|
RESOURCE REVIEWS
YOUTH & CHILDREN’S WORK PUBLICATIONS
INDEX:
Multi-Sensory World (isbn 978 1 84427 266 2)
Produced in partnership with the relief and development charity Tearfund, this resource is full of creative ideas for exploring a biblical perspective on topics such as materialism, workers' rights, global health challenges and climate change.
The All-Age Service Annual volume two (isbn 978 1 84427 341 6)
15 outlines which you can use and adapt for all age services throughout the year, including major Christian festivals.
Tiddlywinks - Make & Do (isbn 978 1 84427 272 3)
This resource aims to help pre-school children discover God through art and craft. More than 100 activities included - from mobiles to musical instruments, papier mache to puppets, and collage to cooking.
100 Bible games for everyone
Bible Reading Fellowship - £5.99 - isbn 9 781841 014289 This does just what it says … themed games for all ages & abilities.
Peacebuilders
A new resource for groups of children written in collaboration between the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Church of North India. The pack covers three themes: Individual peace, Peace in our communities, and Peace in our world. It is about taking some small, and some not so small, steps towards peace.
It is full of practical ideas and resources for thinking about peace and can be used as part of your existing children’s work programme, junior church, as a holiday club theme, a one off event, a church family day or an interfaith group.
The Peacebuilders website www.peacebuilders.info contains additional resources which can be downloaded. There are also Peacebuilders postacards, window stickers, badges, and sticky labels. An order form can be downloaded from the website www.peacebuilders.info
One of the simple but effective ideas is that of creating a ‘peace box’, which can be passed around a church and around the local community, inviting each person or group to put into the box their ideas for promoting peace. All of these ideas could be gathered together and then shared with everybody involved, challenging each individual and group to do something to build peace.
The United Reformed Church is planning to send a copy of this pack to every local church in January 2008. It will be sent to youth & children’s work elders or church secretaries. So, look out for your copy !
WORKING WITH CHILDREN
Target Challenge (isbn 978 184427 314 0)
8 sessions for a children's club for those aged 5-11 years. Lots of ideas based around the Old Testament character David (shepherd boy, warrior, songwriter and king). This programme is especially designed to help unchurched children meet with God in a more reflective way. Best used in conjunction with the Target Challenge DVD.
Top Tips series of booklets
Scripture Union - £2.99 each
This is a series of booklets giving a little bit of theory and lots of practical pointers for people who work with children and young people.
The titles so far include:
• Top tips on reaching unchurched children
• Top tips on welcoming children of other faiths
• Top tips on growing faith with families
• Top tips on all age worship
• Top tips on welcoming special children
• Top tips on handling difficult behaviour
Recommended reading for busy youth & children’s leaders.
Waste Watchers holiday club resource for 5-11’s
Scripture Union - £9.95 - isbn 978 1 84427 204 4
This is the 2007 holiday club offering from Scripture Union. Its theme is God’s creation—the wonder of it, the mess people make of it, and the way God wants to transform people and through them transform the world. As usual it contains lots of advice on preparing for and making the most of your holiday club, as well as all the teaching and activity ideas to run a 5 day club, and ideas for engaging with children’s families and their wider community. As expected, the role of Jesus as Saviour of the world is central to the theme. A DVD with the stories for each day is also available (£19-50)
So, Why God?
Scripture Union - £9.99 - isbn 978 1 84427 222 8
This is a 12-week programme designed for 7-11 year olds. Author Steve Hutchinson put it together from his experience of going into schools and holding circle time lessons where children asked him all the questions they wanted to. Each session takes a genuine question that children ask (e.g. What does God look like? Do good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell? How do you know God hears you when you pray? ) and seeks to answer it through exploring Bible passages and the experiences of group leaders. There are plenty of activities, ideas, and photocopiable resources for leaders to use (including the ‘My Why Book’, a notebook for the children to use through the course) . It also contains lost of good advice for leaders. Ideal for use with groups of children who have not grown up in a church.
The Beginners Bible—timeless children’s stories
Candle Books - £11.99 - isbn 1 85985 554 7
In my opinion, this is the best whole bible story book available for children under 7 years of age. It covers a wide range of stories from Old and New Testaments. The pictures are bright, bold and engaging. The story telling is easy to read and easy for children to follow, without unnecessary embellishments or morals tagged onto the end. I’m not surprised that it’s sold over 5 million copies !
The Big Bible Storybook
Scripture Union - £12.99 - isbn 978 1 84427 228 0
This is designed for adults to use with very young children. It’s hardback and is beautifully presented with wonderful colour photos of puppet-like characters to illustrate the stories. The style is easy to follow and understand. What I like most of all is that placed among the bible stories are psalms rewritten for young children. It also includes a little material drawn from the prophets of the old testament and the new testament letters. As well as the usual contents page, there is a helpful Scripture index at the back. All in all, this is a fabulous resource.
My First Bible
Bible Reading Fellowship - £6.99 - isbn 9 781841 015309
A collection of bible stories retold for young children. It’s advertised as being suitable for independent readers aged 4 to 6 to read by themselves. However, I think most children of that age would need a lot of help to read this book. The stories are faithfully and simply retold without too much embellishment. The pictures are bright and bold. The people are almost always smiling, though thankfully not where it is obvious that the characters would have been sad or upset.
CHILDREN'S READING
What did the Princess Find? And other questions..
Bible Reading Felloowship £4.99 isbn 1 84101 438 9
Who built the ark? And other questions
Bible Reading Felloowship £4.99 isbn 1 84101 437 0
These two books are written and illustrated for young children, with lots of very short retellings of bible stories, in answer to a question. The illustrations often add detail to the stories, which occasionally are too concise to really work. However, they may be very helpful for children with very short attention spans!
Where do babies come from?
Bible Reading Felloowship £5.99 isbn 1 84101 501 6
Where did Grandad go?
Bible Reading Felloowship £5.99 isbn 1 84101 502 4
Two more books written to read with young children. They explore questions of birth and death respectively, seeking to show how Christian understanding of God sheds light on the questions which children ask.
Substance Volume 1 (isbn 978 1 84427 358 4)
10 bible based sessions for youth groups aged 14-18 years.
Topics in this volume cover the big picture (creation, fall, exodus, exile, incarnation and resurrection) and spirituality (bible, prayer, worship and church).
Substance Volume 2 (isbn 978 1 84427 359 1)
10 more bible based sessions for youth groups aged 14-18 years.
This time exploring what it means to be part of the kingdom of God, a central theme in the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Youth Emmaus 2—Big Issues & Holy Spaces
Church House Publishing - £22.50 - isbn 0 7151 4048 5
Youth Emmaus was a course to introduce young people to the Christian faith, exploring Christian beliefs, how Christians grow, and living a Christian life. Youth Emmaus 2 is a follow-up course designed to help 11-16 year olds integrate their faith with their whole life. 7 sessions focus on the big issues dealt with by Jesus in the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Another 7 Holy Space sessions introduce young people to different ways of worshipping God. Its Anglican flavour is evident in places, but can easily be adapted. The ideas are interactive, challenging and well presented. I highly recommend Youth Emmaus 2.
No angel
Scripture Union - £4.99 - isbn: 978 1 84427 241 9
This is a novel written for early teens. It explores the life of a minister’s daughter leading a double life and her friends. It touches on issues including drinking, lying, and of course love ! Easy to read, short chapters, and comes recommended by Michelle Chappell who reviewed it for me.
|
