New Growth Press' Spirit of Giving Children's Book Giveaway!!

New Growth Press’ Spirit of Giving Children’s Book Giveaway

Who doesn’t love giving and getting books for Christmas? (If you don’t, we may need to have a talk!)

Books are a great gift, especially for children. Not only do we want to encourage the love of reading and give them stories they will enjoy, we want to provide teaching moments. Plus giving little ones new books is really a gift to the parents as well. They need a break from the same old bedtime stories.

You don’t have to be a parent to buy for kids, you know! Maybe you have grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbors, or want to bless some children from church.

New Growth Press is jumping into the gift giving season by giving away THREE children’s book gift boxes (retail value of $125 each). All of their children’s books are beautifully illustrated, entertaining, teach a lesson, and most importantly, are biblically based!

From November 19-25, you can enter to win one of three children’s gift boxes. Click on the graphic below to enter the giveaway!

Each gift box includes five of New Growth Press’ new children’s releases and two of their best sellers:

·       God Counts: Numbers in His Word and His World by Irene Sun

This playful children’s book serves as a beginner’s theology book for young readers who love numbers and patterns. By discovering numbers in God’s world and in his Word, parents help their children foster a deeper love and knowledge of who God is and how he counts them as his. With countable illustrations and an easy-to-learn structure, children who are always seeking, finding, tracing, and counting numbers will be captivated by God Counts.

·       Buster’s Ears Trip Him Up: When You Fail edited by Edward T. Welch

·       Jax’s Tail Twitches: When You are Angry edited by David Powlison

·       Zoe’s Hiding Place: When You are Anxious edited by David Powlison

These three books are a part of the Good News for Little Hearts series. This is a new series of hardback, illustrated children’s books for three-to eight-year-olds—each centered on an animal family. The animal characters, colorful illustrations, and the real-life issues each animal family face will captivate children. The first three books address anxiety, anger, and failure, bringing biblical counsel and hope to issues every child faces. Together children and parents will be guided by the stories into meaningful conversations about living by faith in everyday life.

·       God Made Me and You by Shai Linne

God Made Me and You invites kids to explore God’s design for ethnic diversity. Because Scripture teaches that ethnic diversity is not something that should be tolerated but rather enthusiastically embraced, Christian hip hop artist Shai Linne helps children, parents, and caregivers to celebrate this biblical truth through a lyrical, rhyming style and colorful illustrations.

·       God Made All of Me by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb

God Made All of Me is an invaluable resource and beautifully illustrated story to help families talk about sensitive issues with two- to eight-year-old children. This helpful guide starts from the fundamental truth that God created everything and applies that truth to kids and their bodies. With the help of God Made All of Me, parents and caregivers can begin conversations with boys and girls about their bodies, navigating a discussion that can so easily be warped into confusion, embarrassment, and secrecy.

·       The Radical Book for Kids: Exploring the Roots and Shoots of Faith by Champ Thornton

The Radical Book for Kids is a fun-filled explorer’s guide to the Bible, church history, and life for boys and girls ages eight and up. Vibrantly illustrated and chock-full of fun facts and ideas, this interactive book competes with screen time by stimulating children’s natural curiosity and sense of adventure! Along with the many fun and exciting stories of historical figures, young and old readers alike will learn about the roots of our faith and the importance of the gospel in our lives.

In case you don’t win the prize pack, sign-up for New Growth Press’ e-news at https://newgrowthpress.com/ to receive information about their Countdown to Christmas discounts so that you can order copies. Be sure to follow them on social media as well where they will be sharing daily deals throughout the Christmas season (facebook.com/ngpbooks | twitter.com/newgrowthpress | instagram.com/newgrowthpress).

Prepare Him Room: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Family Devotional by Marty Machowski

With Christmas right around the corner, maybe you are looking for a new advent devotional to use with your family this Christmas season to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

One devotional to take a look at is a book by Marty Machowski called Prepare Him Room: Celebrating the Birth of Jesus Family Devotional. This devotional is four weeks long and each week has three different devotionals to read during the week as well as a short story called, Bartimaeus: A Christmas Story.

