Children's Extravaganza Book Tour!

It's been a few years since I've gotten to read picture books with my kids. The cherished memories of the hours we sat together reading make me smile.

I had the opportunity recently to read 3 sweet brand-new books for young children, and I'm pleased to participate in this week's Children's Extravaganza Book Blog Tour. And I have 2 sets of these books to give away!

GOD GAVE US HEAVEN
by
Lisa Tawn Bergren

Little Cub awakens one morning with some important questions on her mind: What is heaven like? How do we get there? Will we eat in heaven? Will we be angels?

During a delightful day spent wandering their arctic world, Papa gently answers each question, assuring Little Cub that heaven is a wonderful place, “a million times better” than she can imagine. He explains how God has made a way for those who love Him to enter their heavenly home forever after their lives on earth are over.

Reuniting the best-selling author-illustrator team from God Gave Us You, this gentle story provides satisfying answers for a young child’s most difficult questions about heaven. Parents, grandparents, childcare professionals, librarians, Sunday school teachers, and others will appreciate the gentle approach to a topic that’s on the minds of so many “little cubs.”

Through captivating, full-color illustrations and tender, biblically sound storytelling, young readers and those who love them will find reasons to rejoice in knowing that God Gave Us Heaven.

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than one million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Heaven is Lisa’s fourth children’s book, following in the tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She makes her home in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Laura J. Bryant studied painting, printmaking, and sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She has illustrated numerous award-winning children’s books, including God Gave Us You, Smudge Bunny, and If You Were My Baby. Laura lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

GOD LOVES ME MORE THAN THAT

and

WHEN GOD CREATED MY TOES

by
Dandi Daley Mackall

In two new books from best-selling children’s author Dandi Daley Mackall, clever rhymes and delightful illustrations help young children, ages three and up, understand God’s huge love for them and his joy in creating them. These enchanting picture books from the writer-illustrator team of Dandi Mackall and David Hohn will instill awe in young children as they revel in each page. Parents alike will appreciate the engaging stories that communicate God’s perfect plan and his divine purpose for little hearts.

In God Loves Me More Than That, children learn that God loves them deeper than a wishing well, wider than a semi-truck, louder than thunder, and softer than a kitten’s sneeze. Each question, presented with charming child-like faith will help young ones grasp the great love of God through comparisons and descriptions they can easily understand. In short, they’ll discover that His love is bigger, wider, higher, and deeper than anything they could imagine!

In When God Created My Toes, kids are drawn into the wonder of their creation by God -- their masterful Artist who fashioned them just right for amazing and delightful adventures, such as roller skating, finger-painting, doing flips, and drinking cocoa. Children will come to an understanding that God shaped each part of their amazing bodies with joy, delight, and humor.

Dandi Daley Mackall has published more than 400 books for children and adults, with more than 3 million combined copies sold. She is the author of WaterBrook’s two other delightful Dandilion Rhymes books, A Gaggle of Geese & A Clutter of Cats and The Blanket Show. A popular keynote speaker at conferences and Young Author events, Mackall lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, and a menagerie of horses, dogs, and cats.

David Hohn is an award-winning illustrator who graduated with honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has worked as both a staff artist and an art director for a children’s software company in Portland, Oregon, a position which led to his art directing an award-winning project for Fisher-Price. Hohn’s recent projects include Lisa Tawn Bergren’s God Gave Us Christmas.

MY COMMENTS:
These are wonderful books. They convey sweet truths in a pleasing, lilting manner, perfect for reading aloud while cuddled together. To be honest, books for children about heaven usually irritate me. It can be an awkward discussion to have with children, especially if they have personally experienced grief. Much about heaven is a wonderful mystery beyond our finite comprehension, and I have seen too many books offer simplistic or humanistic explanations that are not scriptural. But God Gave Us Heaven was wonderful - both in what it describes and promises and in what it doesn't! It even provides a simple explanation of salvation. And I love how it dealt with the question "Won't we get bored worshipping God all the time?" (a typical concern of children) and the concept of having "stuff" in heaven.

The other two books, God Loves Me More Than That and When God Created My Toes, are sweet rhyming books without being sing-song. And the soft drawings in all of these books are perfect for the topics being communicated. They gave me a smile as I read and made me wish for a little one to share them with.


But since my days of little ones are long gone, I will share them with you instead! A set of books (a set being 1 copy of each book) will be given to 2 of you! Please leave a comment on this post by 8:00 pm CDT Thursday (8/21) to be in the drawing. (Sorry, Continental US Residents only.) If you are no longer in the "mom of little ones" stage, they would make a great baby shower gift!

Happy Reading and Cuddling!