers attention. However, I just overall felt like the book fell kind of short.

If you would like to get a copy to read just click here

::Product Details::

• File Size: 4103 KB
• Print Length: 33 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: WestBow Press (July 2, 2014)
• Publication Date: July 2, 2014
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00LO3RRA8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled 
• X-Ray:
  Not Enabled 
• Word Wise: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a BookLookBlogger in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

God Gave Us Easter

The Easter Bunny, egg hunts, candy filled baskets, oh my! What happened to the REAL meaning of Easter? What happened to teaching our children about Jesus' Resurrection as the actual reason for Easter? We can still have fun with our children with the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, and candy filled baskets. It's just so easy to lose the actual reason to celebrate Easter. Maybe it seems too hard to explain to our children? Luckily this is a book that will help with that.

It's so refreshing to find a colorful children's book that tells the TRUE meaning of Easter. Most books focus on the egg hunts, the Easter bunny, etc. This book however, puts things in an easy to understand manner for kids to take in. While this book in no way leaves out the Easter Bunny, it explains there's more to Easter than that. I love how Papa Bear takes the little bear on a walk to look at nature. God made everything, and along the journey Papa Bear explains how God had a plan for Easter from the beginning. Papa Bear shows his young one how death can bear fruit to life, but not in an upsetting or complicated way.
I also like how the author gave examples of how even the smallest voice can speak to Jesus, and how we can hear him in our hearts. That was my child's favorite part of the story. My preschooler especially took the most away from it. He has been asking questions about Easter, and this was the perfect book to answer those questions. He now knows we wouldn't have Easter if it weren't for Jesus, and He is the reason. My preschooler is also still excited about the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, baskets, etc., but he is now excited that we are celebrating Jesus coming back to life.
This is the perfect book for toddlers and elementary aged children. The illustrations are, as always, bright and detailed. The polar bear family makes the story fun and engaging, and this is definitely a book you can discuss with your children.


This book is available in the following formats:   Kindle   Nook   Hardcover   eBook

There are more books in the God Gave Us...series. If you liked this book check out some of the others: http://lisatawnbergren.com/books/

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are my own.

God Gave Us Christmas ~Book Review

Reading level: Ages 3 and up
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Multnomah
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400071755
ISBN-13: 978-1400071753

::My Thoughts::
Lisa Tawn Bergen, author of the "God Gave Us..." children's books, has once again brought us a fantastic book to read to our children. God Gave Us Christmas is by far one of the best books I have had the pleasure to read to my kids. Christmas is a touchy issue with children. They are young and don't always fully comprehend that Christmas isn't just about presents and Santa Claus, but is in fact Jesus's birthday. Without Jesus there would be no Christmas. This is the perfect book to get that message across to little ones. Answering the simple question: "Who 'vented Christmas?" "Was it Santa?" "Is God more important than Santa?" While not shrugging off Santa and saying he isn't real, this book instead gives perfectly good explanations. Everything is easy for children to understand and is put across in a very gentle way.
As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate Christmas, Little Cub starts wondering about this very special day. She starts to ask Mama Bear questions so Mama Bear decides to take her on a little journey so she can see God and learn just how much He loves them all. Along their journey together Little Cub learns that the best gift of all is, in fact, Jesus.
My children were riveted with this book and we have been reading it every week. As you embark on the journey along with Mama Bear and her sweet little bear cub the whole family can genuinely enjoy this book.
As the bear cub asks questions about Christmas, Santa, etc., Mama Bear decides to take her on a little journey she won't soon forget. Along their journey questions are answered and seen before their very eyes.
I love how Mama Bear points out to her cub that the lights, ice, etc. are God. It really helps your children see that God is everywhere, in every beautiful thing on earth. Just because we cannot see an image of God he is everywhere and in everything.
The illustrations are beautiful and definitely will capture your children's attentions. They are full of color and are just fun and exciting. There is much for your kids to point out in the pictures as you turn each page.
For my children this book has helped shed light on the true meaning of Christmas without dampening their hopes and joys of Santa. In today's world Christmas is advertised as gifts, Santa, snowmen, etc. While all those things are perfectly fine they can't take away the true reason for such a wonderful day.
Even though this will be a book that we will read throughout the entire year, it is also sure to become a Christmas tradition.
This book would compliment any child's bookshelf, and would be an excellent book to read in Sunday class. Everyone around that hears this magnetic story will take something wonderful away from it, and you won't soon forget.



