Book Review: Big and Little Coloring Devotional

I am a fan of coloring books for adults. I think they’re fun, calming, and help me express myself in an artistic way — I can’t draw, but if you give me a page with something already on it, I will go to town coloring it. I was excited to get my copy of Big and Little Coloring Devotional by author Rachel Swanson and illustrator Jacy Corral. They wanted to create a book where mamas and kids could sit together and do the same thing at the same time in a way that engaged each of them in age-appropriate ways. I love that the book is a collaboration between two women who love the Lord.

I think this book is designed perfectly for its intended. Each devotional is a pair of pages — one with a short paragraph as well as a more intricate drawing; the other side of the page is child-friendly with less detailed artwork to color in. The devotionals provide really excellent content for discussion and I can see them working well for little kids as well as older ones. (And you know, I can absolutely picture a teenager sitting with her mama coloring and talking about things based on the content of these devotionals, which is really neat!)

I love how the devotional is bound at the top of the book. It makes it so easy to just grab the book, some pencils or crayons, and color with your little at the same time. Although it’s kid-friendly, I do think that it’s probably better for kids six or older. Some of the little coloring pages would be too complex for two-year-old hands (unless you don’t mind scribbles, in which case I say go for it!).

One thing I must admit: I can totally see myself coloring both the big and little pages. They’re just so fun and well-drawn that it is too hard not to! Also, you should know the pages hold up really well and are pretty thick. I colored with crayon, colored pencil, and Staedler Triplus Fineliner with no bleed through.

Happy coloring!

I received a copy of this book from B&H Publishers in exchange for a review.

Book Review: This Is How It Always Is

Some books just shock you senseless, you know? This is one of them. It’s very rare that I pick up a book and read it without knowing anything about it, but that’s exactly what I did with This Is How It Always Is. It was not anything like what I expected, and I before I read the dust jacket, I read the author’s note in the back. I was shocked by something that I thought was a plot spoiler, but then I took a moment to read the jacket and I realized that this book was going to be something that ruffled feathers and made people think long and hard.

To oversimplify, this is a book about a little boy who becomes a little girl. But that is just one tiny part of what this book is about. It’s a book about what we expect of people, of what secrets do to us, what normal is, how family functions together in times of struggle… It’s a multi-layered novel and I am so glad I read it. The author’s real life plays into it, but I won’t reveal how (unless you read a part of the author’s note like I did, but it just made the book all the more compelling).

I didn’t relate to any of the characters, which I think was a good thing as a reader in the sense that I was open to everything that was happening as I read. I honestly don’t want to write much more, because I don’t want to spoil anything. That feels like a cheap way to write a book review, but going in blind was awesome and I want you to have that same experience. I just want you to going into it with your mind open, too. It will be so good for you to think and wrestle through.

 

Book Review: Church of the Small Things

I am a huge Melanie Shankle fan. HUGE. I’ve read her blog since her daughter, who is now a high school freshman, was in preschool — so almost from its very beginning. When Melanie wrote her first book, Sparkly Green Earrings, I devoured it the day it came out. The same thing happened with her next two books The Antelope in the Living Room and Nobody’s Cuter Than You. I have waited for a few years for another book and oh my gosh, I was not disappointed with Church of the Small Things.

CofST released October 3rd, but I was lucky enough to read the book months in advance. I applied to be a part of Melanie’s launch team and I MAYBE shrieked in the grocery store when I saw that I had been selected. I got an ARC of CotST in the mail a few days later and goodness, it did not disappoint.

Melanie is a very, very (I cannot emphasize this enough) funny person and she loves Jesus. This book is both very, very funny and it is such a tender reminder that sometimes Jesus does big things in our lives, but most of the things He does in and through us are small, everyday kinds of things. When I say it’s funny, I mean it’s “I-was-sitting-in-Starbucks-laughing-so-hard-I-was-shaking-and-I’m-still-laughing-at-the-thought-of-that-chapter” funny (you’ll never look at hermit crabs and tadpoles again without thinking of chapter ten!). And several times, I had to put the aside for a few minutes because I was so moved by the understanding of God in the minute of my life that I was moved to tears. I stayed up late thinking about all of the small ways God is so very present and visible in my life.

Like Melanie’s other book, it was sweet and tender and funny. It also made me want to go hang out with Melanie, which I am totally positive would be a nightmare for her because it seems like she is deeply introverted and I am not. I will have to settle on sharing her words and loving the ways they point back to our good God.

I just want to let you know that as a member of Melanie’s launch team, I received a copy of this book for free. No one asked me to give it a positive review; these opinions are all my own! Thanks, Zondervan, for the opportunity to champion Melanie!