If you want to avoid my ramblings, and jump straight to my review... click here :)
Erasmus, the Dutch theologian and scholar was known to have once said,
"When
I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes."
I don't think I'm quite to that extreme, but I come pretty close. Back in high school and college, the people in Borders knew me. And I never let their bimonthly coupon go to waste it seemed, as I would just sit in the religion section and just stare, wondering what I should purchase next (you know, back when I was single and working with no responsibility :). It reminds me of a library book that my son once borrowed. A pirate came into a library, map in tow seeking to find the treasure that his "X" marked. The patient librarian throughout the book slowly taught him to figure out that the real treasure is found within the pages of a book. There's so much knowledge that can be had if the author chooses... sometimes good and sometimes bad.
The
My poor children.
Thus, they were doomed from the start. Their bookcases are filled with classics and Caldecott winners, board books and purchases from the ubiquitous Christianbook.com sales. And of course, there are the freebies. I've already mentioned that we enjoy getting free books in the mail each month (I've actually been slowly trying to prepare Liam for the fact that his books will stop come May). Some have cute stories, but there are times I don't care for the secular message or worldview in them, and out of the house they go, when little eyes aren't watching (until then I change the words- the blessing of them not reading yet :) But with my book review program, I'm always on the lookout for books to add to their library, ones to help them grow. It seems like Liam has started to go that way too. Not sure if it's age, or personality.
His current favorites?
- Berenstain bears
- The Brave Young Knight (Karen Kingsbury)
- The Way Home: A Princess Story (Max Lucado)
- Pirates on the Farm (Denette Fretz)
- Twice Yours (Nan Gurley)
- The Crippled Lamb (Max Lucado)
- Jesus Storybook Bible(with cd)
- Adventure Story Bible (with cd)
Both light and heavy. I'm usually reading him at least one of those almost every day. Which is saying a lot if you were to see all the books he has. Don't get me wrong, he still likes all the others and I read them daily as well. And he will sit next to you for anything you would be willing to read him, even asking you to start over if he's missed the first few pages (even when I am counting ladybugs with Aiden... no joke!). But he loves stories with a message. And I love them, as I love seeing how creative authors can be in teaching Biblical truths to the little ones.
Enter my most recent book review. A friend recently had written a post on books with godly concepts for children. A couple of the books I had read earlier, but had never purchased because Liam was just a toddler at the time. Too young. But I was curious what he'd think now and decided to give it a go. So I was given a pdf copy of The Prince's Poison Cup to review (and will be compensated with a hard copy in exchange for this review :).
The Prince's Poison Cup is an allegorical book that begins
with a little girl, Ella, who has a stomach ache and is given medicine by her
father. Unlike the sugary syrups in today's world, this one did not impress the
child and she asked the question, "Why
does medicine taste so bad if it's going to make us well?". Her father
passes the baton to her grandfather who then tells the child a story about the
King of Life who can create anything; He has created a beautiful park for His
people and enjoys walking in it with them. He also created a lovely fountain,
but gave them strict instructions not to drink it's clear flowing water. Of
course they are tempted by his archenemy, and their hearts are turned into
stone as a result. They leave the park, set up their own dark city and remain
in that state until the Prince enters their city to rescue them. Sent by the
King, the Prince must fill a golden cup with murky, smelly poison that bubbles
up from their city's fountain. When he drinks it, he dies, amongst a triumphant
cold-hearted crowd. The King enters the plaza however, brings Him back to life,
and the fountain is transformed. The Prince offers this new water as life to
all who would come.
After reading the book once to make sure it was
theologically sound, I read it to my four-year old. He loved it and has requested
it multiple times the past few days. It could be just the boy in him, but
he didn't really seem to get into the background story at all, usually zoning
out at the end, and I think this book would have been just fine without Ella
and her Grandpa.What did he enjoy about it? First, he
liked the fact that there was a king and prince involved (he's Mommy's knight after all!). Next, he loved that
the story was similar to the redemption story of the Bible. After every page,
he excitedly say things like "the King of Life was like God, because He created
the whole world too!" or "the archenemy was like Satan who pretended
to be that naughty snake and lied". The only thing he said was missing was that the Prince needed
a white horse just like Jesus, though I had to remind him that Christ won't
come riding on His white horse until the end. :)
I also thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The
illustrations (by Justin Gerard) are lovely and capturing, from the rounded
cherubic faces of those filled with love for their Creator, to the hardened,
chiseled features of those whose hearts have turned to stone. The author, RC
Sproul, is also the founder of Ligonier Ministries. On their website, he states
that he started his ministry to "faithfully present the unvarnished truth
of Scripture to help people grow in their knowledge of God and His holiness."
I believe he accomplished this masterfully in this children's book, as even my
four-year old was able to see the allegorical comparison. You can tell Sproul
focused on every detail, hinting back to Scripture when he could (There are
some great discussion questions and Biblical references at the end of the book).
I loved the progression of sin that you could see with the people and the
fountain (James 1:14-15, I John 2:15-16), and how he subtly establishes the
respect for wisdom from the elderly. Personally, my only fault was at the end,
where the Grandpa notes that the origin of sickness was brought about by sin- I
felt that his contrasting explanation of this medicine to the cup of poison was
forced. In the end however, I highly recommend this book, as yet another
creative way (I'm always looking for them!) to teach such the story of God's
love, sacrifice and redemption for us.
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