What Does the Bible Say About That? by Carolyn Larsen

May 20th, 2009

Larsen, Carolyn. What Does the Bible Say about That? Illustrated by Rick Incrocci. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2009. 340pp. $15.99. 

Author Introduction

Carolyn Larsen is a mother of three and is best known for her Little Girls Bible Storybook series.  She has written more than forty books for both children and adults.  Rick Incrocci specializes in illustrating children’s Bible stories for over thirty years.  He has also done work for Nintendo and Sega.

Overview

Written for children ages 8 through 12, Larsen provides an excellent resource book for the inevitable questions that your child will ask as you teach and instruct him in the ways of the Lord.  The book is layed out in alphabetical order by topic similar to an encyclopedia.  This makes it easy to find the topic in discussion when your child asks you about the hard questions like, “Can you define the Trinity?” (p. 313) or, “Why do we have to die?” (p. 56).

Each entry contains four sections.  The first section is the title, “What does the Bible Say about ________?”  This section offers a quick overview of the topic being discussed.  The second section contains three verses showing what the Bible does say.  The third section is the “tough” section.  It is entitled, “Time to face the facts.”  Here, the child is challenged to live her life according to what Scripture says.  The last section is, “Today I will…” which moves the child toward applying what was taught.

Recommendation

While you may not agree with everything that is said in answer to these topics, you will be hard-pressed to ignore what is said.  This book makes a perfect resource for any family who is raising their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  I currently serve as a children’s minister in the local church and am going to purchase some of these for my small group leaders as well as make them available for the parents of the children within my ministry.  As a father of three boys and a daughter on the way, I will certainly use this book for my children.  It will aid in their learning and will teach them, when they are able to read, to be Bereans and search the Scriptures to better understand how God wants us to live.