Baby Believers

Today’s PBT post is a triple treat and a mistake! My plan was to feature 3 books in a new series. I just realized that one of the books is from a different publisher, but I’m still going to include it because it’s very similar. All are board books and therefore designed for very young children, but their content is not limited to the very young. My hope is that these will be published in traditional form so that older folks (even adults) won’t be put off by their form.

The first two books are from the Baby Believer Series. On these books it states:

Baby Believer Primers help you teach your children the central tenets of the Christian faith that they may never know a day apart from the Lord. This series will continue in the fall with Let There Be Light: An Opposites Primer.

The third book looks very similar and pops up on Amazon with the other two, hence my mistake. Once you see the sample pages and details below, you’ll understand why I like these books. They offer a lot of good theology, simple but beautiful illustrations, and great potential for programming.   

Picture Book: First Bible Basics: A Counting Primer

Author: Danielle Hitchen

Illustrator: Jessica Blanchard

Summary: Do you ever wonder how much you or your children understand about the Bible? It’s a good question to consider for ministry or family devotional time. This book offers the basic concepts. It’s a counting book, so have fun pointing and counting, but you might be surprised at what you can learn here too. Here are  my favorite double page spreads: It begins with 1 God… 

the 4 Gospels…  

the 5 Books of the Pentateuch… 

the 6 days of creation… 

the 7 “I am” statements of Jesus… 

the 8 Beatitudes… 

the 9 Fruits of the Spirit. Numbers 1-10 are depicted.  

Hanna’s Comments: With older children and adults, use this book as a resource for a riddle game or quiz. Ask your audience to consider which Biblical concept might go with each number. You might think of a few more. 12 tribes of Israel, 40 - lots of possibilities there! How about 490? The number of times we should forgive according to Jesus (70 x 7). Have fun with these facts and help your family of faith learn some Bible basics. 

Original Publisher & Date: Harvest House, 2016

Age & Grade Appropriateness: Any age given the right format or presentation

Formats other than Book: Not at present

Picture Book: Psalms of Praise: A Movement Primer

Author: Danielle Hitchen

Illustrator: Jessica Blanchard

Summary: If you need a lesson with movement, this book is for you! Each double page spread features a movement and a scripture with that movement word. Again, here are some favorite double page spreads: From my favorite Psalm… 

standing in awe of God...  

Your kids will love this one... 

and this one ... 

 a twofer here... 

 and my very favorite. Isn't it beautiful!

Hanna’s Comments: This is my favorite of the 3 books featured today! Your lesson is complete here. Get your kids up and ready to move as you turn the pages. Have them repeat the verses with you as they move. So easy! So meaningful! Add meaning and application by memorizing the featured verses. Then quote those verses as you give directions to your group in future programming. Be sure to define any words they don’t know. Often unusual words are at the heart of the meaning of each verse such as the word “awe” in the standing pages above.

Original Publisher & Date: Harvest House, 2018

Age & Grade Appropriateness: Any age given the right format or presentation

Formats other than Book: Not at present

Picture Book: The Biggest Story ABC

Author: Kevin DeYoung

Illustrator: Don Clark

Summary: This book amazingly offers a chronological history of the Bible in an ABC format. Here are a few pages: A is for Adam - no surprise there. B is for beautiful. 

Sometimes the key word is later in the text and underlined. C is for curse and D is for deliverer. 

Your children will love these illustrations and some of the unusual facts about the Bible. E is for Egypt and F is for flies. 

 

They'll learn some spelling too. G is for gnat and H is for hail.

Hanna’s Comments: This book is a little too sin and atonement oriented for my liking, but many of you will embrace that orientation and find it very helpful. Also, note God is masculine throughout this book. Like in the other books, some study on your part will offer more potential. Memorize these letter designations and use that knowledge to incidentally quiz your kids now and then. Having children with this breadth of knowledge of the Bible will equip them well for future spiritual growth and enhance your programming overall. My bet is such study will help you as well.

Original Publisher & Date: Crossway, 2017

Age & Grade Appropriateness: Any age given the right format or presentation

Formats other than Book: Not at present