Book Review: She Believed by Jean Fischer

About the Book:

Girls are world-changers! . . . And this delightful storybook proves it!

Just for the girls in your life, ages 5 and up, this collection of twelve extraordinary stories of women of faith will empower girls to know and understand how women have made a difference in the world and how much smaller our faith would be without them. Colorful illustrations complement the true stories of these twelve amazing women:

• Corrie ten Boom
• Gladys Aylward
• Clara Barton
• Catherine Booth
• Amy Carmichael
• Fanny Crosby
• Florence Nightingale
• Edith Schaeffer
• Mary Slessor
• Mother Teresa
• Sojourner Truth
• Harriet Tubman

My Thoughts:

My daughters (ages 7 and 4) loved reading She Believed: 12 Stories of Courageous Women of Faith Who Changed the World. They’ve been fans of the Courageous Girls series and She Believed goes right along with that. Each page spread features one woman with her story on the left page and an illustrated portrait on the right page.  The engaging narrative is fairly short and will likely appeal to younger readers. This collection includes well-known women (Clara Barton, Mother Teresa, and Harriet Tubman) as well as lesser-known women (Mary Slessor, and Edith Schaeffer).

I recommend She Believed: 12 Stories of Courageous Women of Faith Who Changed the World for children ages 3-9.  Although the book is targeted to girls, boys will learn from the stories as well.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of the book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Book Review & Giveaway: NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls

About the Book:

Created especially for girls ages 8 to 12, this beautiful Bible provides ample space for young artists to express themselves through coloring and journaling.

Girls can get creative with the detailed, ready-to-color line art surrounding the hundreds of inspiring verses in the NIV Beautiful Word™ Coloring Bible for Girls. This Bible is a perfect gift for a special young girl in your life and will become a cherished keepsake full of personalized creative expressions of faith.Features include:

• Hundreds of verses illustrated in ready-to-color line art

• Thicker white paper for enduring note-taking

• Lined, wide margins for notes, reflections and art

• Complete text of the accurate, readable and clear New International Version (NIV)

• Easy-to-read black letter text in single-column format

• Lays flat in your hand or on your desk

• Ribbon marker

• Beautifully designed Leathersoft-over-board cover featuring screen-printing and other cover embellishments

• 8-point type size

Using the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV) text makes the Bible accessible and easy-to-read for kids. The NIV is the result of over 50 years of work by the Committee on Bible Translation, who oversee the efforts of many contributing scholars. Representing the spectrum of evangelicalism, the translators come from a wide range of denominations and various countries and continually review new research to ensure the NIV remains at the forefront of accessibility, relevance, and authority. Every NIV Bible that is purchased helps Biblica translate and give Bibles to people in need around the world.

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My Thoughts:

I got the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls for my oldest daughter, but I really want one for myself! The gorgeous pink with silver polka-dot cover is Leathersoft over board, giving it a sturdy, durable feel. For convenience, there is a built-in bookmark and lay-flat binding, making it easier to color. I do recommend using colored pencils, not crayons or markers. Even with colored pencils, some color will show through the pages. However, I think the publisher made a good balance between paper thickness and total weight. This Bible is fairly heavy for a children’s book and with thicker pages, it might have been too heavy.

There are many illustrations in the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls. In shorter books, especially the New Testament epistles which have many quotable passages, nearly every page spread features at least one coloring opportunity.  In the longer books, the coloring portions, while still plentiful, are more spaced out. Pages without illustrations have lines on the sides for taking notes or writing down thoughts.

As noted in the title, this Bible does use the NIV translation. It does not include any commentary or devotional thoughts. I personally like this as it omits the denominational/societal biases that sometime accompany commentaries.

I recommend the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls to caregivers of girls ages 8 and up. It would be excellent for the child who is old enough to listen to the sermon, but needs a little something (coloring or taking notes) to prevent boredom and aid focus. Five stars!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of the NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls from Zondervan (HarperCollins Christian Publishing) for this review. This post is sponsored by Zondervan.

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Book Review: 100 Extraordinary Stories of Prayer for Courageous Girls

About the Book:

Praying girls are world-changers! And this deeply inspiring storybook proves it!

Just for the girls in your life, ages 8 and up, this collection of 100 extraordinary stories of praying women of faith--from the Bible, history, and today--will empower girls to know and understand how praying women have made a difference in the world and how much smaller our faith (and the biblical record) would be without them. Featuring full-page, colorful illustrations alongside the true stories of praying women like Anna, Esther, Hannah, Anne Bradstreet, Shirley Dobson, Lottie Moon, Ida Scudder, Corrie ten Boom, Phyllis Wheatley, and dozens more, the stories of these 100 women will encourage and inspire girls to become the praying world-changers God created them to be!


My Thoughts:

I read through 100 Extraordinary Stories of Prayer for Courageous Girls: Unforgettable Tales of Women of Faith by Jean Fischer without my daughters. Normally, we’d sit down together and read through, but I plan to give it as a Christmas present.  Both of my daughters (ages 7 & 4) enjoyed its predecessor 100 Extraordinary Stories for Courageous Girls and I’m pretty sure they’ll enjoy this as well.

While reading though 100 Extraordinary Stories of Prayer for Courageous Girls, I noticed some overlapping stories between it and its predecessor. So, I pulled out my daughters’ copy of 100 Extraordinary Stories for Courageous Girls and compared the two.  It’s the same format with a story on the left page and an illustration on the right page. While some of the stories are basically the same, the narrative is worded differently and the illustrations are different.

