[I received electronic review copies of these books from Netgalley and Lion Hudson Ltd. in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
These are two books in the new God Cares series, one for older kids, and one for younger ones. There are other books coming in the series including God Cares When I Am Strong: Friends in the Fire (ER) and God Cares When I Feel Down: Jonah and Other Stories (chapter book).
When I Am Anxious: Moses and Other Stories
This is a paraphrase of Bible stories including the life story of Moses. There is no actual scripture text. The non-Moses stories include references to the book and chapter where the story can be found. The emphasis here is on the emotions of the stories, those referenced in the Biblical text and those inferred by the author or the reader. The ultimate goal of the book is to normalize anxiety as something that everyone feels from time to time and to point readers to God when they are anxious. There is information for parents at the end of the book, written by a therapist, specifically about helping children with anxiety.
According to the publisher’s website, this is a “chapter book” for readers 8 and up. To me, the book feels young for kids 10 or older. I might target this more for the 7 to 10 range. It is unillustrated, but each section ends with a suggested activity for readers.
I was frustrated by this book. The chapter content moves from Moses to other Biblical personalities like Jesus or Gideon without a clear indication of what is happening. This may be a function of the structure of the review copy. I would have liked these transitions to be more clear. The chapters could have focused on one personality at a time for clarity, and then references could have been made back to Moses to tie them together.
I was also frustrated that there weren’t more references to the Bible. The research I am hearing says that the younger generations are growing up without a concrete connection to the Bible. I am all for storying the Bible in contemporary language – as a starting point. But I try to point kids back to the Biblical text so the Bible itself is comfortable and familiar to them. Then they will go back to it time and time again. If they are counting on me, or on another resource to paraphrase for them, they will miss out on all the Bible has for them.
Here is the cover for When I Am Anxious. I love it. I think they could have offered this as an illustrated book, too. The art would have enhanced the story.
When I Am Afraid: Jesus Calms the Storm
This is one of the Early Reader books in this line, an illustrated book for readers between 6 and 8 years old. Originally this was also going to release in April, but some places are showing this as a July release now. There are pictures to accompany the story here, another paraphrase that focuses on the feelings and emotions of the narrative. There are a few places in the book where a few lines in verse are included.
Of the two formats, I preferred this illustrated Early Reader. The artwork is sweet and captivating. I didn’t care for the shift from prose to verse. The prose sections would have been sufficient. I feel like the paraphrase makes more sense here, with a younger reader, but I would have liked at least a reference to where kids could find the whole story in the Bible.
After the story, there are a few questions for kids to discuss with their parents as well as some prayer prompts. The Early Reader also includes advice for parents/caregivers about helping children who are afraid. There is no reference in the review copy to who wrote the information for parents. Therefore, I am not sure if that was provided by the author or by a therapist or psychologist like with the chapter book.
Bottom Line: If you are looking for Christian resources to talk about anxiety or fear with children, I think these could be a good starting place. I would definitely anchor your discussion in the full stories from scripture if you use these resources to start your conversation. I would love for kids to see the WHOLE Bible as a resource to help them with fear, anxiety, and other feelings they experience.
Rating: ♥♥♥