Thursday, May 6, 2021

29. Bible Stories for Little Hearts


Board books: Bible Stories for Little Hearts. Sandra Magsamen. 2019. 10 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: In seven days and seven nights, God made the darkness and the light. 

Bible Stories for Little Hearts is a rhyming story book for very young children. There are five Bible stories in all: the creation story, Jonah, the lost sheep, Noah, and the nativity. The order seems to be random and not chronological. Each story is a two-page spread. 

On the one hand, the book has a just-right size. I like the dimensions of it. I feel the pages are easy to turn. I could see this being a good book to read aloud with a kid--possibly squirmy--in your lap. I also like the length of the book for the target audience. 

On the other hand, the rhyming isn't all that great. It's not the absolute worst rhyming book ever. I wouldn't go to that extreme. It's just the rhythm is off. It isn't smooth; it is awkward in places. Still, I wouldn't let that be a deal breaker if you have a little one--toddler--to share it with.

The theology was weird in one of the stories. I get that the most important thing in the story was to keep it rhyming, but to conclude the Noah story by saying that "God sent a dove to show the way, believing that Noah would save the day." Like what does that even mean??? Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah obeyed God in all things--in the building of the ark, in gathering the animals, in entering the ark, in staying in the ark, in leaving the ark. Like when did Noah "save the day"???



© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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