Title: Whistlestop Tales: Around the Bible with 10 extraordinary children
Author: Krish and Miriam Kandiah
Illustrator: Andy Gray
Published by: Hodder Faith
Price: RRP £12.99
Good for: Families with children age 5-13, who enjoy humour and bible stories re-told from different perspectives
Best bit: My personal favourite was The Tale of the Girl who Didn’t Feel Well – the Samaritan. It is so beautifully written it made me cry!
Worst bit: Only 10 stories? We could have gone on reading this for weeks!
More:
My children are pretty fussy when it comes to books. It’s my fault as it’s something I’ve helped them develop: their own opinions and a large dose of critique when it comes to books. We have A Lot of books, but this one snuck into the favourites list straight away! The stories are well written which I appreciate as the story reader, and brilliantly illustrated – every page has an illustration, and many of lots! Andy Gray’s pictures really bring the stories to life – my girls had a long debate about which was Peter and which was Thomas!
Each story starts with a contemporary story about a child who was different in some way, including neurodiverse, physically disabled, and from socially difficult circumstances. Each bible story is then written starting with the main character as a child, introducing their difference. We then see them have some kind of God-encounter, and discover that their difference didn’t stop God, and was sometimes what God used to achieve great things.
I totally recommend this book and also the first in the series, which has 12 bible stories about children from around the world.
Here’s some images to give you a flavour: