Book Spotlight: Let Them Be Kids by Jessica Smartt

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Let Them Be Kids
Author: Jessica Smartt
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: June 9, 2020
Genre: Christian Living/Parenting

As every parent hopes to raise kids with good manners and values, Jessica Smartt’s practical guide fills the gaps of uncertainty and provides tips on how parents can equip their children in purity, faith, and creativity.

Former English teacher and homeschooling mother of three, Jessica Smartt felt the weight of helping prepare her kids for life, especially with all the outside pressures and influence of the world. She struggled with how she could raise her children with a sense of adventure, self-confidence, manners, faith, and the ability to utilize technology wisely.

Let Them Be Kids is Jessica’s offering of grace and confidence to moms, giving them practical ideas to meet these challenges. Her well-researched, tested methods, woven together with her personal stories and witty humor, deliver wisdom on the tough topics of life, such as

• family time vs. outside activities,
• being “cool” or not,
• boredom,
• technology usage
• sexual purity, and
• showing grace when kids disobey.

Part story and part guidebook, every chapter includes doable strategies and encouragement for the journey.

Let Them Be Kids helps moms feel confident and equipped with ways to provide a safe, healthy, Christ-centered childhood for their children. It leads them to conquer fear and find truth that transforms them and their families as it reminds them how to enjoy and cherish the special memory-making moments of building family values together.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Christianbook  

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EXCERPT

Most of us are not raising children who carry a past with profound levels of trauma. (Although some of us are, and to those of you, I say a prayer that you feel the strength for this incredible job. You have my deep respect.) But while many of us are not raising children who experienced complex trauma, none of us have unvarnished children with perfect habits.

We have children for whom we wish we could do this differently or that differently. We have kids who have seen things we wish they hadn’t seen or know things we wish they didn’t know. We have kids who have developed habits we wish they hadn’t developed. We may be tempted to feel we are reading some of this too late to help.

Thankfully, this is not true.

Even if you are reading this as a thirtysomething grown-up, it is not too late for you to change. It is not too late for you to have adventures, to break unhealthy technology habits, to resurrect play and imagination, to return balance and manners and faith to your life. And if it is not too late for you, it is certainly not too late for them.

This is because three things are true.

1. We can learn, or relearn, how to enjoy simple pleasures.

2. We can build new habits.

3. Innocence can be restored.

For instance, kids who have been addicted to video games can become unaddicted and instead learn to love being outside. Kids who never enjoyed children’s classics such as Little House on the Prairie or The Boxcar Children can learn to read them and enjoy them. Even kids who don’t have grit or manners can learn either—or both.

There is hope for childhood. Not in the abstract, blank slate of future children but in your children, the ones in your home.

As you read, promise me that you will not lose hope. The virtues you read about here are powerful and real and worth fighting to regain. Do not despair. Change is possible.

Taken from “Let Them Be Kids” by Jessica Smartt. Copyright 2020 by Jessica Smartt. Used with permission from www.thomasnelson.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Smartt is a former English teacher turned homeschooling mama of three. A week after her first baby was born, she began her motherhood blog “Smartter” Each Day. Jessica and her husband live in beautiful North Carolina, where she loves hiking with kids (mostly), steaming coffee in the afternoon, family bike rides, and anything that’s ever been done to a potato.

CONNECT WITH JESSICA: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram  

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Book Review: Big and Little Activity Devotional

About the Book: 

Kids crave constant activities and attention. Adults crave quiet moments of refreshment. How can we achieve both? Big and Little Activity Devotional engages minds of all ages with biblical devotions, while providing a creative outlet through coloring and activities to diffuse stress.

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My Thoughts:

As soon as the Big and Little Activity Devotional book came out of the package, my daughters (ages 7 & 4) wanted to try it out. As expected, they loved it! Though I limit us to completing one page spread per day, they’ve looked all through the book and expressed their delight over future activities. With about 70 parent-child sets of activities, the book should last us 2-3 months.

The Big and Little Activity Devotional works best for us if I let them complete the activity and then we do the short devotional as they finish up coloring. (For example, a maze that they work through before coloring the little embellishments outside of it.) Each page spread is laid out so that the adult and child sit facing one another and can interact face-to-face. The activities captivate their attention and they thoroughly enjoy them before we discuss the Scripture and thoughts presented.

