Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Gardener and The Vine created by Andrew McDonough Book Review

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!


Today's Wild Card author is:

Andrew McDonough

and the book:

Zondervan (January 15, 2010)
***Special thanks to Pam Mettler of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Andrew is the creator, writer, and illustrator of the Lost Sheep series. Way back in 1989 as a young Bible college student, Andrew was asked to give the dreaded “children’s talk” at a large church. Andrew possessed one talent: he could draw sheep. He bought some overheard projector sheets and drew up the story of Cecil and the Lost Sheep. The congregation loved it, so Andrew continued to draw stories to use with kids and adults. Other student, pastors, and teachers started borrowing the stories.



Product Details:

List Price: $4.99
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (January 15, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310719461
ISBN-13: 978-0310719465

PRESS THE BROWSE BUTTON TO VIEW THE FIRST CHAPTER:





Here's my review:

The Gardener and The Vine created by Andrew McDonough is a unique retelling of John 15:1, 5 for children.  Basil is a small branch in the middle of a lonely desert when the Gardener finds him.  He immediately asks to take Basil back with him, but he has good news and bad news.  Basil thinks he can trust the Gardener, but he has many doubts each time there is a transition of being cut and grafted.  When Basil is finally connected to a larger vine he understands the decisions of the Gardener are only for his good.

I thought this was a beautiful picture of one of my favorite Bible passages.  I think children would be drawn to this simple story with colorful illustrations.  There is also a page in the back that offers suggestions to parents for introducing the story and having discussion after the story.  I can't wait for my son to get a little older so he can learn all about Jesus' love for him with this sweet book, The Gardener and The Vine.

*This book was provided to me free of charge by FIRST Wild Card Tours for purpose of this review. This is my honest opinion of this book and no monetary compensation was received for my opinion.*

No comments: