Our favourite local Christian bookstore Shalom Christian Media was having its annual sale again, so we trooped down to pick up books for ourselves and as presents for our friends. We forgot to bring our chequebook (unlike last year) so we were limited by the cash we had on hand. Which just meant that we had to go back again the week after!
The hubs and I love our visits there. Even though it’s not decked out fancily by any stretch of the imagination, we always feel like 3 year olds on our first visit to a sprawling candy shop. So much cool stuff!!
We didn’t have much time that Saturday, so we zipped about in the 45 minutes we were there, speed-reading through blurbs and inside pages before deciding what to add to our ‘basket’.
Amongst the 16 books we bought were these two large children’s books, which turned out to be real gems! So am compelled to share them here.
The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New by Marty Machowski (S$28.90)
I flipped through this and loved the artwork. And the substance was written in easy to understand prose. It was only after I read through the first quarter of it at home that I realised it was Systematic Theology (categorizes doctrine according to specific topics) for children!
It’s great even for adults, since so much effort has gone into explain key doctrinal concepts simply. I am so glad this resource exists for my kids. I think it is best absorbed by those aged above 7, though I read it aloud before bedtime, and B (who is almost 5) was happy to listen in (not sure how much she caught, but one’s never too young to hear such truths, however fleetingly).
The Biggest Story by Kevin DeYoung (S$16.90)
The book was just fantastic in so many ways. It was only after I finished reading it that it hit me, hey this is Biblical Theology (study of the doctrines of the Bible, arranged according to their chronology and historical background) for kids!
It’s somewhat similar to The Big Picture Bible, but much more concise and humourous (if you can see the words in white below, they give a sense of the tone throughout). It had K chuckling.
And the illustrations – I love the illustrations. The designs, the colours, the templates, the abstraction. Love!!!
I read the whole book in less than half an hour, and would love to have every child in Sunday school read it at least once. It succinctly but crystal-clearly shows the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation through Christ (the Snake-Crusher) as it progresses through history. It explains the books of the Bible in terms that children can clearly comprehend (some are about how priests, prophets, kings etc are sent), and constantly points to the scarlet thread of Christ in it all. I love the garden analogy throughout, since it is so apt.
Other titles of good Christian children’s books we recommend (may/may not be available from this bookstore) can be found here, here and here.
An extra plug for Shalom Christian Media (cos they rock)
The amazing thing about Shalom Christian Media is that they run the bookstore as a ministry. This means that the prices of the books (which are carefully curated before being placed on their shelves) are really low, lower than Amazon (even with free shipping) and definitely Book Depository.
For instance, The Ology goes for S$43.87 (paperback!) here, and US$26.99 (hardcover) here, but only S$28.90 (hardcover) from Shalom (before 10% discount during this sale). The only conclusion the hubs and I have come to, is that the church subsidises the running of the bookstore, and the prices of books, to encourage Christians to read these books! How awesome is that.
So we are thankful. And hope to give back somewhat by writing reviews of good books, so that those who have little time, can read these reviews, and gain some edification from them, or be inspired to read the books, full-length (always recommended!). Previous reviews on parenting books include this, this and this.
For these two books, we are going to donate them to our church library after we’re done, or buy an extra copy for the church library if we can’t part with them! Good literature that points to the Word of Life, and inspires closer reading of the Word itself, needs to be shared.
Their super-duper sale is on till Sat 19 Dec (sorry for the late notice). But even without a sale, their prices are quite unbeatable.
Address:
8 New Industrial Road, #03-01,
LHK 3 Building, Singapore 536200
Bookroom Operating Hours:
Monday – Thursday, 1 pm to 5 pm
Saturday, 12.30 pm to 5 pm
Closed on Friday, Sunday & Public Holidays
Phone:
65-6383-4341
Email for enquiries:
contactscm@shalomrb.org
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