Eli and I have been enjoying two books from a series we were recently introduced to. These two books are from Barbour Publishing, from their Kingdom Files series:
- Who Is Jesus?
- Who Was Daniel?
- Who Was David?
- Who Was Esther?
The Kingdom Files are written by Matt Koceich. He is a husband, father, and public school teacher (now in his 20th year). The series is written to engage 8-12 year olds in diving deeper into Bible stories. The biographies contain three sections; the Fact File,the Action File and the Power File. Throughout the book there are also Clue Boxes which give help hints and tips for incorporating the lessons in the book to the reader’s lives. Each of the books is approximately 100 pages long and are divided in about 10 chapters each. There are beautiful illustrations throughout each story which really adds to the story.
Who Was Jonah? begins with Jonah running away from God after he is called to go to Ninevah. It concludes with the worm chewing down the plant that had grown to shade Jonah.
The Fact File has specific information about the key character who the story is based on. For instance, Mary’s Fact File includes these Key Stats: she gave birth to Jesus, Obeyed His teachings, and Prayed with other believers for the Holy Spirit.
The Action File contains much of the story. For example, in Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus?, there are six chapters in the Action File. The story begins with the great news from Gabriel. Chapter 2 finds us in Jerusalem for the birth of Jesus, followed by the visit of the Wise Men in the following chapter. The story of the Passover is introduced in the next chapter, giving background story for Jesus at the Temple. We then read about Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding. I especially liked one of the clues in this chapter, “As we study the Bible, we need to remind our hearts to be fully obedient to God’s commands and not just follow the easy ones.” The final chapter in the Action File is entitled, A Misunderstanding, the Cross and Everything After.
The Power-Up chapter has ten teachable, action points that really help the reader understand how to incorporate the lessons into their life. Each Power-Up also has a corresponding memory verse.
Eli and I have enjoyed reading Who Was Jonah? and Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? I am looking forward to Rebekah reading them next. I like that the biographies are Biblically accurate (no whales in the Jonah story, hooray!) and that there are teachable moments throughout the story. I appreciate that Matt Koceich doesn’t assume that the reader knows the background story. He incorporates important details like what is Passover and why was were Jesus and his family at the Temple.
I’m glad we’ve had the opportunity to review both of these books! If you are looking for wholesome reading material for your 8-12 year olds be sure to check out the Kingdom Files books.
Connect with Barbour Publishing on these Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbourPublishing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/barbourbuzz
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Jennifer
