Review: Tiny Bear's Bible

Tiny Bear's Bible is a fuzzy covered book that toddlers are sure to love. The bears ears can be wiggled on the cover, which I know my niece will enjoy.



Between the fuzzy covers are board book pages that tell twelve Bible stories through short one-to-two paragraph poems. After the poem, there is sometimes a direct address to little bear, such as, "Yes, Tiny Bear, God keeps his promises!" Stories include: Noah's Ark, Daniel in the Lions' Den, David and Goliath, and the birth of Jesus.

The illustrations are very well done. On the left page, the illustration is from the Bible story with the title and verses it is taken from. On the right is the poem telling the story, along with a picture of the little bear that relates to the story.

The publisher suggests that this book is appropriate for ages 2-5, which I think is appropriate given the board book and fuzzy cover format, along with Bible story poems that will grow with the child.  It's a great book to read aloud and a really fun way to introduce young ones to the Bible.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Book Look for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

Review: "God Watches Over Me"

God Watches Over Me is a collection of poems and Bible verses, illustrated with Precious Moments drawings. It is a board book with a foam board cover, making it ideal for children like my niece who haven't learned to be gentle with the pages yet!

Each page has a category of a place or time where God is watching over us, featuring at least one poem, Bible verse, and illustration. Some of my favorites were "God Watches Over My Friends and Me," "God Watches Over Me When I Travel," "God Watches Over Me When I Get Hurt," and "God Watches Over My Pets."

The illustrations are adorable and are the reason I was interested in this book. However, the poems themselves are just okay--mediocre rhyming paired with long poems that would be challenging to keep a toddler interested in. It's not a typical easy rhyme and low word count per page book.

I do think it's a book that could grow with a child though since it is durable. All in all, I would recommend only for the biggest Precious Moments fans, since the content isn't the best.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Book Look for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

Review: "Two Renegade Realms" by Donita K. Paul

Donita K. Paul's second installment in the Realm Walkers series, Two Renegade Realms lives up to the high expectations set by its quirky predecessor. One Realm Beyond introduced this great new fantasy world where realm walkers are individuals chosen by Primen (God) to protect the realms. The Realm Walkers Guild that manages and watches over the realm walkers had become corrupt, as our young realm walkers Cantor and Bixby found out.



Two Renegade Realms, which picks up three years after the last book, begins with a reunion of our protagonists Cantor and Bixby, as well as Cantor's dragon companion, Bridger. Bridger is hugely talented in that he can shapeshift into pretty much anything, whereas other dragons of the same breed can usually only shapeshift into two or three different set forms. However, he tends to be a little bumbly, but that only adds to his charm.

The young realm walkers are deep in research trying to find a lost library that will hold the keys to saving the realms from two realms that are on a trajectory to collide with other realms, which would allow for the species inhabiting those realms to invade and take over.

Cantor, Bixby, and Bridger keep very busy searching for a lost library; getting sidetracked by looking for the lost right-hand man of Primen, Chomountian; and trying to protect the realm from invasion. The Realm Walker Guilds' corruption continues to pop up in unexpected places. Kidnappings and rescue missions ensure that there's never a dull moment.

As in the previous book, the religious elements are very clear and even sometimes too overtly stated so that it felt like it was a little forced. I did think the messages were important and it's still a great way for YA readers to be able to make those connections to their lives so that they can learn to trust and honor God as the characters trust and honor Primen.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the main plot line of the imminent invasion was the least interesting part and actually only took a few pages after a 400 page book leading up to it. I would recommend this book only to someone who read and enjoyed One Realm Beyond, because the charms of this book come from the loveable characters and all of their side-missions as things never go exactly as planned. This is still a great new fantasy series and I can't wait to read another one.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Book Look for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

To Review: "Two Renegade Realms" by Donita K. Paul

Ready to Review: Two Renegade Realms by Donita K. Paul, the highly anticipated follow up to One Realm Beyond of the Realm Walker series. 

What have the loveable realm walkers Cantor and Bixby been up to over the past three years since the first book left off?

See my review on the first book One Realm Beyond. And look for my new review coming soon!

Happy New Year! - Best of 2014

It was a great year of new books and old favorites! After some long deliberation, I present my top reads from 2014!

The Runners-Up: One Realm Beyond by Donita K. Paul, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson.

3. On the Shoulders of Hobbits by Louis Markos

2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Happy New Year and here's to another great year of reading! 

What were the best books you read this year? 

Review: "Alby's Amazing Book" by Catalina Echeverri

Alby's Amazing Book by Catalina Echeverri is an adorable book about a squirrel named Alby and his very favorite book: the Bible.

Alby shows us how books can take us on great adventures! I love that Alby proudly displays his love of reading and how it is so much more than just words and pictures that he gets out of the books.

His favorite book is different though, because the adventures it describes are TRUE. Alby's Amazing Book shows illustrations of the Garden of Eden, the miraculous catch of fish from John 21, and David and Goliath.











My only complaint is a single page that is very dark and a little hard to read, but it's not too bad.





I'm very excited to share this book with my niece. The amount of detail is stunning - the pictures are even printed over a running Bible verses in the background.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Cross Focuses Reviews for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

Review: "The Christmas Promise" by Alison Mitchell and Catalina Echeverri

The Christmas Promise is a short, catchy children's book explaining Jesus's birth. Throughout the book, there is various repeated phrases to keep a child's attention. One such use is a "WHOOSH!" for when the angels appear. Unfittingly though, this "WHOOSH!" was also used for the star appearing, which was not my favorite word choice.




There's no denying this wise man's excitement at seeing the star though!

One of those repetitious elements was accompanied by strange grammatical choices. "He sent: a NEW KING; a RESCUING KING; a FOREVER KING." I don't think I've ever seen semi-colons and colons in a children's book, and here they're not even necessary. Of course, it's not like this will bother my one and a half year old niece.



I know my niece will love these adorable, goofy animal illustrations. I certainly did!


I also really appreciated that at the end of the book there is a page saying where you can find the Christmas story in the Bible. It also lists places to look for the Old Testament promises of a new king. I can definitely see this book being a good transition into reading the Christmas story from the Bible as my niece gets older.


The use of fun, curvy words to tell the story could have been more frequent, as the designer employed this technique only twice.

 All in all, a great introduction to the Christmas story and a great gift for the young ones in your family.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Cross Focused Reviews for this review.  The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.