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The Most Magnificent Thing–experimentation
The Most Magnificent Thing
by Ashley Spires
The first thing you will notice about The Most Magnificent Thing is the quirky art style. The main character, a little girl, is drawn with a large head and body and pencil thin arms and legs. Her “best friend in the whole wide world” is her dog, drawn in the same style without any softness. The background is mainly black and white line drawing. This is not an art style that typically attracts me to a picture book, but it is the perfect backdrop for this story.
The main character is described as a “regular girl” and remains unnamed. This is the story of how she makes the most magnificent thing ever. Her project turns out to not be as easy as she anticipates, but she perseveres through various versions to the point of total frustration. She works through her anger, redirects her experimentation, building on her past failures, and in the end is satisfied with the results.
I really enjoyed reading this story and wished I had a child with me to share the experience. The Most Magnificent Thing opens up a wealth of opportunities for discussions about creativity, experimentation, success, failure, and persistence. It would be fun to read to a classroom or an individual child.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kids Can Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Children’s Fiction
Notes: Ages—3-7 years
Grade Level—Preschool-2
Publication: April 1, 2014—Kids Can Press
Putting It Together Again When It’s All Fallen Apart–rebuilding
Putting It Together Again When It’s All Fallen Apart
by Tom Holladay
We all have times when we need to rebuild, whether it is a “church, a business, a relationship, or a purpose in your life” says Tom Holladay. He is the senior teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA, and he uses the book of Nehemiah in the Bible as his foundation for teachings about “putting it together again when it’s all fallen apart.”
Do you, like me, need a reminder, a prod—who was Nehemiah anyway? Holladay says “Nehemiah was a government leader who rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem after it had fallen into ruin.” Actually, in the book I learned that Nehemiah also went on to reestablish the city, resettle its inhabitants, establish rules for commerce that aligned with God’s laws, and give thanks to God for completing the project which naysayers said couldn’t be done.
Holladay takes a book of the Old Testament that could be boring and makes it come alive. He analyzes the text well and applies it in a very practical way to a variety of situations from personal to business. He gives examples of how real people have used these principles successfully in their lives. I especially like that this is not a verse by verse study of Nehemiah; Holladay explains how Nehemiah worked through the problems of his building project and how we can apply the same Scriptures in our own lives.
I highly recommend this book for its interesting content and writing style and for its Scriptural insights and integrity. There are so many possible applications that I think every reader will come away enlightened and blessed in their daily walk with God.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Zondervan for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian
Notes: This book ends with a Small Group Study Guide and references 10 minute videos available on YouTube to accompany each chapter.
Publication: February 6, 2018–Zondervan
Memorable Lines: (Just way too many—a sign of a book with a lot of wisdom—so I’ll just pull out a few of the first ones I highlighted.)
Gossipers love to destroy what others are building. It gives them a twisted sense of power.
Victory comes from your relationship with God. Nehemiah exemplifies dependence on God at every point in the battle: he talks to God in prayer, follows God in the changes, listens to God in his encouragement, and lives by means of God’s priorities through God’s Word.
Rebuilders must have thick skin because they’re going to face attack. That attack may come from an individual, but it can also come from within. One of the names for Satan in the Bible is “the accuser” (Revelation 12:10). He loves to ridicule your faith. So he’ll send a thought when you want to renew your faith, a relationship, a ministry, or a dream.
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