186. 20 Bible Verses Every Child Should Know with 20 original Bible memory songs on full-length CD

20 Bible Verses Every Child Should Know with 20 original Bible memory songs on full-length CD illustrated by Christine Tripp, songs by Little Man Music. (text by various authors. Scripture taken from NIV)

Pages: 92 + CD
Ages: 4-10
Finished: Oct. 13, 2009
First Published: 2003
Genre: children, Bible, Christian
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

Have you been looking for a fun, new resource to help your child learn Bible verses?

Reason for Reading: We spend time on religion every school day M-TH. This book came with our curriculum; I had not seen it before. We used it every other week.

Comments: I was not looking to use this book as a verse memorizing tool but more as a devotional and discussion starter with my son. I was impressed right away with the visual presentation and the everyday stories children could really relate to. The real test though was to listen to the CD. Would the songs be corny? I sat down and started to listed to it on my own and must say I was more than satisfied. The songs are sung in various combinations of a man, woman and children. Each song is a different style of music such as up beat, soft and slow, foot stomping, etc. International styles are represented as well, for example the first song has an African feel to it. The singing is good quality, the music is fun and the songs are not corny, in fact they get in your head and you find your self singing as you go about your day.

Each story follows the same format over 4 pages. A Bible verse is featured. The left hand side is a full colour illustration to accompany the story which illustrates the verse in action in a child's life today. Two "Memory Booster" activities are suggested. (These vary from word games to play in the car to actual crafts). Then the lyrics to the song follow.

How we used the book over a 4 day period: Day one, we would read the verse. (remember memorizing is not my goal but rather understanding and applying) We would discuss any words he might not know the meaning of and say the verse again now that he understood all the words. He would repeat the verse. Then I'd ask if he knew what it meant. And often he had very good explanations, and we'd discuss a little longer as interest held. Day two, we said the verse then read the story and applied the verse to the lesson the child had learned in the story. I skipped the "Memory Booster" section. Day three, We said the verse, then listened/sang the song usually more than once. As many times as he wanted within reason, as he sometimes really enjoyed a song and would have had me play it ten times in a row if I let him. Day four, We said the verse, sang the song, then I let him pick any previous songs he had enjoyed and we sang them until he had had enough singing.

The book is non-denominational, though obviously Protestant in nature, as a Catholic I was completely happy with the book as well. A great devotional for kids who love music!