Review: The Visitors

Title: The Visitors Author: Clare Thompson Price: £8 Published by and available from: Get Naturally Creative Good for: parents or people working with children age 1-100 Best bit: Stunning artwork created from natural loose parts Worst bit: no hardback version available More thoughts: It’s rare that I have a review for a book which isn’t specifically … Read more

Review: The incredible power of God’s word by Joyce Meyer

Title: The incredible power of God’s word Created by: Joyce Meyer Published by: Hodder Price: £12.99 Useful for: children age 5-10 years old Best bit: Simple, fun design with a great selection of Bible verses on useful topics Worst bit: It has lovely full colour pictures, but more would have been fab. I might also … Read more

Review: The God Files

Title: The God Files Created by: Andy Robb Published by: Hodder Bibles Price: £19.99 Useful for: children age 7+ years old Best bit: Loads of useful notes and fun stuff all written in the style of spy notes. For example, Moses is Agent Moses, Genesis is The Genesis File. Worst bit: As always, as a … Read more

Chalk home blessing for Epiphany/New Year

This is a traditional activity used to mark Epiphany, the day when we celebrate the wise men visiting Jesus. It’s really simple: all you need is some chalk, and you write the following letters and numbers over your door as a prayer asking God to bless your home. This year (2022), we’ll be writing: 20 … Read more

Review: The Good News Bible Family Edition

Title: The Good News Bible Family Edition Created by: YFC and The Bible Society Published by: The Bible Society Price: £27.99 here Useful for: families with children aged 5+ years old Best bit: It’s BIG! Seriously, a large book with TONNES of stuff inside, large text plus space to write and draw in it, extra … Read more

Christmas art meditation using The Glorious Impossible

I love this book! It’s the Christmas and Easter stories told by the eloquent Madeleine L’Engle illustrated with frescoes from the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto. You can see my review of the book here, but this post is about how I’ve used the pictures and story in this book to meditate on the Christmas story … Read more

Review: All about Christmas

Title: All about Christmas Author: Alison Mitchell Designer: Andre Parker Published by: The Good Book Company Price: RRP £10.99 reduced to £9.34 here Good for: Children age 5-11 who’d enjoy a detailed non-fiction book about the Christmas story Best bit: Loads of info and pictures Worst bit: Text a bit small for the age group, and often quite a lot of text on … Read more

Review: The Christmas Surprise

Title: The Christmas Surprise Author and Illustrator: Steph Williams Published by: The Good Book Company  Price: RRP £2.99 reduced to £2.54 or 10 for £2.10 each Good for: a gift for young children unfamiliar with the Christmas story Best bit: It’s funny! And it talks about what Jesus’ name means (rescuer) Worst bit: Not really anything. I probably wouldn’t have put … Read more

Review: The Nativity

Title: The Nativity By: Bethan Lycett and Hannah Stout Price: £3.50 Published by: 10 of those Useful for: children aged 2-7 Best bit: The lovely artwork and simple, easy-to-read Christmas story including Simeon and Anna Worst bit: The rhyme isn’t always as smooth as it could be, but still enjoyable. More: This is a simple, … Read more

Review: Advent Journal for all ages

Title: Advent Journal for All ages Author: Nick and Becky Drake from Worship for Everyone Illustrator: Connie Buck Published by: Worship for everyone and Gas Street Church Price: Â£7.99 each, two for £15, or 3 for £20 Good for:  Anyone wanting a quick but real way to connect with God during Advent, especially those who would like four themed songs … Read more

Review: Camp survival

Title: Camp survival Written by: Olly Goldenberg Published by: Children Can Price: £6.99 Useful for: children age 7-11 years old Best bit: Really funny story weaving age-appropriate Christian life choices for children into a choose your own adventure book! Worst bit: The cover image is fab and I was hoping for more similar pictures in the … Read more

Review: The Christmas Mystery

Title: The Christmas Mystery Written by: Jostein Gaarder (author of Sophie’s World) Published by: Orion Children’s Books Useful for: parents of children aged 7–11 years old Best bit: The story is clever and beautiful, mysterious and fascinating, a treat for adults and children alike, with 24 chapters exploring the birth of Jesus, making it perfect … Read more