Author: jlschock

Description:

Review:

Adventuring Through the Bible: A Comprehensive Guide to the Entire Bible by Ray C. Stedman is just as the title says, A Comprehensive Guide to the Entire Bible. This book is an incredible reference to go along with any biblical study. This book goes beyond my wildest expectations of what a Bible guide should be. The table of contents is very well organized and very helpful to navigate though the book. The pictures, maps and charts are beautiful. The outlines are the most comprehensive that I’ve seen. I highly suggest this book to anyone who studies the Bible. This book is perfect for students if they are in grade school through seminary. Adventuring Through the Bible by Ray C. Stedman is a valuable resource not to be overlooked.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. https://www.netgalley.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Description:
This special binding of the Faithgirlz! Bible, NIV offers a trendy and unique magnetic closure.
From back cover:
Every girl wants to know she’s totally unique and special. This Bible says that with Faithgirlz! sparkle. Through the many in-text features found only in the Faithgirlz! Bible, NIV girls will grow closer to God as they discover the journey of a lifetime.
Features include:
• Book introductions—Read about the who, when, where, and what of each book.
• Dream Girl—Use your imagination to put yourself in the story.
• Bring It On!—Take quizzes to really get to know yourself.
• Is There a Little (Eve, Ruth, Isaiah) in You?—See for yourself what you have in common.
• Words to Live By—Check out these Bible verses that are great for memorizing.
• What Happens Next?—Create a list of events to tell a Bible story in your own words.
• Oh, I Get It!—Find answers to Bible questions you’ve wondered about.
• The complete New International Version (NIV).
• Features written by bestselling author and tween expert Nancy Rue.

What drew me to this book was the pink and purple font. I wished they put Jesus’ words in pink or red, but this book is a great NIV Bible from preteen through teen. I love the reference sections in the back including a weights and measurements section, which can be very useful for understanding the way measurement was standard in the Bible. How to begin a relationship with Jesus section is a nice keepsake for new believers. The through the Bible in a year section, is a great reference for keeping track of the great goal of reading through the Bible. The Promises from the Bible and Perspectives from the Bible section helps teens with tough issues from a biblical a perspective. The notes section gives a few pages to write notes or start a reference section. The magnetic enclosure is a nice feature for a new Bible but I wonder how it will close if any journaling or papers were added over time. There is no name section in the beginning but lots of blank space to make your own name and dedication section. Overall I like this Bible and my preteen daughters love it. I would recommend this Bible to anyone has a teen or preteen daughter.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Two Minutes in the Bible™ Through Proverbs A 90-Day Devotional by Boyd Bailey is a short yet powerful devotional that helps the reader study and reflect on Proverbs. Each of the 90 devotions has three scripture verses to read, a reflection of those verses, questions to apply the devotional to the reader’s life and related Scripture to help the reader in continued Biblical study.    

I enjoyed reading through this devotional. I like how the scripture is woven though out the reflection. I like how each of the 90 daily readings are uniform to each other. They are short yet packed with much power and deep thought. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a devotional or anyone studying Proverbs.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. https://www.netgalley.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I recently had the opportunity to look at a sample of the CEB Study Bible by Common English Bible. I was given the book of Mark. I did not see the rest of the Bible so my review will be based on the book of Mark, Some of Exodus and Leviticus. The  CEB Study Bible by Common English Bible  is the first study Bible for the CEB version.  CEB Study Bible by Common English Bible adds several resources to the version to help engage and comprehend the text. At the beginning of each book is an extensive book overview with scripture references. There is a decent sized amount of study notes and cross references. There are photographs that draws the reader into the architectural and historical aspects of the places in the Bible. There are various charts and sketches that adds information that would take time to compile.  CEB Study Bible by Common English Bible includes many topical articles. I did not look at the concordance or map sections.
I like how my eyes are drawn to the blue font in the study note and cross reference sections. My favorite part is the in depth introductions and the beautiful color photographs. I wish I was given a larger sample to review but overall I like the CEB Study Bible by Common English Bible and I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for a CEB Study Bible.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. https://www.netgalley.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The NIrV Study Bible for kids by Zonderkids has a colorful cover and paper quality is good. The intended reading age is ages 6-10 at a third grade reading level.  The NIrV Study Bible for kids by Zonderkids includes 32 full-color pages, a presentation page, the Check It Out section describes the life in Bible times, the Brain Game section is short quizzes to help with comprehension, the Soak It Up section is selected memory verses, Each book has an introduction with a brief overview and events list, there is a dictionary and a map section at the back.

I was very excited to review the NIrV Study Bible for kids by Zonderkids. I liked how the full color sections gave a study section as well as selected picture and story references. I would have liked to see more of the full color section but I understand it would have added to the overall weight of the book. The Brain Game sections are wonderful and a great idea to help with comprehension. I think there could be more maps as children are drawn to that section. I like how the book color changes between blue and green. I think the color difference helps children locate the different books. I like the books of the Bible section in the front. I think this is a great book for children and people who teach children. I would buy this book and would recommend anyone looking for an NIrV version to buy this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The book Let’s Learn about The Lord’s Prayer by Catherine DeVries is a wonderful children’s book about the Lord’s prayer. The book takes you through a playdate with Emma. The story starts in Emma’s room but then goes to the kitchen for lunch. Emma then explains the Lord’s prayer line by line and explains each line in a way a child can understand. My children really loved this book.

