Let’s be honest, there is no lack for Christian children’s books in the marketplace. However, finding ones that are both engaging, and theologically sound, is a totally different matter altogether. Even though my son is fairly young, we have read plenty of Christian books together as a family. The sad truth is, though, that far too often I catch myself either having to change words to help my son understand what is going on, or I have to replace words that would rather hint at or insinuate the names Jesus Christ and God instead of outright using them. I also find myself having to expand on what we are reading because the author is so vague with details pertaining to the biblical story they are telling. Now, I know that expanding on what we are reading is pretty much a given with a young child, but some of the details I am having to add to the story are integral to telling it in its biblical context so there should be no reason why it was excluded from the book.
In steps Melissa Cutrera’s book, God’s Great Plan which is the most theologically sound Christian children’s book that I have read to date. Immediately after I read it for the first time with my family, my wife and I both looked at each other and exclaimed that it was the best children’s book we had read together. The crazy part is that there is only 27 pages total in this book with only 2 sentences on each page. In that short space Melissa packs a Gospel-punch which astonished my wife and I. The book contains a faithful handling of Creation, The Fall, Depravity of Man, Incarnation of Christ, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Redemption of Man. The inclusion of the following two sentences was so crucial in contributing to the biblical soundness of this book because it shows that the plan of Redemption has always been in place, and the Fall was not something that caught God off-guard: “God knew this would happen before time began; to rescue His people was always His plan.”
I highly recommend God’s Great Plan. It is a book that we plan on re-reading for years to come.
I received this book for free from Shepherd Press via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Josh is a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, staunch defender of Reformed Theology, husband to Candis, Dad to Jaeden, avid book reader, Leader of the College Ministry at Perimeter Road Baptist Church, and Contract Manager at CPS, Inc.
