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CHILDREN’S NONFICTION
girls will enjoy searching for her throughout the
book.
Carolyn Larson has written a charming
devotional that young girls and their mothers
will love reading together. The bright and
colorful pictures add to the stories and keep
children interested. Young girls will identify
with the emotions of the characters in the
stories. They will see that although their actions
are sometimes bad, they are not bad. Mothers
will be reminded of how a child thinks, which
will help them identify with their own little girls.
The questions at the end of each story are
thought provoking, but simple enough for young
children to understand and answer. Many
stories even provide ideas for activities that
mothers and daughters can do together. The
Little Girls Devotional Book is something every
mother and daughter should have on their
bookshelf.
Robyn Wyatt, Freelance Writer, Port Orchard, Washington
A child’s garden of prayers : a collection of
classic prayers and timeless blessings,
compiled by Tama Fortner; featuring the
artwork of Thomas Kinkade. LCCN
00041819. Nashville: Tommy Nelson,
Thomas Nelson, 2000. ISBN 0849976030,
HBB, $17.99.
242’.8. Children--Prayer-books and devotions--
English. 60 p. Elementary.
A Child’s Garden of Prayers entwines Thomas
Kinkade’s paintings with a collection of prayers
and blessings. Fans of Kinkade’s light-infused
artwork will treasure this padded gift book
which introduces children to praying. Prayers of
gratitude and petition are included, plus prayers
for morning, noon, and night. Topics cover
parents, holidays, friends, animals, home, the
world, and more.
Some prayers are familiar like St. Francis of
Assisi’s: “Lord, make me an instrument of your
peace/ Where there is hatred, let me sow love/
Where there is injury, pardon/ Where there is
despair, hope/ Where there is darkness, light/
Where there is sadness, joy.” Other classic
prayers were penned by Martin Luther, John and
Charles Wesley, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Numerous prayers are sweet poetic verses. For
example: “Heavenly Father, hear my prayer.
Night and day I’m in Your care. Look upon me
from above. Bless the home I dearly love. Bless
the friends with whom I play. Make us kinder
day by day (Unknown).” Also included are
traditional prayers: “God is great, and God is
good. Let us thank Him for our food. By His
hand we all are fed; Thank you, Lord, for our
daily bread.” The book concludes with The
Lord’s Prayer and blank pages to record little
one’s prayers.
Parents will appreciate the variety of prayers
found for different individuals and daily events
of life. Families will enjoy the inspiring
paintings of houses, people, gardens, and
streams. An index of Kinkade’s thirty-one
paintings is included. Although the prayers are
dear and meaningful, probably Kinkade’s
popular paintings will sell the book.
Lydia E. Harris, Freelance Writer, Former Teacher, Seattle,
Washington
Big truths for little kids : teaching your
children to live for God, by Susan Hunt
and Richie Hunt. LCCN 99030536.
Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1999.
ISBN 1581341067, HBB, $12.99.
248.8’45. Catechisms, English; Children--Religious
life. 160 p. Elementary.
Big Truths for Little Kids : Teaching Your
Children to Live for God, by Susan Hunt and
Richie Hunt, is a series of thirty-four stories
designed “to teach children that they are created
for God’s glory.” Each section contains
catechisms, stories, let’s talk, and let’s pray
suggestions. The catechisms range from “Who
made you?” “God;” to “What is God?” “God is
Spirit and has no body as we do;” to “What
covenant did God make with Adam?” “The
covenant of life.” It is suggested that the
child(ren) being read to memorize the
catechisms prior to reading each story section.
The stories are short, usually two and one-half
pages, and the let’s talk questions deal
specifically with the story and how the story
relates to the Bible and it’s relevance to life
today. The Let’s Pray section includes a Bible
verse from the NIV, and a simple prayer
suggestion, designed to teach children to pray
biblically.
Susan Hunt and her son Richie have compiled
different stories that are simple and short.