I liked how each devotional is set up to include Scripture, a devotional thought about the Scripture, some questions to ask, a family activity and praying and singing together. There are also instructions for making your own advent wreath which you then light each time you read your advent devotionals. The devotionals are engaging and point the focus to the One Christmas is really about--Jesus. I really enjoyed reading the additional fictional story throughout the book too. It is well written and will hold the kids attention while teaching them the great truth that God desires to adopt us into His family through faith in Jesus.
If you're looking for a new advent reading to do with your family this season, pick up Marty Machowski's book and enjoy celebrating Jesus as a family.

***I received this complimentary book from New Growth Press. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women by Lindsay A. Franklin

Zondervan has a new devotional out for young women called, Beloved: 365 Devotions for Young Women written by Lindsay A. Franklin. This devotional has one page to read each day of the year that includes a Bible verse, some devotional thoughts from the author and some space at the bottom of each page for notes. The book begins with verses in Genesis and moves through the whole Bible taking verses that speak specifically about women and applies it to the life of young women today. This book would be appropriate for teens.

I thought the author tried to approach the reader on their level when talking about the daily verse. I wish there was a little more depth to the devotional, but it’s more about a thought for the day than deep study. The book itself is beautifully designed and would make a great gift for a teen girl in your life.


***I received this complimentary book from Handlebar. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. 

Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis by Patti Callahan

Most people around the world are familiar with C.S. Lewis in some way. Some have read his books (Mere Christianity, Screwtape Letters, Surprised by Joy, Till We Have Faces, etc.), but many now know of him through the movies produced about his popular children's series, The Chronicles of Narnia. But there is little written about the woman, Joy Davidman, C. S. Lewis married toward the end of his life. This book, Becoming Mrs. Lewis, is a fictional telling of their love story that seemed quite improbable.

From the Back Cover:

In a most improbable friendship, she found love. In a world where women were silenced, she found her voice.

 From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

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At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

**This is a video about the book told by the author, Patti Callahan.

My Review:

I was looking forward to reading this book to learn more about the one woman that C. S. Lewis loved. I knew that he had written a book called Grief Observed about how he had felt after his wife died, but I didn't know anything about her. Becoming Mrs. Lewis is told from Joy's perspective on her life, and how she met C. S. Lewis even though they were an ocean apart. Not having any prior knowledge of Joy Davidman, I cannot express whether this portrayal of her is an accurate description of her life. Her life story is definitely one of searching for truth, as she was not only an ex-communist but also an atheist. I liked how through her awful circumstance God reaches out and she for the first time acknowledges someone greater than herself. This point in time is what propels her to search for the Truth. She also struggles with trying to find love through relationships, and I feel the author portrays her as being addicted to physical relationships. Even after turning to Christianity, while she is still married to her first husband, Bill, she pursues this relationship with Lewis that is drawing her toward Lewis emotionally. And again before her divorce is final, she commits fornication while in London with another writer before marrying Lewis. The author also talks about drinking quite a lot and uses the British swear word "bloody" and "hell" quite a bit too. So overall, this book can be quite controversial with all that is included in the story. On one hand, the author has included all the good and the bad just like in real life. On the other hand, is it too much? 

For me, this book was informational. I'll have to do some other reading to find out if the author did justice to the portrayal of Joy Davidman in this story. The author does include a list of books in the back of the book for further reading. Also, because of seeing the influence that Joy and her sons had on C. S. Lewis' life, it will make me look differently at many of his life's works. 
Now, that being said, I would only recommend this book with caution to the reader.  I was disappointed with all the controversial material in it, but also that there really wasn't much truth of Scripture mentioned in this book. Although there is mention that C. S. Lewis did read his Bible every morning, the characters quoted more from books than the Bible.

***I received this book from BookLook Bloggers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

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