This book is available in   Hardcover   Kindle   Nook   eBook

You can download a God Gave Us Christmas coloring page by clicking here



Disclaimer: I received this book for free through WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Donkey's First Christmas Book Review

Paperback: 24 pages

Publisher: Tilli Publishing (November 1, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1908053011

ISBN-13: 978-1908053015

We LOVED this story. What a delightful children’s book! I found so much intriguing about this book.
The story is about a little donkey who is very stubborn and lazy. He doesn’t want to do any work so when people come by to hire a donkey he does everything in his power to make sure they don’t pick him. One day a man comes by that isn’t swayed by the little donkey’s tactics, and asks his owner how much. Being so fed up that the donkey is basically useless the owner laughs and just gives him to the man. To the donkey’s dismay he is taken to start his journey. He sees the load he is suppose to carry is a very pregnant woman, and he tries again to get out of this hard work ahead of him.
However the woman treats his stubbornness with kindness and offers him a treat. This seems to calm the donkey a bit and he finally acquiesces to the journey. She continues to give the donkey encouragement and praise even when he wants to give up. With every encouragement the woman gives him he pushes himself further and before they know it they reach their destination.

It’s obvious that the donkey is carrying a very pregnant Mary on their journey. The most important part of this book I think, of course, is Jesus’ birth taking place. But what else really touched me about this book is how if we treat unwillingness with kindness and encouragement it can actually give others motivation to want to try harder. They just need someone to believe in them. This whole book was just wonderful! One of our favorites for sure. My son is four and he can’t get enough of this book. The illustrations are amazing and colorful and just so fun, the text font is really fun as well and almost resembles a young child’s writing what with the large O’s everywhere. I loved that this book rhymes which makes it all that more fun for children. The whole story just flowed so easily and naturally I was impressed. This book is gender neutral so both boys and girls would enjoy this book. It is not only a great read incorporating Jesus and Christian faith, but it’s inspiring for all ages. I definitely recommend this book. I have no gripes whatsoever about this book, and neither does my four year old son. Everything was just amazingly put together. This book definitely makes our list of top ten favorite children’s stories.

Want to check out my star rating for this book on Goodreads and Amazon?
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Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Littlest Elf Review

Christopher e. Cricket isn’t like most crickets. He dreams of a place with bright lights, warmth, and festivities. Unlike his cricket friends Christopher admires the humans with their cozy houses and green lawns.
As winter approaches, his cricket friends urge him to start building his den.
Christopher refuses and declares he is going to stay out to see what winter is really all about. Sure that he will freeze they plead with him to reconsider, but he doesn’t relent.
Eventually with winter’s arrival comes snow, and Christopher finds himself colder than he could ever imagine. However a glimpse in a window shows him a beautiful Christmas tree, glowing lights, and carols that warm his heart. The humans sing of Christ and it fills his little heart with warmth. However the cold gets to him, and he falls into a deep sleep.
He awakens on the lap of none other than old St. Nick himself and sees the elves all around the room decorating the tree and frolicking about.
Filled with many questions about Christmas, Christ, and St. Nick he gets all the answers he could ever hope for and then some.
　
My Thoughts:
When I first found this book, judging from the cover, I took this to be a book about an elf. Not only because of the title, but the cover shows four elves decorating for Christmas. I felt this was misleading since the book is about a cricket, so somewhere on the cover should have depicted a cricket. However, that’s why we should never judge a book by it’s cover right? After reading the synopsis of the book we do learn it is indeed about a curious cricket.
I did enjoy the story plot itself, but the story did seem to skip around a lot. However, the story itself still held together well despite that. Even though it did skip around a bit I didn‘t feel lost. I would not recommend this book for young children under the age of seven since there are so little pictures to go along with the story. Out of 30 pages there are only like 6 pictures. The majority of the pages are just words which was a shame because the pictures were very well done. I think this book is better suited for children aged 8+ who are learning to read books by themselves. It would make an excellent starter book for new advanced readers.
The pictures were well drawn and very colorful. It would have been wonderful had there been more colorful pictures to enjoy with every page.
What I loved most about this book was that it combines Christ and St. Nick in a great way. Since both are a huge influence on children it was nice to finally see the two combined. Especially since it touches base on the true meaning of Christmas. Plus something a little extra that touched me is that big hearts can come in small packages. :)

