A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
by Kristin Stiles
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question that is asked of every child. Some quickly respond with their aspirations while others don’t have a clue. Wouldn’t it be great, though, if your child responded by saying, “I want to be someone who does great things for God”? How do we as parents plant and cultivate the seeds of that desire in our little ones? One way is to provide them real life stories of people who through the power of the Holy Spirit did, in fact, do great things for God. The biographies provided in this series for 4-11 year olds can inspire and encourage your children to aim for something much greater than just a career when they grow up.
The Do Great Things for God series currently consists of nine titles, with the tenth soon to be available for order. These books tell the stories of women who were used by God to take the gospel around the world despite obstacles and various difficulties. The women featured so far are Gladys Aylward, Betty Greene, Corrie ten Boom, Helen Roseveare, Maria Fearing, Amy Carmichael, Fanny Crosby, Queen Elizabeth II, and Betsey Stockton. As you can see from the list, some are quite familiar while others are not. These women represent a vast array of socio-economic statuses, cultures, influences, and ambitions. But they all share a love and devotion for Christ and a desire to serve Him with their lives.
The stories are presented in simple language with delightful illustrations. Following the stories, each book provides a photograph of the woman and a timeline with a bit more detail. The newer additions to the series also have these added sections: Questions to Think About; World Map; and Interact with ________’s Story. There is a QR code and a link that takes you to free resources that you can download. These include worksheets for 4-7 year olds and for 7-11 year olds, a family project, and a beautifully formatted verse that is featured in the story. These free resources are available for all nine of the titles at thegoodbook.com/kids-resources. I would highly recommend these for homeschooling families or for Sunday School teachers who would like to have the children interact more with the stories.
These books are absolutely delightful and it was a pleasure to read each one. I appreciate the thought and care that went into choosing the women and in presenting their stories. This series would be a wonderful benefit to your home or church library.
Kristin Stiles is a home-school mom, a Sunday School teacher, and helps lead the “Young, Reading, & Reformed” children’s ministry at Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia, PA.