Thursday, December 3, 2009

New Book Reviews! Adult and kids!

Hi all! I was given the opportunity to review two children's books and an adult book. The children's books are by Lisa Tawn Bergren and they are two of the "God Gave Us...." series. They were fantastic...more about that as you read on. The adult book was "Treasured. Knowing God by the Things He Keeps" by Leigh McLeroy. It was also a great book....more about that as you read on.


Treasured/God Gave Us Love/ God Gave Us Christmas
by Leigh McLeroy/Lisa Tawn Bergren

*be sure to click on the links above to check them out online.*

Here’s a summary:
Treasured: Cigar boxes. Refrigerator doors. Scrapbooks and sock drawers and top shelves. These are the places we store our treasures–the keepsakes that tell the story of whom and what we’ve loved, how we’ve lived, and what matters most to us. God is a collector, too, whose treasures are tucked securely into the pages of his book: a golden bell here, an olive leaf there, a scarlet thread, a blood-stained cloth, a few grains of barley. Each of these saved artifacts reveals a facet of his heart and tells the story of a Father whose most precious possession is…us. In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides us in discovering evidence in our own lives of his attentive love.

God Gave Us Love: As Little Cub and Grampa Bear’s fishing adventure is interrupted by mischievous otters, the young polar bear begins to question why we must love others… even the seemingly unlovable. In answering her questions, Grampa Bear gives tender explanations that teach Little Cub about the different kinds of love that is shared between families, friends, and mamas and papas. Grampa explains that all these kinds of love come from God and that it is important to love others because…“Any time we show love, Little Cub, we’re sharing a bit of his love.”This sweet tale will warm the hearts of young children as they learn about all the different sorts of love, while the gentle explanations of each provide a valuable opportunity to encourage children to share with others a “God-sized love.”

God Gave Us Christmas: As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear begins to wonder… “Who invented Christmas?” Mama’s answer only leads to more questions like “Is God more important than Santa?” So she and Little Cub head off on a polar expedition to find God and to see how he gave them Christmas. Along the way, they find signs that God is at work all around them. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns about the very first Christmas and discovers that… Jesus is the best present of all.This enchanting tale provides the perfect opportunity to help young children celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to discover how very much God loves them.

*These book were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.*

Author Bios:
Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary. An avid collector and recorder of everyday moments, words, and wonders, Leigh’s keen eye for God’s presence in ordinary life infuses her writing and living with a deep, insistent joy. A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on http://www.leighmcleroy.com/ and http://www.wednesdaywords.com/.

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than 1.5 million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Love follows in Lisa’s classic tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She lives in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.
MY TAKE:
Treasured - This is a small book...it is compact enough to fit in my purse...which I did...at a Lancers game one night...intermissions are boring! :-) Anyway...that is the very nice thing about it, you can take it with you wherever you go. McLeroy is a lot of fun to read. She starts each chapter with a passage of scripture...explains the passage and then gives an example from her life or the life of someone she knows. She lays it out nicely for easy comprehension and likability. This book gets an A!
God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Christmas - Both books were fantastic! I recommend them to anyone with children. They are fun, easy reads...but long enough to tell the story and the illustrations are awesome! Definitely can keep the attention of the small person! My kids are getting these books for Christmas! I know they will absolutely love them!

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