I recommend the Big and Little Activity Devotional, written by Rachel C. Swanson and illustrated by Jacy Corral, to any parent or caregiver seeking a way to teach spiritual truths while engaging a child with a fun activity.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

Book Review: The Promises of God Storybook Bible

About the Book:

God’s love is unstoppable. And that’s a promise.

Noah’s ark. Joseph’s dreams. Jesus’s miracles. The Bible is rich with stories for our children to hear and enjoy, but when those stories uncover the thread of God’s promises, our children learn much more than individual Bible stories. They discover how God has demonstrated His love for us, from the first promise in the garden to the promise of the new heavens and earth.

A conversational, whimsical, biblically faithful retelling of more than fifty key Bible stories, The Promises of God Storybook Bible lets your child hear favorite stories with new ears, repeatedly assuring them that each word is proof of God’s unstoppable love and unbreakable promises to His people.

My Thoughts:

The Promises of God Storybook Bible, written by Jennifer Lyell and illustrated by Thanos Tsilis, is the newest storybook-style children’s Bible to enter our home. My husband has read Bible stories to our daughters every night before bed for years, so we’ve gone through many of these. Without a doubt, I know he is going to LOVE the built-in bookmark. It’s a daily struggle for the bookmark to stay on the correct page.

I enjoyed how The Promises of God Storybook Bible focuses on the promises of God and his love for all of us. It’s such an encouraging and affirming message for children and adults. With over fifty Bible stories included, I was a bit surprised by some of the chosen stories. It jumps from the fall of Jericho to the prophecies of Isaiah, skipping some pretty popular characters and stories. (David & Goliath, for one) However, I liked that in included stories less frequently seen in storybook Bibles. As I mentioned, Old Testament prophecies are included. It also dedicates time to the New Testament epistles.

I recommend The Promises of God Storybook Bible: The Story of God’s Unstoppable Love by Jennifer Lyell to caregivers of children ages 4-10. It is more narrative-intense than similar storybook Bibles and sometimes dives into deep subjects. (The very first one tries to explains the Trinity and then follows with talking about how we can believe even when we don’t fully understand.) Younger readers may still enjoy The Promises of God Storybook Bible, but I think older children will more fully grasp its concepts.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

Book Review: God Made Me Unique from Joni and Friends

About the Book:

God Made Me Unique, a beautifully illustrated picture book, helps parents and caregivers teach children that God creates every person in the image of God and each individual has tremendous value, regardless of his or her appearance or abilities.

The story is set in a Sunday school classroom where a new girl, Brie, is introduced by her mom. Brie’s Sunday school teacher takes the time to welcome Brie and to explain to the other children why she is wearing headphones. Through getting to know Brie, the children are guided into a biblical understanding of the uniqueness of each of God’s children. Along the way they learn to ask questions and gain an understanding about their new friend.

Told in a charming rhyming style, this colorful, hardcover book will help eliminate fear and misconceptions about those who have special needs and emphasizes that every person deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.

The back of the book contains a special section just for parents and caregivers that will guide them in how to have biblical, loving conversations with children and gives them additional information and resources to equip them in talking about this important subject.

Like God Made All of Me by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb and God Made Me AND You by Shai Linne, God Made Me Unique gives parents the tools to have important, impactful conversations with their children that will grow their understanding of God, themselves, and others.

My Thoughts:

God Made Me Unique from Joni and Friends offers parents a wonderful resource for explaining to young children (ages 3-6) about disabilities/special needs. In the foreword, Joni Eareckson Tada explains the purpose of the book is to help “children to understand that every person is made in the image of God and has tremendous value, regardless of their appearance or abilities.” This purpose comes through clearly as Ms. Campbell shares with her class (some of which have their own special needs) that a new student with special needs will be joining them. Ms. Campbell goes on to discuss how we are all unique, of great value to God, and part of His plan. The children are welcoming and inclusive, setting an admirable model.

I recommend God Made Me Unique by Joni and Friends to any caregiver who desires to address how to interact with others who have special needs. The colorful illustrations by Trish Mahoney are simple, but bright and engaging. It complements our homeschooling program well and helps foster healthy attitudes and interactions with children who have special needs.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

Book Review: Why Do We Say Good Night?

About the Book:

Going to bed and turning out the light can be a hard time for many children. Award-winning author Champ Thornton wrote this beautifully designed and illustrated book to help parents comfort their children with three truths about God. As a mother and her little daughter talk, they remember together that God made the night, he sees in the dark, and he watches over them just like a shepherd protects his sheep. Children and parents will want to start a new nighttime tradition of reading together about why we can say that the night is good.

