NIV FaithGirlz Bible

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books.  A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured.  The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between!  Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card contributor is:

Nancy Rue

and the book:

NIV Faithgirlz! Bible (Revised Edition)

Zonderkidz; Rev Spl edition (March 6, 2012)

***Special thanks to Rick Roberson of The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR:

Nancy Rue has worked as a public school teacher, church youth director, theater workshop developer and camp director. She has written more than eighty books for young people, including the beloved Faithgirlz! Sophie series, The Skin You're In and Everybody Tells Me to Be Myself but I Don't Know Who I Am. Nancy lives with her husband and two dogs in Lebanon, TN.

About Faithgirlz!: Faithgirlz! is a collection of books, Bibles and resources designed to provide transformational Christian experiences for tween girls. Faithgirlz! encourages honest tween-girl empowerment by providing engaging, relevant, high-quality offerings, helping tween girls understand their world, learn biblical teachings, become closer to God and grow into godly teenagers. Faithgirlz! offers excellent content and contributions from leading Christian tween writers and spokespeople including Nancy Rue, Melody Carlson, Kristi Holl, Naomi Kinsman and more. Faithgirlz! is also supported with a website (www.Faithgirlz.com), Facebook page and mother and daughter live events across the country.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Every girl wants to know she’s totally unique and special, and contributor Nancy Rue helps them do just that in the revised edition of the NIV Faithgirlz! Bible. As a leading tween expert, Rue teaches girls that the Bible is real and relevant and, best of all, that the story of God and His people is also their story. Girls can now grow closer to God as they discover the journey of a lifetime, in their language, for their world.

The new Faithgirlz! Bible was developed especially for girls ages 9 to 12. Everything in it is written with a tween girl’s experience in mind, and it features the most popular Bible translation in the world, the New International Version. The features explain hard-to-understand things in the Bible and guide girls to put the Scripture to work in their own lives. The Faithgirlz! Bible focuses on sharing faith with friends and gives real ways for girls to do that.

Each book of the Bible has activities that make God’s Word more relevant than ever. And, of course, because it was developed for Faithgirlz! readers, they can expect to find it jam-packed with customized content and artwork that really makes the Bible stand out. Girls will love the cool design, the interactive features and the feeling of knowing that God’s Word is there for them whenever they need it. Some of the features included are:

·   Book Introductions—Girls will read the who, when, where and what of each book of the Bible.

·   Dream Girl—Girls will use their imaginations to put themselves in the story.

·   Is There a Little (Eve, Ruth, Isaiah) in You?—Girls will see for themselves what they have in common with women of the Bible.

·   Words to Live By—Girls will discover great Bible verses for memorizing.

·   Oh, I Get It!—Girls will find answers to Bible questions they’ve wondered about.

Nancy Rue says, “I hope the Faithgirlz! Bible will help girls grow a friendship with the Bible, their own relationship. It asks questions, asks them to think and challenges them to apply what they’re learning. That’s how they’ll find a deep, personal relationship with God, rather than just by following rules or saying what they’ve been told without really thinking about it. Rules are important, of course, but they only make sense when they really believe the message of the Scriptures. That’s what this Bible is about.” The Faithgirlz! Bible is the perfect Bible to support girls in their journey into the “beauty of believing.”

The main edition of the Faithgirlz! Bible is hardcover, but it is also available in two Italian Duo-Tone designs. For better portability, there is also an NIV Faithgirlz! Backpack Bible. This compact edition does not include the in-text features that the full-size edition has, but it does have twelve full-color pages of Faithgirlz! fun, the words of Christ in red and a ribbon marker. An ebook version is also planned for electronic use.

Product Details:

List Price: $27.99

Reading level: Ages 9 and up

Hardcover: 1504 pages

Publisher: Zonderkidz; Rev Spl edition (March 6, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0310722365

ISBN-13: 978-0310722366

AND NOW...A SAMPLE. PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO VIEW THEM LARGER:

My review

Each of the features listed above are done very well. They all help the reader relate to what is happening at that point in the Bible. They are meant to encourage or correct the reader as well as help the reader put themselves in the context what was happening. There is also a Treasure This section that gives key verses that are great to memorize throughout the Bible.

I would highly recommend this Bible to a young tween (girls age 9-12). I look forward to passing this on to a special young girl.

I give this Bible 5 stars!

I received this Bible through First Wild Card Tours and Zondervan for the purpose of this review.

The Names of God Bible

The Names of God Bible

Ann Spangler, General Editor

God’s Word Translation

Revell Publishing

Translation: While many translations lean towards literal or dynamic translations, the God’s Word Translation seeks to be a Closest Natural Equivalence translation. It does exactly what it says it does. It give the most natural English translation from the original languages. This translation tries to avoid the “awkward and inaccuracy associated with formal-equivalent translatiosn, and to avoid the loss of meaning and oversimplification associate with functional-equivalent translations (Preface). For those that grew up using a particular version, the wording may catch one of balance. But it seems to be a very accurate translation.

The Names of God: I like this feature, but it is awkward for one who isn’t used to it. However, since so many names of God are translated God, Lord, LORD, etc, it can be hard to tell the difference between which word was used once it has been translated into English. The one fault I see is that only highlights all the Hebrew words that refer to God and not the Greek, which I would have like to have seen as well.

Extras: With each name of God that is highlighted in the text, there is a special page that explains the specific name, along with the promises that are associated with that name. Each book of the Bible gives a brief introduction and lists the key names of God within that book. The extras in the back include the following: Topical Prayer Guide For The Names of God, Table of the Names of God (and the number of times used in the Bible), Name Index, The Names of God Fast Track Reading Plan, Reading Plans (Daily Reading Plan, Fast Track Reading Plan - overview of the Bible in 100 readings)

Summary: This is a unique Bible. It makes understanding the various names of God easy to understand and see the differences. I love how the various names in the Old Testament are explained. The translation is easy to read and understand.


I received this book free from Revell and Baker Publishing for the purpose of this review.