Book Review: 100 Read & Sing Devotions by Stephen Elkins

It is said, you must know something really well to explain it really simply.  Now, while not everything can be explained simply, I believe this holds quite a bit of truth.  That has been a bit of a convicting challenge to me lately.  As I study Scripture and theology more and more, I’m excited about the things I am learning.  But when faced with the question of how I explain this to my children, I admit, I’m a bit stumped.  That’s why I’m excited to see tools for helping children grasp some of these concepts (which, quite frankly, sometimes mommies and daddies are still struggling to grasp). 

100 Read & Sing Devotions by Stephen Elkins is one such tool we’ve recently discovered.  As you may astutely surmise, there are 100 short devotionals with colorful illustration and a corresponding song on one of the two CDs that come with the book.  Often the write up will give a quick (one or two paragraph) summary of a Bible story.  Other times it uses some type of object lesson to teach a theological or moral truth.  There’s a Bible verse (often ripped out of context … but I’ll let that go for now), a prayer that’s just a couple of lines and the reference to the song for that day.

Speaking of the songs, let’s turn our attention to the CD.  It’s what you might expect here - Sunday school type songs sung by little children.  It’s the type of CD that makes parents shudder on long car trips.  However, the truer review comes when I walk into the living room to see my daughter dancing around with a huge smile beaming on her face.  Or when I hear my son singing these songs and realize that some of them are teaching him Bible verses.  That’s worth a little “ow, my ears.”

All said, this is not the greatest spiritual tool for children, but I’ve certainly seen worse.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”