Things I liked:

• The built-in bookmark!
• The emphasis on prayer. Some entries focus on a woman’s specific prayer that was answered. Others focus on someone who was known for praying, but are more biographical rather than citing a specific request and answer.
• The diversity. The stories included people from different faiths – Evangelical Christians, Catholics, Quakers, and Puritans. It included several women who stood up to racism and fought for racial equality. It advocated for gender equality and cited examples of female preachers. (Which some readers may disagree with.)

Things I did not like:

• In the original 100 Extraordinary Stories for Courageous Girls, it would give the story and usually ask a question for reflection. However, in 100 Extraordinary Stories of Prayer for Courageous Girls, there was often an imperative at the end of the narrative. I felt like the author took these women and their personal callings and twisted it to create a principle that applied to everybody. Because of that, when I read through this with my girls, I will be sure to examine and discuss those statements with them.
• The story of the Canaanite woman who cried out to Jesus to heal her daughter. This story has been interpreted in many different ways and I found the message in this book pretty revolting: “Sometimes when you pray, God will ask you to be like the Canaanite woman, to be like a patient dog at a dinner table.” (Pg. 30). This just didn’t sit well with me. If I’m a child of God, then I’m a child of God – not a dog (even if it’s a beloved lap dog).  Frankly, I don’t like the message it sends to my daughter and I really wish the author had left this story out. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of the book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Book Review: Confident Moms, Confident Daughters by Maria Furlough

About the Book:

What we say to our daughters lasts a moment. What we show our daughters lasts a lifetime.

No matter how much we try to tell our daughters that they are beautiful and lovable as they are, words are not enough. And if we're honest, we don't always set the best example. How can we build up confident girls if we struggle to be confident ourselves?

With deep compassion, Maria Furlough delves into the root causes of our insecurity, offers biblical guidance for seeing ourselves as God sees us, and shows how to model our newfound confidence to our impressionable daughters. Speaking as a daughter, a youth leader, and a mother, Furlough shares her own struggles and triumphs, as well as expert advice from a pediatrician, a nutritionist, a Christian counselor, and more.


My Thoughts:

In Confident Moms, Confident Daughters, author Maria Furlough aims to encourage and equip moms who desire to help their daughters live free from insecurity in an image-obsessed culture.

The author balanced well the ideas of “true beauty” and physical beauty. She emphasized “true beauty” as most important, but validated the feminine desire for physical beauty. She gave practical tips to help a mom feel confident about her physical characteristics. She encourages a woman to focus on what she loves about her body and play to those strengths by purchasing clothes that fit well or trying a new makeup style. In short, use and enjoy what works for you. She is not saying to dress provocatively. Rather, she’s encouraging women to be clothed with “strength and dignity” (a phrase by her daughter on page 138) and that includes dressing in clothes that make one feel strong and confident. Being confident yourself is a crucial step to helping your daughter be confident in her body.

My main takeaways from Confident Moms, Confident Daughters were: 1.) Don’t speak negatively about your body or your daughter’s body. 2.) Don’t vent or dump your issues on your daughter. Talk to the husband, friends, or family, but don’t make your daughter carry your burdens or issues. 3.) Reflective listening. 4.) Honest communication and connection creates an inroad for you to be able to speak truth to your daughter about this crucial issue.

I recommend Confident Moms, Confident Daughters by Maria Furlough to any mom. I will keep this book and reread it in the future. The discussion questions to talk with your daughter about are more appropriate for tween and teen girls. My daughters are much younger and I don’t think they would completely understand or process the questions deeply. Still, the information in the book is valuable as I can start applying the recommended practices when they are young.

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: How to be a Courageous Girl of God

About the Book:

Encourage the girls in your life to become courageous girls of God!

Featuring brief descriptions of dozens of  Bible women, your girls, ages 8 and up, will be inspired to become courageous, too, as they learn from the examples of strong women of faith--including Abigail, Anna, Deborah, Dorcas, Elizabeth, Mary, and dozens more! Each section prompts girls to read the complete story in their own Bible, draw a related picture, journal their thoughts about courageous women of the Bible, and think about how they, too, can be a courageous girl! This delightful journal makes a great standalone or companion to 100 Extraordinary Stories for Courageous Girls and The Bible for Courageous Girls.

My Thoughts:

How to be a Courageous Girl of God: An Interactive Journal Inspired by Extraordinary Women of Faith from Shiloh Kidz Publishing features thirty-four women whose stories are noted in the Bible. Combining inspirational Bible stories with plenty of space for writing and drawing, the journal aims to empower girls to live courageously. Over a span of five pages for each woman, the journal directs the user to read the Bible story, examine why this woman was considered courageous, and contemplate a life application.

In my opinion, some of the stories in How to be a Courageous Girl of God were stretched. Regarding Noah's wife, the text says that “she must have shared Noah's strong faith and trust in God.” While it is likely that she did, we really don't know as it's not addressed in the Bible. For Priscilla, the narrative says that she and her husband spent time with Paul, “making tents and talking about the Bible.” This choice of wording is a bit misleading. While they had the Torah and other sacred texts in the early church, they didn't have what we know of as “the Bible.” Maybe these things seem nit-picky, but they didn't settle well for me.

The How to be a Courageous Girl of God journal is spiral bound with a cover that is slightly thicker than a normal paperback cover. Just from the mailing, three of the four corners have damage and the spine has substantial creasing. Considering that my daughter will likely use this for an extended time period, I think a hardcover would have been a better option.

Despite the things listed here that I did not like, I'm pretty sure my daughter will be happy when I present the How to be a Courageous Girl of God journal to her. At seven, she's developed a love of journaling and likely would understand the concepts, but I'm not sure she's ready for critical thinking and life application yet. Late elementary to highschoolers will probably benefit most from this journal.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.