Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Esther, the Belle of Patience (Bible Belles’ The Adventures of Rooney Cruz #2) by Erin Weidemann [Review & Giveaway - US/CANADA]



Just what are "Bible Belles? 

THE SOUND OF THE BELLES WILL BE H.E.A.R.D. -Exodus 28:35

Hannah. Esther. Abigail. Ruth. Deborah. H.E.A.R.D. The names of these five women represent the journey to discover the real definition of beauty through God’s love and His special purpose for each of our lives.

Bible Belles’ The Adventure of Rooney Cruz is an original children’s series that presents real life heroes like never before. The series highlights five superhero women of the Bible: Hannah, Esther, Abigail, Ruth and Deborah.

We’re setting out to present women in the Bible in a way that has never been done before. We want girls to connect with them and find out what being truly beautiful is all about. We want girls to remember their names, their stories, and how special they are.

My thoughts: Esther the Belle of Patience is book 2 in the series and it highlights Esther because of her patience. The goal of this and the other Belle books is to teach young girls about inner beauty correlating a contemporary young girl with a prominent Bible character addressing real life problems.

This is a sweet story about cute, bright-eyed Rooney Cruz and how she learns to wait patiently on God's timing. The illustrations are bright, with strong colors and very lively.

The gist of the story is that Rooney's special angel which is designed as a tiny, winged pretty lady (sort of an angelic Tinker Bell or fairy) warns and cajooles Rooney into thinking through situations and having patience. The special angel also supernaturally spins a waterbottle cap until it transforms into a magical window that opens up to scenes in the life of Esther, the Biblical woman who saved the Jews.

As I said the story is cute, bright, and engaging. The lesson can easily be learned that a woman of God (or a girl of God) can learn to be patient and exercise restraint and pray before acting. All very good traits and qualities. And these are the charm of the book.

The series uses two concepts that I find potential for confusion. We want to certainly delineate carefully between the real and the unreal. The Bible and stories contained therein are not fantasy or fairy tales. The Bible is the story of real people, real events, and a very real God. Esther was a very real lady.
  1. Using the tiny personal angel that smacks so akin to a Tinker Bell style figure or fairy or even as in new age speak "guide," could tend to confuse the child between what an angel (even a personal angel) really is and the same types of figures in the fiction realm.
  2. The use of a magical transformation to create a window frame that is open to another time or age, smacks with the super heroes, time travel, and fantasy that is so prevalent in the entertainment world. I certainly don't see any harm in tales of modern super heroes, time travel, or fantasy, but care needs to keep them separate from Biblical truth. To not maintain separation could potentially allow for a child's confusion or distrust.
Now what do I think of the book? Well, it is cute, charming, bright, engaging, teaches a wonderful Biblical concept of waiting patiently on God and praying prior to doing. So these are all pluses. It is also a plus for young girls to learn while they are young about the wonderful women of the Bible. I simply feel that while this is a good story and well done, care must be taken to make certain children don't think angels are flitting around us like little new age fairies.

Would I read it to my children if they were still in the home? Yes, because I can discern the truth and help in their understanding. I could easily see and teach the strengths of the story.

Will I pass my copy along to a home with children in it? Yes, but then I will be certain they understand my cautions.

Esther, the Belle of Patience (Bible Belles’ The Adventures of Rooney Cruz #2) by Erin Weidemann is sure to be a kid-pleaser.


GIVEAWAY
Begins June 1 
Ends June 11 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT
Open to USA or CANADA addresses
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.
Disclosure in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

9 comments:

  1. I would like to win the Bible Belles story book for my nieces. Esther was such an inspiring woman. I'm sure they would enjoy this!

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  2. It would be nice to read to my grand daughter.

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  3. I would love a copy of this book to use in my homeschool. Thank you for the chance!

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  4. Thanks for such an honest review! I was turned off by things in the recap that you then mentioned as problematic, and I really appreciate you talking through those and your handling of them. I can see value here too. I'll have to check these out!

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  5. Thanks for your comment, Caryn. It is not easy to speak negatively of an author's work. Author's work so hard to bring good material to us and I realize that opinions vary. I do believe that God places Angels around us for whatever purposes He chooses. I do believe that angels watch over us, too.

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  6. My daughter is the special girl i'd like to win this for! She's just now getting into her children's bible!

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  7. I would like this for my niece

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  8. We are just having our first look at this series now. Will be sharing our thoughts in a few days. Thanks so much for sharing this post and link-up at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com this week! Great to have you!
    Tina

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  9. I would like this for my daughters, this looks like a wonderful book to share with them.

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