One Hand, Two Hands

One hand, two hands,
Five fingers, ten.
God, thanks, for my hands.
Please, use them again.

TITLE: One Hand, Two Hands
AUTHOR: Max Lucado
ILLUSTRATOR: Gaby Hansen
PUBLISHER: Tommy Nelson
COPYRIGHT: 2010

I am happy to share with you a new children's book by Max Lucado called One Hand, Two Hands. It is written with rhyming text and shows children a variety of ways that we use our hands every day all day long. The illustrations by Gaby Hansen are really fun and add to the enjoyment of this book in my opinion.

If you have a special little one in your life, I recommend this book for them. You will enjoy it together. My son and I did.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

The Flowering Cross

TITLE: The Flowering Cross
AUTHOR: Beth Ryan
ILLUSTRATOR: Renee Graef
PUBLISHER: Tommy Nelson
COPYRIGHT: 2009

I received The Flowering Cross by Beth Ryan from Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze reviewers program.

In this nicely illustrated children's book, young Katie is a friend to her elderly neighbor, Papa Jack, someone everyone else sees just as a mean man. When she goes to pick some of his flowers for the "flowering Cross," she invites him to Easter church service and he says yes.

This book shows how showing Christ's love can make a difference in the hearts of people today and the role children can play in showing His love.

One thing I liked was that at the bottom of many of the pages was "Faith Imprints." This gives parents a faith lesson in one or two sentences along with a Bible verse to share with the child as you read the book. It also has directions at the back to make your own flowering Cross. This book is for young children in the message it presents. This would make a nice gift for a little one's Easter basket.

My son and I enjoyed this book together.

The Read and Share Toddler Bible

TITLE: The Read and Share Toddler Bible
AUTHOR: Gwen Ellis
ILLUSTRATOR: Steve Smallman
PUBLISHER: Thomas Nelson
COPYRIGHT: 2009

I'd like to recommend The Read and Share Toddler Bible by Gwen Ellis and illustrated by Steve Smallman. With 40 Bible stories from both the Old and New Testament and a bonus 60 minute DVD as well, this is a nice Bible for youngsters ages 4 and under. This full color Bible is a nice size for little ones to hold and carry around.

I enjoyed reading this book and watching the DVD with my son. One thing I particularly liked was a note to parents at the end of each story that gave an idea of something to do with your toddler related to the story. This would be nice for family reading time and would also make a nice gift for a child.

The I Believe Bunny

TITLE: The I Believe Bunny

AUTHOR: Tish Rabe

ILLUSTRATOR: Frank Endersby

PUBLISHER: Thomas Nelson

COPYRIGHT: 2009

Thomas Nelson has a new children’s book called The I Believe Bunny by Tish Rabe and illustrated by Frank Endersby. This is actually part of the “I Believe Bunny” series. This book is the tale of a bunny who does all he can to help a mouse in trouble. Bunny finds out that prayer does work! The book is appropriate for preschoolers through primary aged children.

I enjoyed reading this book to my son. He also enjoyed the pictures and the story. The cute illustrations add to the enjoyment of this book. I appreciate finding a book I can share with my child that teaches a strong biblical truth in a story with text understandable for young children. I look forward to other books in this series.

100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs

TITLE: 100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs
AUTHOR: Stephen Elkins
ILLUSTRATOR: Tim O'Connor
PUBLISHER: Thomas Nelson
COPYRIGHT: 2004

If you have young children (toddlers through primary aged), I would like to recommend a wonderful Bible story book for you. It is called 100 Bible Stories 100 Songs created by Stephen Elkins with illustrations by Tim O'Connor. This illustrated storybook is perfect for Bible story time before bed or for the early readers to read themselves.

The book has 100 Bible stories told in a concise, easy-to-read format. The story is on one page along with the title of the song, and on the facing page is a picture with three application sentences related to the story. The illustrations are colorful and appealing. The two CD’s have 100 songs that correlate with the 100 Bible stories. You’ll hear many old favorites like “Be Careful Little Eyes” and “The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock” as well as hymns like “Amazing Grace” and many other songs I’d not previously heard.

I was excited to receive this before we left on our recent trip. It was perfect to take along in the car. I’d read a few stories to my son and then he’d listen to the CD. My son totally loved both the stories and the songs. This is a wonderful resource to help children hide God’s Word in their hearts.