In this important, engaging children's book, parents can bring comfort and encouragement to their children, reminding them Jesus is near.

My Thoughts:

Both of my daughters (ages 4 and 7) enjoyed Why Do We Say Good Night? by Champ Thornton (author) and Rommel Ruiz (illustrator). For my younger child, I had to point to which character was speaking on the first read through because the text doesn’t explicitly state who is saying each line, but my older child could follow the narrative without assistance and tell by the word clues whether the mother or daughter was speaking.

In the story, the little girl fears what might lie in the darkness. Her mother gently encourages her to step away from her fear by embracing the truth that a loving God sees and protects her even when it’s dark. “Yet God sees all; his sight’s not dim. The dark is like bright light to him. So when it’s dark—with perfect sight—our God is watching through the night.”

Why Do We Say Good Night? has very unique and complex illustrations, but I was concerned my daughters might find some of the illustrations scary or unpleasant. Fortunately, my concern was unnecessary as neither of them were disturbed by the eyes and monsters. 

I recommend Why Do We Say Good Night? to any Christian parent looking for a resource to reassure a child of God’s care and protection.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

Book Review: What Am I Feeling?

About the Book:

Can show-and-tell day be saved?

It’s show-and-tell day at school, and Sam and his friends are feeling lots of emotions. He wonders why he feels flippy in his tummy. And why is Alex stomping his feet? And does Hudson usually have such a big grin?

After several unchecked feelings threaten to ruin the big day, Sam and his friends start to learn how to give each emotion a name and ask God to help them remember that “a feeling is just a feeling—it’s not in charge of you.” In a world where kids are dealing with everything from sibling rivalry to bullying, divorce to tragedy, What Am I Feeling? offers a biblically grounded way for children to verbalize their feelings, develop empathy and self-control, and understand their wonderful God-given emotions.

BONUS! Also includes a pull-out feelings chart for your wall! 


My Thoughts:

What Am I Feeling? held my children's attention as I read it and they liked the cute pictures. We talked a little about emotions and the book's message. It's not a book they want to read daily, but they pick it up sometimes.

The concepts of (1) naming a feeling, (2) asking God for help with it, and (3) not letting the emotion control your actions are good lessons. Really good lessons, that both children and adults (myself included) need to remember.

In the story, several children experience emotions that are generally perceived as negative. One girl feels sadness, one girl feels jealousy, one boy feels afraid, and one boy feels angry. While the first three got reminded in various ways to acknowledge the feeling and not let it control his/her actions, the boy who got angry never got the same reminder or any consequence. He did apologize for his anger later in the story, but it stood out to me that he did not receive a reminder like the others did. Perhaps that bothers me more than it will others, but as the book is perpetuating self-awareness of emotions, I think that one should have been called out as well.

In conclusion, my kids liked the story and illustrations in What Am I Feeling? by Dr. Josh and Christi Straub. I thought it missed the mark, but I still appreciate the premise of naming an emotion, praying for help, and not letting it dictate one's actions.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Daily Question for You and Your Child

The Daily Question for You and Your Child: A Three Year Spiritual Journey from Waterbrook Publishers offers parents an easy way to preserve precious memories and observe how their child changes over a three-year period.

Each page features a question at the top which is followed by three separate writing spaces (one for each year). Each space has five blank lines for the year's answer. Most of the time, five lines is plenty of space. The only time there wasn't enough space for me was when it asked the child to make up a short story.

You can start in any year as there is space to fill in the year number. The questions stand-alone so you can start on any day of the year. In some instances, the questions are naturally themed with the season. For example, December has questions about Christmas.

Not all questions have a spiritual theme, but some do. Example Questions: How does God communicate with you? What do you think heaven will be like? I think most protestant Christians will find the questions vague enough that they do not correlate with any particular religious sect.

I have been filling out this journal with my six year old and she enjoys it. She always asks for more than one question and I often oblige. I feel like the journal is probably most appropriate for elementary age children and older. For example, I saw one question that asked, What advice would you give to a kindergartener? That's hard to answer unless you are at least in first grade.

I like that this is a hardcover book as three years of daily use is bound to take its toll eventually. I do wish it had built-in bookmark. I recommend The Daily Question for You and Your Child to any Christian parent who desires to deepen communication with their child and preserve memories of the fleeting childhood years.

