"Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King I tell you."-from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
The author starts off his book with this quote which emulates the whole theme. "He's the King!" A wonderful tool for children and adults alike. Experience the the story of the prophets with 70 different scenes. This book covers the King from the beginning of the world in Genesis; to his return in Revelation. Each scene consists of a beautiful illustration with a page of story. I love the use of scripture throughout each scene. Not only a wonderful view of the Bible, but a great way to share God's plan for his people.
Caution: a few scenes may be a bit much for the younger set. Great for use in Sunday School, Christian Schools, homeschool or personal use.
* I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Thanks Becky for this fine review. Before the book was published one or two reviewers commented that they felt that a few of the scenes were a bit "too bloody" for younger children. While I am quick to implement input from proofreaders, this is one area I could not compromise. Think about the blood and violence so many young children today see on TV, DVDs, theaters, video games - I would concur with many parents' complaint that that is "too bloody"! However, when it comes to the the story and message of God's plan to rescue sinners from the law of sin and death, I cannot back down from showing the blood. We have seen children as young as 2 years old captivated and touched by these images. In some scenes, the artist wanted to paint less blood, but I directed her to paint more blood. This is a critical element in the story, a visual children need to see. The blood shown in the Old Testament sacrifice scenes (#18, 23, and 32) and in the New Testament scenes (#60, 61, 62, and 63) is intended to communicate the core message of the gospel: Jesus is MY Lamb. He took the punishment for MY sin. Exodus 12:21-27 tells us that God wanted children to see the blood of the lamb and ask, "Why?" I hope kids who go through KING OF GLORY will ask the same question. pd bramsen
ReplyDeleteHello there,
ReplyDeleteone thing I have to say, even though my faith was not... say, up to scratch at the time and I was struggling, I really had a thirst for knowing more, so when Paul offered me the possibility of translating One God - One Message into French, I was enthused. In fact, I got more and more as I read and translated, and guess what, translating this other book by Paul made me grow even more, even though it is designed for kids.
Some Russian writer once said that it was "easy to write for children: you only have to write a little bit better". I think that Paul was entirely successful in his renewed attempt. Once again, the teaching is chronological just as it is in the Bible, it is really well thought-out, you learn what you need to learn "on the go" while you are already and this is so similar to how the Bible is written and how we learn about life when we embark on our way Home to the Father with the Son as our Guide through the agency of the trustworthy Spirit of love; we needn't fear, we only need to cling.
Once again this is analytical yet the result of the analysis is aptly summed up in a successful, neatly ordered synthesis. You can tell an author who has thought long enough to make his ideas (not his, not just ideas) available to all, and here he writes without speaking down to children. I endeavoured to let the style flow as freely as though it was Paul who wrote, as requested. I hope I was successful.
What struck me was this appeal to imagination, this TRUE story being presented as though it was not one which only serves to bring out the truth more vividly. This newfound quest through the "best scenes" of the Scriptures (one choice was as good as another provided it was made and the option followed well), rid of religious terminology, renewed my thinking about the gospel, made me see Jesus more as who John claims Jesus said He was, i.e. the Word, Truth and Grace of the Father, not just a man who happens to be the Son of God to whom you come to have "life" in a purely metaphorical way, but the Light of God come in the flesh so we may have life superabundant by feeding, even feasting upon Him. I'm most thankful to God for letting me read and translate this.
STEF J.