If your interested in this book you can CHECK IT OUT HERE


Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Product Details

• Paperback: 30 pages
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc. (August 30, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434912450
• ISBN-13: 978-1434912459

This Little Prayer of Mine Book Review

In a world as unpredictable as the one we live in today it is ever most important to make sure our children have a relationship with God.
I feel that this book helps us, as parents/guardians/grandparents, achieve that goal.
I love reading this book to my children, and I am going to be recommending it to our church as well.
The story is so simple, and yet so heartwarming. The lessons and examples are packed into such small phrases! I loved that the words just flow with little effort, and your children will immediately find themselves drawn in!
This book covers the majority of what children deal with in their young lives, such as: being afraid, sadness, mixed emotions and hard choices, being ornery/disobeying rules, feeling alone especially around peers, etc.
It also points out certain things to be thankful for in our everyday lives as well. It is a great portrayal of God’s love for us, and let’s children know that God is always there to talk to as well as his forgiveness. It encourages children to become closer to God, make the right choices, let them know they are loved no matter what, and show them that forgiveness is but a prayer away.
We were also pretty impressed with the illustrations. The pictures alone tell such a great story. The pictures not only follow the words, but they follow their own as well. They were very well done, and very colorful. We loved finding little hidden things on the pages. It’s the little details that children notice the most and this book is jam packed with them! It’s very exciting!
Whether your child is the type to get immersed in a story itself or the illustrations, this book meets both expectations.
Out of all the children’s prayer books I have read this one takes the cake!
I think this is a perfect book for children. A way to encourage daily prayers, and a way for them to stay close to God. I enjoy reading this to my sons and lately we have been reading it at least twice a day. We all really enjoy it. I would say the ages that would get the most out of this book would be ages 4 +. The book isn't very long and the it is well split up so you aren't overwhelmed with either more pictures or more words per page. It's a hardcover book with paper pages so it is durable. It's light and easy to hold. The illustrations are extremely detailed and there are all sorts of things to find in the background. The words are easy for children to understand and pass a good message through at the same time.
It truly is a magnificent read. Enjoyable for both parents and children! It would especially make a good Christmas gift to one lucky child!

To learn more about this book: CLICK HERE
or
See my star rating for this book on Goodreads: CLICK HERE
　
　
Disclaimer:
Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

God Gave Us You Book Review

This is the second book I have reviewed written by Lisa Tawn Bergren and I am now officially a faithful fan of hers. This is an amazing children's book. The illustrations were done by Laura J. Bryant and they are amazing as well. Here's a bit of a description about the book:

A baby polar bear cub climbs into bed and asks her Mama Bear where she came from. The Mama bear tells her how much she was wanted and how much they love her. Then she lovingly responds "God gave us you" She then goes on to explain some of the events leading up to her baby cubs birth such as how excited both her and the cubs Papa Bear was, how they prepared for her, etc. Then Mama Bear goes on to tell how happy they were at her arrival.

The story was very well put and covers one of the most basic questions that all children ask at one time or another which is "Where did I come from?".  It provides a simple explanation to this answer and details the love, tenderness, and excitement that leads up to a baby's birth. The pictures were also very engaging, and as it is a board book it is great for younger children that love to turn pages themselves. It's also great for infants since they are very curious and like to grab pages. Although the baby cub in the story is a girl it isn't really gender based and both boys and girls can enjoy it. I read this book to both my children, both boys, ages 3 1/2 & 7 months. They enjoy it very much and comment on the story as well as the pictures. It is a very heart-warming book, and let's the child know what wonderful gifts from God they truly are. It's perfect for naptime, bedtime, or anytime really.
All in all it is a very fantastic book and I would recommend it to anyone with younger children. To find more out about this book you can CLICK HERE



Disclaimer:
Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions expressed are mine alone.