A while back, I was blessed with the opportunity to talk with Dr. Scripture on his radio program. Even before I knew the first episode had aired, I got a message on facebook from Mrs. Green asking if I’d like to review her book. Having the chance to share with you all is a delight!
I’d looked it over before, but this afternoon I grabbed my almost 7 year old and 5 year old
Click to visit Mrs. Green’s site
boys to see how they liked the book. Here’s how it went:
Janice Green is a quilter. The illustrations she uses are actually quilt blocks she did in colorful fabrics related to the story. It was easier for me to enjoy her simple designs when there was no way she could have included much more detail. Usually, it bugs me when an artist skips the dinosaurs, but this book only has about 4 animals in the picture with Adam: of course there wasn’t space for the T-Rex!
The main section of each short page of text is a “paraphrase” of the Bible. She just took the original words and simplified it to a young child’s level. Hebrew scholars would pull their hair out with some of what she leaves out, but they aren’t the people Mrs. Green wrote for.
I do wish she’d mentioned that the word often translated “birds” means “flyers”, so the pterosaurs would be included, but that’s easy for you parents to throw in. Personally, I added little bits Mrs. Green had left out to every page. This isn’t unusual, though, I’m always doing that!
What we enjoyed most, besides the pictures, were the questions at the bottom of each page. Basic things like “how do you feel in a dark place?” or “what is your favorite animal?” help kids connect. Others help them think through why God did what He did and how Adam and Eve must have felt after their sin. Each page of text had about four questions to get kids’ brains going.
The Creation is a short book, only 16 pages of pictures and text, making it a pleasant one-sitting read. Each day of Creation gets its own illustration and word page closing with the account of Adam and Eve’s Fall.
The book doesn’t get into how God planned to rescue them; you’ll need to discuss Jesus some other way, but that’s no biggy. I was pleased with how quickly my 5 year old understood the connection between Adam as “ruler” and how his sin affected the rest of creation. Wording big concepts like that for little ones isn’t easy!
At the back, there’s a full page for parents with encouraging reminders of the importance of remembering God as Creator. Last is a page of ideas for making your own Creation Quilt and mini-bio of the author.
Janice D. Green’s books are available on Amazon, but she says buying through her website Honeycomb Adventures is cheaper (especially if you spring for her “Grandma’s Special”!). Visiting her site is a pleasure in itself since everything is decorated with pictures of her quilt art.
