Little One, God Loves You by Amy Warren HIlliker

This is a board book with a powerful message.  Author Amy Warren Hilliker is the daughter of renowned author Rick Warren.  She uses her father's message found in his book The Purpose Driven life and uses words and situations a young child can understand.  The deep spiritual truths are told in a warm, soothing manner.  The illustrations of a happy rabbit family cozily living together with cuddles and smiles in the perfect combination for the words of wisdom found in this precious book.

I received this book free from the publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

The Gift of Friendship by Dawn Camp

This little gem is a collection of friendship stories by various Christian authors.  It contains guides on how to be a friend, how to maintain friendships, how to find new friends, and how to weather storms together as friends.  There are also stories of a very personal nature contained in this book.  This is my favorite friendship book I’ve ever read because it wasn’t your typical friendship type stories.  There were unusual circumstances, but also the raw honesty of the authors to show themselves not in their glory, but in their messy, imperfect lives with hearts just like yours and mine.  Hearts that long to connect, to belong and to be cherished by a friend.  It was encouraging to read a book that didn’t paint a pretty picture, but instead told life as it is for women struggling in all manner of real life situations.  It was not depressing though because with the struggles this told tale after tale about how one friend can make all the difference in how we maneuver through this times of struggle.  At the end we are challenged to seek out friends in our time of need as well as be the friend when someone needs our comfort.

I received this book free from the publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook by Judah and Chelsea Smith

This is a lovely book for young children.  It's also a great book for parents who want to instill Biblical principles into their children's lives.  The book goes through the entire Bible by highlighting key characters through the Old and New Testament.  The stories are short but exciting and will capture and keep a child's attention.  Each devotional reading starts with an introduction to the Bible story.  The introduction is a modern day story that applies the same principle as the Bible story.  The illustrations are charming!  I just love them!  Really adds to the grace and beauty of the book.

I received this book free from the publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

The Secret of Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale

This book is not what I expected.  It deals with unfaithfulness, death, friendships, forgiveness and healing.  It is a book about "growing up" in a marriage.  The main character learns to face herself, her weaknesses, her flaws instead of blaming her husband for all that she views as wrong in the marriage.  Along the way both husband and wife make mistakes that bear consequences that hurt their marriage.  At the same time the main character's friend discovers she has cancer.  This leads to more soul searching.  It was a hard read for me because I disagreed with so much of what the characters did to each other.  But I can see how this book could be helpful to couples in a similar situation.

I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.

Hannah's Choice by Jan Drexler

If you think you've read all there is to know about Amish life - think again!  This book is rich is historical facts during the 1840s with a personal insight into an Amish family's dilemmas.  You'll learn about the Amish, Mennonite and Dunkards.  There is romantic intrigue as Hannah and her sister Liesbet fall in love with men outside of their faith and hide it from their parents.  The story contains the travails of their mother's deep grief over losing 3 young children and the consequences her troubled soul has on the rest of the family.  Their father staunch and very rigid in his religious beliefs battles the war between love for his children and keeping the faith.  The family is faced with many hard decisions including whether to leave the only home they've known or find a new Amish settlement further west.  Hannah faces personal decisions of settling with a safe, secure future with an Amish man or following her heart to love a Mennonite man who risks his life to aid runaway slaves.

Cats in Paris by Won-Sun Jang

This adult coloring book does have the flavor of Paris from it's charming cover to the "bonjour"back cover!  Inside you will find delightful kitties of all types.  Explore historical places with these cats.  Also visit cats lounging on cushions, wandering through butterfly gardens and surveying their domain atop a pile of suitcases.  Other cats proudly peruse book stores or bags of cat food.  You'll find cats on stamps, listed by types, playing with yarn, snuggling in a basket, wearing champion ribbons and leaving paw prints on the pages.  This book is perfect for a cat lover or lover of Paris or French culture.

I receive this book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Whatever is Lovely (A Coloring Book for Reflection and Worship) by Waterbrook Press

As adult coloring books become the rage, Whatever is Lovely, comes as a fresh breath of air.  This truly is a worship book.  The drawings are intricate in detail yet simple enough to be enjoyable to color.  Each page has a focus verse with designs to compliment the message.  On the reverse side of the coloring page is the full verse, whether scripture, a book reference or quote.  These words are inspirational, comforting, soothing, thought-provoking and wise.  There is variety in the types of pictures to color.  The pages are thick and not see through.  This makes them suitable for crayons, colored pencils or markers.  This is a high quality adult coloring book to be shared happily with others.