Book reviews

Justine Froelker Our children and youth have an unprecedented amount of stress in their day-to-day lives. Our culture has made it more difficult for them to find places of calm and peace, adding new layers of high expectations, distractions, and sometimes crushing...

Ruth Haley Barton Some days, for me, start at 11:43 pm the night before with one kid falling out of bed and needing a back rub to help them settle back in, continue at 2:13 am with the dog wanting to warn us about the car headlights three blocks over, and really get...

Irene Kraegel There is a handful of questions that I get time and again. It’s almost predictable at this point- very rarely does a week go by without one of them being asked. Towards the top of the list is, “What kids devotional do you recommend?” Almost two decades...

Glenys Nellist I have mentioned that I am the mother of seven children and that my home is filled with books. We literally have floor to ceiling bookshelves in every room, on our staircase landing, in our basement, and even in our klivingchen (combination...

Glenys Nellist It’s a rare day that I find a devotional that works for my whole family. Two parents, three teens, a tween, two elementary school aged kids, and a toddler equal a wide range of interests and attention spans. For the seasons of Advent and Lent, we enjoy...

Jill J. Duffield Whenever I begin introducing a new topic to a group of learners, I spend a significant amount of time activating everyone’s background knowledge. What experiences have we had with it? What do we wonder? What would life be without it? All sorts of...

Cheryl Minor Like many of you, I am in a special place with my work; processing the lessons I’ve learned through the pandemic, altering what faith formation looks like based upon those lessons, tinkering with favorite methods, and testing out new ways of going forth...

Donna Schaper Because of my work, my children have been brought to so many different churches that we really cannot count the number. They have honed a rating system of congregations, based on genuine friendliness, quality of food (good luck topping the congregation...

Les Carpenter Full disclosure: I absolutely love improv comedy. I have spent years of my life feeding my babies in the wee hours of the night while watching reruns of Whose Line Is It Anyway. When my babies became children that were interested in drama, I gleefully...

Rebecca L. McClain I have been working in children’s ministries for over two decades and have definite favorites when it comes to pedagogy and faith formation. Godly Play has elements that I have loved and used, and when the title Graceful Nurture; Using Godly Play...