Reflecting back on the Children Desiring God Conference, I wanted to commend three outstanding and inexpensive children books by Carine Mackenzie. With over 100 different titles in print and sales of over 3 million books, Carine’s talent for retelling Bible stories has blessed countless children. Here are brief descriptions:
My 1st Book of Bible Promises — The promises of God provide solid ground for encouraging children when they are anxious or afraid. The promises of God help children learn to pray Bible-saturated prayers. This 64-page book recounts 50 promises. Each promise is accompanied with a Scripture reference and a short explanation. For example: “The grass withers and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (I Pet. 1:24-25; Isaiah 40:8)
Explanation: “All human beings and human wisdom will pass away like withering flowers. God’s word will never pass away. It is unchanging, always true.” Promises are neatly arranged in topical sections (provision, blessing, guidance, salvation, eternity, promises concerning fear, promises concerning sin, the Bible, and prayer).
My 1st Book of Questions and Answers — Contains simple answers to deep questions that children often ask. For example, “Who will be saved?” Answer: “Only those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ.” (Mark 1:15) “How were people saved who lived before Christ died?” Answer: “They believed in the Savior that God would send.” (Rom. 4:3)
Little Hands Story Bible — This book contains outstanding, captivating illustrations of biblical stories, with two-paragraph summaries on the opposite page. We’re currently reading this one to our 14-month old daughter Karis. The first few stories are: God made the world, God made people, Garden of Eden, Sin spoils God’s world. Each story contains a Scripture reference, and some sample questions for inviting input from children.