Sunday, May 31, 2009

Children's (Devotional) Book Monday

For Christmas, my brother and his family gifted us with this sweet devotional; we enjoyed it as a family during breakfast, and it was such a sweet way to start our days.


Sammy and His Shepherd: Seeing Jesus in Psalm 23
by Susan Hunt
Illustrated by Cory Godbey

As parents, Kevin and I have tried to share Psalm 23 with our children in vivid detail, dissecting it piece by piece, desiring to open their eyes to what our path looks like with Jesus leading as our Shepherd. How pleased we were to read this story of two sheep, on very different paths, in a way that opened our eyes to see this Psalm in a fresh way!

Sammy is a loved sheep, kept by a Shepherd who named him, watches over him, and leads him in gentle pastures while disciplining with his comforting staff. A sheep in the next pasture lives in a very different world, completely ignored and uncared for by her shepherd. Sammy attempts to share with this lonely, lost sheep the beauty and safety of following his Shepherd, and the story unfolds.

Verse by verse, the Psalm is broken down into short "chapters", each statement beautifully illustrated by both the words and artwork. At the end of each section, there are questions and scriptures to accompany the story that encourage sweet discussion with your children.

The author encourages families to read Psalm 23 in its entirety each time you read a chapter, and by the end of the book, you will find yourselves reciting it in unison!

You would be blessed to enjoy this sweet book with your children- we were!

Do you have any family devotionals to share? If so, please share in the comments! (Also, if anyone would like to re-join Children's Book Monday on a regular basis by reviewing your latest favorite children's books, please let me know! If there is enough participation, I will put up a linky and we can all share together!)

Happy reading!

6 fellow travelers shared:

Ginger said...

We LOVE that book. Our great Uncle sent that book to us for Christmas along with 'The Prince's Poison Cup' and 'The Lightlings', both by R.C. Sproul. I love the analogy-style books and our family enjoys them! (Hinds feet, Pilgrims Progress, The Singer, etc.)

jenny said...

I would love to find this book! My husband and I did this last year, only we used a book called Comfort for a Child's Heart by Helen Haidle. It's a great devotional that explains each verse or phrase in Psalm 23 from a shepherd's point of view. It answers questions like, why put oil on a sheep's head?

Quinne said...

Hi Elise :) Thank you for the recommendation! This sounds like something we all will love - we are already big fans of Mrs Hunt.

I'm guessing that you already know about my recs :) They are: Big Truths for Little Kids, Discovering Jesus in Genesis, and Discovering Jesus in Exodus.

We have been through them over and over, and the sweeties always ask to begin again. Jamie and I are blown away by the wonderful way things are explained, and the children love the characters and lessons.

Love to you and your sweet family, Q

Christine said...

The book looks great! I'd be interested in jumping in sometimes with a CBM. For our devition time we've used The Jesus Storybook Bible which is wonderful. I actually read about it on a blog a couple of years ago and we're on our second time through it.

Anonymous said...

I am really glad to read about these. I like Quinne's suggestions too. We like Mrs. Hunt's work as well.

I love learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism with my children. It has strengthened my faith walk.

What we've enjoyed: Scripture put to song by "Thy Word Creations" (Psalm 139 and Isaiah 53). Psalm 103 illustrated by Joannah Bluedorn and Psalm 127 illustrated by her as well. My little boys loved "Dangerous Journey" with my husband (illustrated Pilgrim's Progress). Thanks! Mary Brooke

Kristin said...

We love the Step-By-Step Bible: A Panoramin Journer Through God's Word.

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