Grandpa’s Box

“Do you have war stories for the whole Bible?”

“Oh yes,” Grandpa replied. “In fact, in one sense, you could say that’s just what the Bible is: the story of this war between God and Satan. It’s the story of whether Satan would win and there wouldn’t be.”

Book:Grandpa's Box: Retelling the Biblical Story of Redemption by Starr Meade, P and R Publishing, 2005

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 10-14

Subjects: Bible Stories

Summary: Grandpa’s secondhand shop was always a fun place to be. Marc and Amy were thrilled to be able to explore all the treasures and hear Grandpa’s stories. The day he got out his wooden box though, the stories he began to tell were important stories. Real stories. Stories of things that had happened thousands of years ago and yet still impacted their lives today. Each item in that wooden box represented some part of the story. Read along as Grandpa tells Marc and Amy each of the stories that go with the items in his wooden box.

Notes: Written in the form of a dialogue between a grandpa and his two grandchildren, Grandpa’s box retells Bible stories, showing how they fit together. He describes it in terms of a huge war between God and satan. Each chapter is another story, another battle in the war. Each chapter begins with a reference to show where in the Bible the story is taken from and each chapter ends with another passage that’s actually written out, often taken from another place in the Bible showing God’s character or a summary of the issue at the heart of the story. Therefore this book can be used as merely an enjoyable book to read or as an actual devotional.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Psalm 35:1-3 – Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."

The Sands of Ethryn

I fled him, down the nights, and down the days; I fled him, down the arches of years; I fled him, down the labyrinthine ways, of my own mind; and in the midst of tears, I hid from him

Book:The Sands of Ethryn, Gates of Heaven Series #6 by C. S. Lakin, Living Ink Books, 2014

Genre: Fantasy

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 12+

Subjects: Faith

Summary: Water, the land must have water! In desperation, King Kael sends workers out to the desert in hopes of finding a source of water. What they find instead is a tower, a huge tower, buried under the sand. Suddenly King Kael is unconscious, a hole in the ground suddenly starts sucking all the sand into it, growing larger and larger as the king sleeps, a scroll more ancient than any discovered so far, yet with modern language on it, is being interpreted, some are hearing footsteps that seem to be following and pursuing them, and the king’s viser has taken over rule of the kingdom – along with the evil being that now lives within him. The kingdom needs a savior, but where can one powerful enough to defeat the evil be found?

Notes: Fifth it the Gates of Heaven series, a series that constantly reminds us that Heaven exists, that personifies Heaven, almost takes on the role of God Himself. “Heaven favors the honest and valiant” is an example of one of these.  This series is designed to be fairy tales that teach Scriptural truths in fantasy settings. The biggest spiritual elements in this book are God’s relentless love and His justice on the wicked. Most of the books in this series are at least loosely modeled after a classic fairy tale. This one is based off of a concept found in a poem instead: The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson. The idea is that the footsteps the characters keep hearing are those of a God of love chasing and pursuing them, wanting to claim them as His own beloved. The main character is very aware of what he is hearing and fights hard against it. So all through the story you have someone trying to run from love and being pursued by the sound of footsteps. The second element comes from the story of the Tower of Babel, a story recreated in this book. An evil character boldly shakes his fist in defiance at God, determined to build a tower to show the whole world there is no need to worship and follow God or any deity for that matter. Mankind is the true power source and can rule themselves. God casts His judgment on these characters and their tower of defiance and sends justice. Then comes the part of the story that ties all of the other books together. In the others you couldn’t really tell they were a series, but this one really brings them together and shows how each of them tells about a place and a person: a Keeper of a “Gate of Heaven”, seven sacred sites that are set up to protect the world from evil completely taking it over.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Psalm 23:6 – Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.