Thursday, August 11, 2011

Searching for God's Love

I love used book sales!  At this time in my life, it is less stressful to fill our house with books from used booksales then to stress about finding a lost library book somewhere in our house.  I am blessed that several of the libraries sell used children's books at their book sales for a quarter each.  Whenever I find children's books about God, I always pick them up.  I take them home and read them.  Most of the time I redonate them to the library.  But, every once in a while, I find a buried treasure.  


Four or five years ago, I found one of these.  It was titled Everyday Adventures.  I only paid a dime for it.  I read through these stories with my daughters and I loved them.  They enjoyed them too, though my younger daughter wasn't able to follow them as well because it was a lot of reading and not as many pictures.  She was only 2 1/2 at the time.  


I tried to find the author, Pat Holt, online.  At first, I found a Pat Holt that wasn't the Pat Holt I was looking for.  So, I kept looking.  Finally, I found the author.  Recently, I emailed her and discovered that she has republished two of the stories from Everyday Adventures.  


The first story is titled Searching For God's Love.  It is authored by Pat Holt and Robyn Vander Weide.  It is illustrated by Kevin Brockschmidt.  Searching for God's Love was the first story in Everyday Adventures.  Ms. Holt and Ms. Vander Weide did a wonderful job updating this story.  As I read it to my kids, I saw my oldest daughter lean in and smile as she saw the boy learn about where God's love is.  My 3 year old son's attention never wandered.  


Searching for God's Love is the story of Duwad and his dog, Droopy.  They were given an assignment by Duwad's Sunday School teacher to go home and search for God's love.  He searches all over and doesn't find it at first.  And then, his dad comes alongside him....  


The story is perfect for 3-6 year olds.  My oldest daughter said it wasn't favorite because the pictures of the little boy make him look like a 4 or 5 year old.  She's at that age where she wants to read stories about kids her age.  She did enjoy the story, though.  I could see it in her face.  My 3 year old son just loved it.  I asked him to show me with his hands how much he liked it and he stretched them out wide.  My 5 year old daughter enjoyed it as well.


In my mind, I was of course comparing it to the original story.  I like this updated version much better.  I remember when I read the story originally longing for more pictures!  The authors did a wonderful job formatting the story and breaking it at appropriate points with pictures.  I loved the color and style of the illustrations.  At the end of the story, are a few short questions that follow Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains.  Bloom's Taxonomy is an educational tool that teachers use to help students process what they've learned at a deeper level.  The author's questions are a great example of how parents and teachers can do this with such a story.


What do I want my children to see when they walk out the front door every day?  I want them to see God's love.  This book will help illustrate to them how they can do just that.  I would follow up with your own game.  After reading the book, walk around the house and ask your child to tell you where God's love is.  Then, walk outside and ask again.  My children and I have done this before and it always makes all of us smile.


I highly recommend this book.  I think it's a treasure!  Just the other day, a friend asked me what I recommend for toddlers and preschoolers for Bible story time.  My first recommendation is always Ella Lindvall's Read Aloud Bible Stories.  There are 4 volumes.  They are wonderful for 2-5 year olds.  Alongside this book, I like Kenneth Taylor's Big Thoughts for Little People.  And this book has now been added to my list.  Searching for God's Love is a treasure that I think parents, grandparents, and children will love!  


I am glad that the authors have also chosen to update another story from Everyday Adventures titled The Long, Dark, Scary Night.  I'm going to post a review of the second story the authors have republished tomorrow.  


If you're interested in purchasing this book, I did do a little research.  Only the hardcover is available on CBD and Amazon, which is about $17.  On the authors' website, http://www.seethelightshine.com/store/books.html, a paperback is available for $9.  I calculated the shipping for my zip code and it would only be $2.  

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from the authors for review.   

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