I was so pleased to receive these three recently released books to review! Maybe one of these would be a lovely Christmas gift for one of the kids in your life! 

The Sleepy Shepherd by Stephen Cottrell is a magically illustrated story about a little shepherd who sleeps right through the angels coming and everyone else going to visit baby Jesus. He lives with that his whole life but gets to be an onlooker to Jesus’ ministry right up until in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Easter story. I love the twist in the end where the shepherd is able to stay awake this time, even when the disciples can’t. This book intertwines the Easter story with the Christmas story so the kids and the parents doing the reading get a new glimpse of the arch of grace and hope throughout. 

The pictures are delightful and the story is really engaging and relatable. There are a lot of words on every page and sometimes the pictures are less prominent so this book is probably best for 5-8 year olds, but I will be reading it to all my kids (3-6). I love that this book is in a story form instead of the popular, more abstract way of writing books for kids. 

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You Are: Speaking God’s Word Over Your Children by Emily Assell

This little board book is geared to the youngest kiddos. Each page has a short lovingly worded affirmation about who we are according to the Bible and a Bible verse paired with it. 

These picture are precious and I love the idea of speaking this kind of truth right into our littlest munchkins as they grow. Who doesn’t need to be reminded of who they are in Christ or who we were created to be?  A few examples: “You are free. You are Chosen. You are an overcomer. You are so loved.” Definitely truths I want to communicate to my kids. 

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Who Sang The First Song? by Ellie Holcomb is a lovely book with gorgeously detailed illustrations that my kids will look through again and again even before they can read. After a series of beautifully illustrated questions about who sang the first song (was it the wind? Was it the birds? Was it the thunder?) we find that God sang the first song and he has given each of us our unique and beautiful songs to sing in return.  Personally, the pictures in this book beat out the words for beauty, but combined they have a lovely message. I prefer straightforward stories, but this rhyming thought-proving styles makes for a quick and easy read-aloud. 

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PS — If you happen to know my kids don’t tell them about these books! These are going under our tree. :)

Here are 10 more amazing kids books if you need more options!

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Also: Amazon has a book coupon right now: $5 off a purchase of $20 with code: GIFTBOOK18

(Disclaimers. First: Thanks to IV Press, Tyndale House, and B&H Kids Books for the chance to read and review these fun books. I was given a complimentary copy of each, but all opinions are my own. Also: Post contains Amazon affiliate links. )