Monday, August 17, 2009

Read and Share Toddler Bible by Gwen Ellis

What a delightful book! The 40 stories included are short, have only a phrase or two on each page and are accompanied by great illustrations. At the beginning of each story the Bible section from which it is taken is identified, allowing adults to read the original story for context and answering children's questions. At the end of each five or six page story are suggestions for activities to help reinforce the Bible stories and provide time for parent/child interaction. The activities vary so the adults and children will not get bored with the book.
The text of the stories contains words the reader can emphasize to add drama to the story. For example, “One day a s-s-s-sneaky s-s-s-snake came s-s-s-slithering up to Eve.”
While the book part of this book/DVD combination is fitting for young toddlers, the DVD part is well suited for older ones. The illustrations are similar so children will see continuity between book and DVD. The stories on the DVD are much longer so require a longer attention span, hence suitable for older toddlers. Various voices are used which helps keep the child’s attention.
As with any children’s Bible story book, I suppose, a little freedom is taken with the Bible text but nothing that I should think would cause alarm.
All in all, a superb little book and DVD combination.

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