Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Review of Dance of the Dandelion

Dance of the Dandelion by Dina Sleiman is an unusual book. It's set in the Medieval times. The character, Dandelion, makes major mistakes. She gets herself into scrapes and dangerous situations...and then, guess what? There's redemption. I don't want to tell you about the redemption. I want you to be surprised. But I can tell you this, it wasn't what I expected. 

So, why is this unusual? Well, let me tell you!

Very few Medieval books are being published in the modern market. Why not? I don't know. But I am very glad that White-Fire Publishing did take on this book. It is beautifully written and the setting is perfect. Dina did her research and truly understood the time period. 

Dandelion gets herself into lots of trouble. Man trouble. Several times. She falters. Falls into temptation. And because of her sins, she experiences major destruction in her life. The Christian market is sometimes wary of these topics. But Dina certainly charted some territory that is often hedged. The great thing? She doesn't glorify any of it. In fact, the consequences occur quickly after Dandelion falls. 

Dandelion's redemption is nothing short of moving. She learns the deep, strong, never-ending love of God. Her redemption isn't found in a man (like all too many novels). Instead, it is because of the work that God had been doing in her all along. Absolutely uplifting.

Christian fiction is all about a story that uplifts, convicts and directs us to the abundant life to be found in Christ (which usually has nothing to do with money). I was delighted by Dance of the Dandelion. From the cover to the story to the author herself, this is a beautiful novel. I highly recommend this. 

To learn more about Dina Sleiman, visit her website here. To order this book, check out Amazon (this book is available as an ebook and a paperback).

** Please note: I received nothing in exchange for this review. I just loved the book and wanted to share it with you!  

Monday, December 5, 2011

Review of Baby's Little Bible


One of my very favorite things is to read the Bible with my kids. This is something we've done ever since they were tiny. I wish that we would have had Baby's Little Bible when our kids were babies! 

This storybook Bible comes in either pink or blue (we received the pink...which my daughter loved). I suppose my only thought about the color is that a neutral one would have been nice as well. The cover is smooth and has a little bit of padding to it. Nice for a baby. The pictures are colorful and beautiful. One issue I've had with other children's Bible illustrations is that they are often culturally inaccurate (making the characters look Anglo-Saxon). I appreciate how this illustrator gave Jesus darker skin and hair. 

The storytelling is well done. Even though this book is intended for babies, my kids (5 and 3) still enjoyed having it read to them. This isn't only a great baby Bible, it's a great Family Bible Time read! 

I think this book would be great for a baby shower gift, as a Christmas present for a young baby or even used as an "easy reader" book for older children who are learning to read.