God Is Better Than Trucks: A Christian Focus Book Review

In a world where every physical entity begs for our attention, it is our job as parents to set God in grand perspective for our kids.  That is accomplished in many different ways, but reading with children is, perhaps, the easiest!   I'm sure you've heard of great advantage you give children when you read to them daily.  That advantage is only enhanced when you include books that talk about God and his role in our life.  Today I'm reviewing a new book from Christian Focus that we've enjoyed reading together called God is Better than Trucks. by Sarah Reju and illustrated by Roger De Klerk.  The title might suggest a very simplistic idea, but the book reinforces a concept that we too often fail to put into practice - giving God the ultimate honor in our daily lives because He is worthy.

This hard-backed ABC picture books takes all kinds of trucks and machinery and compares what they do to how God is better than that.  Each letter of the alphabet and type of truck is attached to a verse of the Bible that illustrates God's superiority in some way.  For example, for the letter P a police car rushes to help when you're in trouble, but God is always with you.  The verse Psalm 119:151 "...you are near, O Lord, ..." is used to reiterate why we should prefer God and His ways.  The illustrations are brightly colored and accurately drawn with plenty of details added in.  The pages are good quality which suggests long-lasting in the face of young children's use, the intended audience.

We found this book to be easy to use in a couple different ways.  Sitting down and reading straight through was doable and definitely hammered home that God is better than everything.  Sometimes we would read only a few pages - like a sampling - when we are short on time, but wanted to include some devotional or scripture elements.  With my older kids, I could easily pick only one and have a small devotion on that one thought.  We are so busy and consumed with physical things that giving God the proper honor and position in our lives is a struggle!  Even just one page can reveal to us where our allegiance might lie in our deeds.

As a whole, the kids enjoyed reading the book and are usually unsatisfied with only a page or two.  As a parent, I am pleased with the content overall and appreciate having another way to introduce God's ways into our daily life. The subject matter is appropriate for all elementary age kids, but ideally I would recommend this as part of a Preschool curriculum that would reinforce the alphabet and introduce Godly principles into their mindset and vocabulary.  They also offer a God is Better Than Princesses book for those kids not really interested in the things that go that looks just as great!

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The Crew reviewed several God-centered books from Christian Focus.  If you would like to see what God is Better Than Princesses is like or some of their other books, follow the link below to read other reviews.

T is for Tree: A Bible ABC Review

 

Long before I had kids and jumped into the homeschooling adventure, I loved books.   My Type B personality makes me worry I'll miss something really important one of these days, but then I watch my 1 year old fall in love with books over the last month like the big kids already have and I can relax.  Loving books becomes synonymous with a love for learning.  A love for learning is the entire point of education!  Our latest review is a beautiful book called T is for Tree: A Bible ABC from

Reformed Free Publishing Association that encourages a relationship with the English alphabet that also points to God's Word all along the way.

As the title suggests, this is an ABC book where every page is devoted to a letter of the alphabet.  Each letter and its chosen word is then illustrated on the page somehow and depicted in rhyme that is connected to a Bible verse quoted at the bottom of the page.  In addition to the main illustration, all the pages include a thick frame decorated with some element mentioned in the scripture.  This is a sturdy, hard-bound book that provides many opportunities for learning and further discussion.

At church and in our own reading at home we rarely use the King James Version so it didn't take very long for the kids to give me a funny look when words like whereunto and wilt were used.  I bring it up not as a criticism though.  While KJV hasn't always brought about ease of understanding, in this context it actually broadens things for the reader.  Many of the verses are familiar enough that they recognize them, but also highlights new or different words.  My 7 year old would try his hand at inferring what the word meant and the 4 year old simply expands her vocabulary.  So not only are we reinforcing alphabet knowledge and vocabulary, we're given the opportunity to discuss illustrations in the Bible.  It is a safe and easy environment to learn a little more.

The variety of words used is a nice mix of the familiar with the unique.  Things like nest and king weren't a surprise, but things like faith and zion definitely set this book apart.  The author Connie L. Meyer also did the illustrations that are all worth noting.  The pictures are beautiful with bright colors and detailed drawings that are also simple and attainable.  Drawing is something we try to include in our children's curriculum pretty often (Mr. Butler is quite the artist himself) and this book could be used to draw from or imitate in drawing practice.

This book would make a great gift with plenty of room on the inside to write an inscription and sturdy enough to last a while.  Check out other books from the author and Reformed Free Publishing Association by keeping up with them on social media.

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