Young children will enjoy the stories while they
are learning catechism. These stories are also
appropriate for devotions. Doctrine is not
discussed so this book would be useful across
different belief systems. The catechisms are
pointed and clearly based on biblical truths.
This would be useful book for teaching children
to life for God. The illustrations are simple
pencil drawings reflecting children and adults
who are smiling, interacting, and friendly.
Debby Willett, Freelance Writer, Canyon, Texas
300’s—Social Sciences
The lion and the mouse : an Aesop fable,
retold and illustrated by Bernadette
Watts. LCCN 99056634. New York:
North-South Books, 2000. ISBN
0735812209, HBB, $15.95.
398.2. Fables; Folklore. unp. Elementary.
It’s sunny and hot in the jungle, and most of the
citizens are resting. All but one little lion cub
who still wants to play. Finally, though, he nods
off to sleep. His nap was short lived when a
mouse scampers across his paw. The mouse
pleads for his life, and lion cub spares his life.
Grateful, the mouse promises to reward the
cub’s kindness. Not sure how a small mouse
could ever help him, the lion cub grows and
grows, becoming the king of the jungle. On
another sunny, hot day in the jungle, the lion
manages to get caught in a net. Every way he
turns, every struggle he makes, the mighty king
of the jungle becomes even more entangled.
The mouse hears the lion’s cries for help and
offers his promise of help from years ago. Lion
considers the mouse’s size and doubts his ability
to help anyone, especially himself. Mouse sets
to work, and eventually the lion is free. The
lesson the lion learns is to “never again laugh at
someone weaker or smaller than myself.”
Bernadette Watts’ retelling of this Aesop fable is
simple, and her illustrations are colorful, and
sweet. A wonderful picture book for small
children.
Debby Willett, Freelance Writer, Canyon, Texas
Luba and the wren, by Patricia Polacco.
LCCN 98016353. New York: Philomel,
Penguin Putnam, 1999. ISBN
0399231684, HBB, $16.99.
398.2’0947’02. Fairy tales; Folklore--Russia. unp.
Elementary.
Luba and the Wren, Patricia Polacco’s retelling
of the classic folk tale, “The Fisherman and His
Wife,” is told with Russian flavor and the
charming addition of a faithful and loving
daughter, Luba. Polacco starts out with a Bible
verse on the title page: “For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also. Matt. 6:21.”
She then goes on to demonstrate through her
story one possible outcome of having your heart
in things, not people.
Luba helps a wren trapped in a fowler’s net and,
in gratitude, the wren tells her, “Ask for
anything you wish.” Satisfied with her family’s
simple lifestyle, Luba doesn’t want anything,
but when she tells her parents, they trot out a
long list of wants, from a rich estate to the power
of ruling over the world. In fear and trembling,
Luba obediently makes each wish until the wren
finally returns everything to the way it was and
her parents learn to be content.
Polacco’s artwork, done in colored pencils and
marking pens, gives the story much of its
Russian flavor as well as demonstrating
Polacco’s familiarity with the Russian lifestyle
through her Russian and Ukrainian heritage, her
extensive travels in the former Soviet Union,
and her studies in Russian art and iconography.
Although Polacco’s more recent works have
tended to be a bit serious and message-driven,
Luba and the Wren is vintage Polacco, a story
told for the joy of telling it, and even libraries
with a large selection of folk tales might want to
add this one to their collection.
Betty Winslow, Bowling Green Christian Academy, Bowling Green,
Ohio
Sanji’s seed, by B.J. Reinhard; illustrated
by Shelly Hehenberger. LCCN 00011570.
Minneapolis: Bethany Backyard, Bethany
House, 2000. ISBN 0764222104, HBB,
$12.99.
398.2’0951’02. Folklore--China. unp. Elementary.
Inspired by an East Indian folktale, Sanji’s Seed
by B.J. Reinhard tells of a peasant boy who
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