Click here to take a peek inside The Daily Question for You and Your Child on the publisher's website.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Mothering From Scratch by Melinda Means & Kathy Helgemo

Probably every mother has at times wished that her child came with an instruction manual. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an outline to follow, complete with a guarantee that the child would grow up to be perfect? There are no perfect children or perfect moms, but there are good moms. Despite what someone else may tell you, their way is not necessarily the best way for you and your child.

In Mothering From Scratch, Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo show how to develop your own mothering style that will allow you to be the best mom for your kids. The book aims to help mothers examine their strengths and weaknesses in order to find what works best, find mentoring and support from other moms, and push past the fear of doing it wrong to allow grace for both mother and child.

For me, reading Mothering From Scratch was like receiving permission to breathe a little easier. I've had people in my life who tell me all about how they raised their children, with the unspoken (but sometimes spoken) message that their way is better than mine and I need to do it their way. I know I'm not alone in receiving this kind of “help.” So to hear that it's okay to be different is a wonderful reassurance. In a sense, I'd known this deep down and had continued to do what I believed was best for my child and I, but to be reaffirmed by someone further down the parenting road gives me more confidence. I especially liked the emphasis on playing to your strengths while working on your weaknesses.

Mothering From Scratch is a great tool for struggling moms and I recommend it to all moms. I fully expect to read it again in another year as I expect it's the kind of book that can speak differently to me at different points in the mothering journey.

Read an excerpt from Mothering From Scratch by Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo on the publisher's website.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The 5 Love Languages of Children

In The 5 Love Languages of Children, Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell apply Chapman's popular concept of the five love languages to the parent-child relationship. Each of the five love languages is explained and examples are given of how to use (and how not to use) a child's love language. Parents are encouraged to love their children unconditionally, which is sometimes not as easy as one would assume it to be, and to successfully express that love to a child.

I found The 5 Love Languages of Children to be insightful and challenging. The explanations of each language were informative, but the real life examples were what I found to be most helpful. There is a full chapter as well as a love language “game” at the end dedicated to help parents correctly identify how a child gives and receives love. At times, the book was a bit overwhelming to me as it felt like I have to do everything perfectly or I'm going to really mess my child up. I know that was not the authors' intention and maybe not everyone will get that feeling, but that's how it was for me.

The 5 Love Languages of Children is geared for children above age five. My child is only two which is a bit young for her love language to be obvious. The authors say five is usually the minimum age before a child's love language can be determined as it's prone to fluctuate in the early years. Therefore, a lot of the information was good, but not completely relevant to me. The main points I was able to take away from the book were: unconditional love is the desire of a child's heart, whether or not a child's love needs are fulfilled will affect them positively or negatively, and it's important to practice all five love languages at this point. I plan to keep The 5 Love Languages of Children and will probably revisit it in a few years.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Beyond Bath Time by Erin Davis

In Beyond Bath Time, Erin Davis reveals the lies regarding motherhood that are perpetuated by both American culture and many churches. She then guides the reader on a journey of introspection that asks hard questions about surrendering our plans to God and examining if our actions are truly selfless. By clearing out previous perceptions and motives, Davis then builds on a clean foundation as she uses Scriptural examples to create a Biblical view of motherhood as a sacred role.  Beyond Bath Time concludes with an invitation for a mother to take thirty days to seek God's will about motherhood and to “mother with God-given confidence, joy, and eternal perspective (Davis 134).”

Reading Beyond Bath Time was enjoyable, challenging, practical, spiritual, and even convicting.  The author immediately grabbed my attention by telling the story of her first pregnancy in which the doctor told her the child probably would not survive.  The rest of the book was equally engrossing.  I'm happy to say the book didn't leave me wondering if there was anyway I could ever live up to unattainable standards. Rather, it is about “Spirit-led parenting, not some oversimplified, assembly line definition of a Biblical woman (130).”

Motherhood is a topic near and dear to me and this book reinforced what I already knew to be true in my heart – being a mommy is the most important thing I've ever done.   As far as I know, everything discussed in the book was in line with Scripture.  I give this book five stars for its engaging style and timely message. I wholeheartedly recommend it to Christian women, specifically mothers. (It's not written for men or to convert a mother to Christianity, though it does encourage mothers to teach their children about the Lord and indirectly another mother could be influenced.)


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."