Book reviews

Eight years ago, my family and I moved from the New York City suburbs to a city in Pennsylvania. New Yorkers have a reputation for being loud, brash, and sometimes rude. My experience with them has been more about being helpful, community minded, but in loud and...

Last year, Picture The Bible by Stacy Johnson Myers landed on my desk and I was instantly enchanted by it. I have enjoyed it alongside many children, used it as inspiration for projects with families, and have snuggled up with it with my own babes for a...

This resource bridges two giant roles in my life; parenting my crew of seven and serving in the field of children’s and family ministries. It’s too hard to choose which perspective to use for this review, so I’m deviating from my usual form and offering you two...

Except for one brief year when I had a class composed only of boys, I have found my life to hold a fairly even mix of the traditional gender identities. It would make sense that the world would hold an equally even mix of stories and traditions featuring male and...

Everyday, around 1 pm, you’ll find me cuddled up on my bed with my toddler, reading some books and getting him down for a nap. Everyday, at multiple points in the day, you’ll find me negotiating some sort of sibling squabble that centers around why someone should be...

One of the best pieces of advice I received as a new parent was, when a child was out of sorts, take them outside or pop them in water. Both environments have proven their magical effects time and again as I parent my crew, and I often think of that advice at...

There are floor to ceiling bookshelves in every room of my home and they are all filled with books that we love. We read a LOT and we quote a LOT and we dramatize scenes from our favorite fiction a LOT. In the mid-aughts of 2000, my three oldest children made their...

My kids are currently listening to Queen’s Greatest Hits album on repeat. They’re big fans of “You’re My Best Friend”, and we’ve had a bunch of conversations as we drive to field days and swimming and piano about what makes someone a best friend. What character traits...

Perhaps you, too, have your cell phone in use more than you would like? Perhaps you, too, continue to work on finding ways to leave it behind, only to find that you need to keep it close because you know one of your children or your aging parents will be calling and...

I’ve been working in children’s and family ministries for over two decades and have been parenting for an almost equal number of years. So many children’s Bibles have come across my desk in those years, and sadly, very few are worth using. The Peace Table, from Shine...