Sunday, December 15, 2024

Make This a Christmas/Winter to . . . Read

Christmas is just around the corner, which means Christmas break is nearly upon us - and for many this also means many days of cold, snowy weather which often keeps us inside, so if you are thinking about  making this a time to read to and with the children you love, you may wonder what books are out there - I am happy to share a few great titles with you which you may want to include in your Christmas/Winter Reading List. Of course, I'd include my books - A Family of Her Own for Candy  and The Little Ginormous, Humongous, Hairy, One-Eyed Monster Boy's  Adventures!but the following are a few of my favorites. Let's start with books for preschool and early elementary age children.

  • Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children If we want the children we love to learn to walk closely with God, they need to learn to talk with Him. Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children is designed to help children - preschool through Middle School age - learn to do exactly this by praying the Psalms back to God. In this book you will find 52 weeks of Scripture prayers from the Book of Psalms and space for children to record their own prayer requests and how God answers. With Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children the children you love will learn how to talk with God - and will make their way through the Book of Psalms in a thoughtful way as well. Just imagine what it would be like to do this with the children you love.
  • From Group Publishing we find a wonderful set of five board books - Best of Li'l Buddies Board Book Set. Group describes them in this way; "Little ones will be delighted to meet these five Li'l Buddies - Decker, Skyler, Bubba, Abee and Tina. They'll love these winsome characters, each of whom reinforces a key Bible truth in age-appropriate ways . . . God made them (From Head to Toe, God Made Me) God is always for them (Mad, Glad, or Sad, God Is for Me) God is always with them (Everywhere I Go, God Is With Me) God will always love them (All Day Long, God Loves Me) God made them for a reason (Here’s the Reason God Made Me). Packed with vibrant full-color illustrations and relationship-reinforcing Bible truths, little ones will delight in these engaging stories as they discover how special they are to God and parents/grandparents will love watching these lessons sink deep into the hearts and minds of the children they love." I agree! These board books are fun and a great way to start important conversations with the little ones in particular.
  • Another series from Group - this time for early elementary
    age children - is their Best of Buddies Storybook Set. Group says; "Children will discover they are unique creations of God. And they'll love joining Decker, Skyler, Bubba, Abbee and Tina as these buddies celebrate their God-given talents and discover five important life-changing lessons - God made them for a reason (I’ve Got This!) God is always with them (Is Anyone Out There?) God made them (I Was Born for This!) God will always love them (Uh-Oh! I Did It Again!) God is always for them (I Can Do Anything!) Packed with vibrant full-color illustrations and relationship reinforcing Bible truths, children will delight in these engaging stories as they draw closer to Jesus." 
  • A favorite book of mine to read to my grandchildren when they were young has to be - I'm Going to Give You a Bear Hug! . . . and the title makes it
    clear why! This book you read - and hug your way through as you read - and your grandchildren will be laughing by the end!
  • This is another book I LOVE - The Lord's Prayer: Words of Hope and  Happiness. The illustrations are beautiful and it is such a lovely way to introduce grandchildren to the beauty of the Lord's Prayer. 
  • God's Great Love for You is another book I LOVE from Zonderkidz! It is a wonderful book to give to your grandchildren - of any age. Yes, it is primarily written for little ones, but the truth of this book is one even your older grandchildren need to be reminded is true for them as well.
I could go on and on recommending books for little ones from Zonderkidz, but another publisher also has some of my favorite titles, so the next few will be from Sterling Children's Books - not a "Christian" publisher, but the stories are fun and have so many wonderful lessons which we are able to talk about with our grandchildren. The first is just fun - and funny. The publisher even had to go to a second printing, because this book is so excellent.
  • A Couch for Llama is a story which will make you laugh and has illustrations full of detail and sure to delight! It will give you an opportunity to talk about helping others, sharing, and giving to others rather than throwing things away.
  • Again, I could go on and on recommending books I love, but will put just one more for this age - it is simply for fun. Yes, it is not only okay, but encouraged to read (or in this case sing) books just for the fun of it. Do Your Ears Hang Low? has a basset hound in it and we love bassets at my house; plus the song is just fun! (If you do not know it, check it out online, so you will be able to sing this story to your grandchildren!)
This series is for all ages - preschool through elementary - and even
teens and adults will enjoy them - the Life on the Goldilocks Planet series. This series will introduce the ones you love to animals - some you've never heard of before with full color photos, fun facts, plus quotes from scientists and activities to engage all of you as you learn how God is real and God and science do go together! You will find them in our bookstore.

Okay, now a few books for upper elementary and teen grandchildren. My grandson who is ten loves to code, which means any book on coding is a great book for him. Now days so many of our older grandchildren are learning to code, so giving them a book and then talking with them about what they would use coding for and how they might use it to let others know about Jesus is just one way to have a great conversation with them. 
Well, these are some of my favorites - but I have LOTS of favorite books for sure! What are some of the books you would recommend for grandparents to include on their Christmas/Winter Book Reading List?

 #grandmas #handingdowntheconfidentfaith #itmatterswhatwedo #grandparentingonpurpose

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