The book is very colorful and appealing to children and adults alike. My children asked me several times to read the book to them as I was writing this review. My kid’s favorite part is the page where it says “Some friends of Jesus wrote down this prayer in the Bible. And do you know what? This prayer has been told to other people ever since– from grandpas and grandmas, to moms and dads, to kids everywhere so that everyone can know about it. It’s very important!” Every time we get to that page my kids say “My mom and dad???” The wording is perfect to keep the young reader’s attention through the whole book. I know my kids got drawn into the story and enjoyed this book greatly. The only thing I can complain about this book is that there was no sandwich for the reader. Maybe Emma could say “Here is your plate.” or “Come sit next to me.” But I will use my imagination to pretend the reader’s plate is on the part of the table that is not in the picture and enjoy the story. I certainly would not keep from buying the book because of a drawing. I got the honor of reviewing a digital copy of this book, but I’m thinking about buying a hard copy for our home library. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn the Lord’s Prayer or teaching prayers to children. My children loved this book. I am excited to read other titles in the HeartSmart Series by Catherine DeVries.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. https://www.netgalley.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Princess Joy Sticker & Activity Book Inspired by Jeanna Young & Jacqueline Johnson is intended to go with Princess Joy’s Birthday Blessing by Jeanna Young & Jacqueline Johnson. These books are part of the Princess Parables Series. Princess Joy Sticker and Activity Book is a 16 page book for ages 4-8. There are 50 stickers, a sticker activity page, word puzzles, coloring pages, and other activities.

The book is very appealing for girls. The full color pages give a lot for children to look at. The coloring pages are very detailed and Im not sure that even I would be able to stay in the lines. The activities would be appropriate for older girls even through age 12. The book is great until we got to the stickers. The stickers frustrated my 9 year old. The stickers have too much white space around them and some are too small for the area they are intended for. My 6 year old is confused as to where all the extra stickers go but greatly enjoyed sticking them throughout the book where ever she pleased. Although she placed the stickers  In my opinion they took the same sticker page and put it in all the activity books in the series. I think more time and effort should have been put into the stickers. Only 6 stickers out 50 are used in the activity unless you add more on the create your own invitation page. The stickers insult the beautiful full color pages they are to go on because the white area distracts from the flow of the page. What we did was cut the white edge off of the sticker and then placed them where they belonged. I took pictures of the sticker page. The dog, teapot and flower I cut smaller. The butterfly and racket I left alone. The sheep sticker is too small and really upset my girls. With more thought to the stickers, this book would make a great accompaniment to the lovely book series. Even without more thought to the stickers, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the Princess Parables Series.

 

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The book “Creating Hawaiian-Inspired Quilts” by Judith Sandstrom is a short, 80 paged book explaining Hawaiian quilt making. The cover of this book instantly drew me to choose this book to review. Although I have made several quilts, I have never attempted an Hawaiian quilt. The book starts with an introduction and detailed history of Hawaiian quilts. The book then has a showcase of 18 beautiful Hawaiian quilts made by six modern quilt makers. Each quilt project has a materials, cutting directions and sewing directions with beautiful pictures of the finished project. The book is split into five chapters, Traditional Single-Color Designs, Traditional Center-Embellished with Added Colors, Embellished Block-Used Repeated Times, Embellished Block-Center Medallion with Patchwork, and Patterns. The author gives directions for both hand and machine applique. The patterns are crisp and clean making for an easy time in copying onto fabric. I learned a lot about Hawaiian quilt making from reading this book. The book “Creating Hawaiian-Inspired Quilts by Judith Sandstrom inspired me to venture out and try making a Hawaiian quilt with success. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Hawaiian art.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. https://www.netgalley.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Macramé Fashion Accessories & Jewelry by Sylvie Hooghe is a fascinating and visually stunning book. The pictures are crisp and beautiful. The plentiful amount of diagrams and instructions give beginners enough to learn to begin the hobby and yet the book has plenty to keep the advanced hobbyist from being bored. Just as stated in the title, the book Macramé Fashion Accessories & Jewelry by Sylvie Hooghe, gives a large variety of DIY projects to make fashion accessories and jewelry with macramé including flip-flops, bags, belts, scarfs, decorative pins, garment edgings, bracelets, necklaces, key chains, and beaded projects.

The introduction explains in detail the types of materials and tools that are needed for macramé and types of knots used. The directions are well explained in step by step instruction and illustration throughout the book. I like how there are several picture views of the final projects. I had a hard time reading this book without getting out my macramé supplies. I was very happy to review this book and I highly recommend anyone interested in macramé to buy this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. https://www.netgalley.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

When I picked up The Action Bible Study Bible ESV in a store, I judged by its cover and was disappointed with the lack of amount of comic art. I love the introduction pages. In each introduction, the “Faith in Action” section makes small art mural of the key words found in the book. I was expecting the whole Bible to have the format of the introductory pages. But as I looked through the Bible I found other things that I liked. This Bible would be great for highlighting and jotting notes. The “What about this?” section asks questions about the faith that most people ask. The “Unlock It” sections which ask important questions to help understand the passage. The “Guess It!” sections is a challenging guessing game with 5 clues. The “Ancient Archives” sections add history to give a quick glimpse of what it was like in ancient times.  The “Activate” sections give small devotions. The “Remember It” sections highlight important verses to memorize. This Bible also has maps, sketches, a dictionary and a concordance. Although all these sections are good, I thought that there would be more of them. At first glance, I thought the whole book would be in comic format. But as it is, it is a great study Bible for any comic lover child or adult. I would buy this book for my children and I recommend anyone into comics to purchase this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. https://www.netgalley.com/ I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”