Books for Kids and Families
An exciting and humbling part of my role here at Oasis, is encouraging parents as they disciple their children to know and trust God. This means I tend to spend a fair bit of time looking for and reading great books for parents, families and kids. This year (and last) I've found a bunch of wonderful, encouraging, down to earth books on Godly parenting and discipleship, as well as theologically rich books for kids, and books that teach teens how to defend their faith. I'd love to share them with you now. Most of these I have on my shelf if you'd like to take a further look.
Parenting in God's Family: Biblical Wisdom for Everyday Issues Harriet Connor editor
This is an encouraging, easy to read book full of Biblical wisdom and practical tips. It contains articles written by 16 different authors on a wide range of parenting and family topics, including sibling relationships, discipline, digital boundaries, single parenting and more. I highly recommend this book, especially for new mums and dads.
Raising Confident Kids in a Confusing World: A Parent's Guide to Grounding Identity in Christ Ed Drew
The world tells our kids that their identity is found in all sorts of places – their achievements, popularity, sexuality, morality or how they feel. We want our kids to know their true identity is in the fact that they are made and loved by Jesus and this book encourages and shows parents how to do that. This is a warm, funny, realistic book that is well worth reading (again and again).
Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies Hillary Morgan Ferrer mention other books in the series
This is a very recent find and I'm loving it. It's such a great resource for parents (I know the title says Mama but it's for Papas too) in training their children to stand up against cultural lies and defend their faith logically and compassionately. Through real life stories, practical applications and prayer strategies, this book will train you as parents, so that in turn you can train your kids. Each chapter ends with discussion questions, perfect for parents to work through together or in a small group with other couples. Other books in the series include 'A Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God's Design'.
10 Questions about Pain and Suffering: 30 Devotions for Kids, Teens and Families Beth Broome
Written especially for Tweens, these devotionals gently lead hurting families through 10 important questions about suffering. Each question is explored in 3 short devotionals that can be read alone or together as a family. This book offers biblical answers about the origin and purpose of suffering, helping young people navigate their pain, seek comfort in God, and help others in their distress. Look out for other volumes in this series on topics such as salvation, identity and technology.
Big Questions Complete Collection Chris Morphew
As kids grow up they start to ask big questions – how do I know Christianity is true? Why does God let bad things happen? Who Am I and why do I matter? By walking teens through what the Bible says about life, this series of books aim to answer the tough questions and in doing so, help them be confident in their faith. Because big questions deserve good answers. These are engaging, easy to read books, I highly recommend them for your tweens.
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook Don Clark, Kevin DeYoung
We use The Biggest Story Curriculum in KC here at Oasis and there's a heap of resources available in the collection. The Biggest Story Bible Storybook is for 6 – 12 year olds and is a retelling of 104 Bible stories from Genesis to Revelation all pointing to our Saviour Jesus, the snake crusher.
God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect their Bodies JS and LA Holcomb
This is a story written to help families talk to their children about bodies. It begins with the premise that God created everything and applies that truth to kids and their bodies. This book helps kids to learn about their body and how it should be treated by others. Teaching our kids about protecting their body is an important, ongoing conversation and this book is a wonderful guide.
What are ears for? Abbey Wedgeworth
This is a fun lift the flap book that encourages kids to use their ears in a Christ-like way – to hear all sorts of noises and sounds, and especially to hear and obey God's word. This book is part of a series called Training Young Hearts, that looks at the attitudes of the heart that underpin behaviour and explains how the gospel of grace enables us to change. Other books in the series include 'What are feet for?' and 'What are eyes for?'
The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible Jared Kennedy
This storybook Bible tells 52 Old and New Testament stories, and highlights God's perfect promises. Every story points to Jesus, and finishes with a question to chat about. The illustrations are bright, colourful and fun, perfect for 2 – 6 year olds.
