Reviews by Lydia Harris
Zack, You’re Acting Zany!
By Marty Nystrom
Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman
Standard Publishing, 2010
Marty Nystrom has done it again. After writing his popular Don’t Mess with Moses book of humorous poems based on Old Testament stories, now he’s written a sequel from New Testament passages. As an elementary teacher, Marty saw how kids loved funny poems and decided there should be amusing rhymes based on the Bible. So he wrote them!
Zack, You’re Acting Zany! begins with a poem about the first “gospel quartet”– Mathew, Mark, Luke and John and ends with a poem about Jesus never changing based on Hebrews 13:8. And in-between, Marty includes about 120 poems ranging in length from two to twenty lines or more. The lyrics provide a fun, thought-provoking read for kids and adults alike.
(Click book for a link to Amazon.com. Part of the proceeds come back to NSB.)
I purchased both of Marty’s books as gifts for my older grandsons, ages 9 and 11. But so far, I’ve kept his latest book to read at Grandma’s house. After I tucked my grandsons in bed on a recent sleepover, I read poem after poem to them. Then I gave them a flashlight and said they could keep reading a while longer if they wished. What kid doesn’t want to read after “lights out”?
Here’s an example of Marty’s witty and winning writing.
It’s gross enough
That John the Baptist
Gobbled up grasshoppers.
But here’s what makes it even worse-
The kind he chomped were whoppers!
(Read Mark 1:6 to find out what else John ate.)
Marty’s humorous rhymes and colorful words entertain and teach kids at the same time. Steve Bjorkman’s amusing paintings add even more color as they capture the poem’s content and help tell the story. Each poem ends with a comment or question and a Bible reference, so readers can look up the passage the poem is based on.
You may be surprised to learn this local author of “playful poems and riveting rhymes” has also written more than 100 worship songs, including “As the Deer.” Just as his music helps your heart sing, his captivating poems “sing” as you read them aloud. Consider these books as gifts for children or an adult who’s still a child at heart. They’ll tickle your fancy.
What Will I Be When I Grow Up?
By Susan Snyder
Illustrated by Valeria Cis
Harvest House Publishers, 2009
My four-year-old grandson, Owen, and I love to read together when we travel. While Grandpa chauffeurs us, we sit together in the back seat, reading stories. What will I Be When I group Up? is one of the books we recently enjoyed. Written for children from preschool to third grade, it includes colorful paintings of people in nine different careers.
Each two-page spread asks, “Will I be . . .” and mentions a different vocation, such as a nurse, farmer, hairstylist, or builder. The response to each question is, “Maybe, but even if I’m not . . .” and then includes something the child can do, along with a Bible verse that emphasizes that thought. For example, for one vocation, Snyder asks, “Will I be an author and write interesting stories for children to read?” She answers, “Maybe, but even if I’m not . . . I can write notes and cards and send them to people to cheer them up.” The verse to accompany that thought is Hebrews 3:13, “Encourage one another daily.”
As Owen and I read the book, we discussed each page. In response to the question about becoming an author, we talked about how much fun it is to receive mail. When we arrived home, I supplied Owen with paper, crayons, and scissors, and he cheerfully “wrote” notes (pictures and his signature) to his cousins, and I mailed them.
What Will I Be When I Grow Up? plants the seed that no matter what the child becomes, the most important thing is to live his or her life to please God.
Lydia E. Harris loves being a grandmother. She is looking forward to two births this summer: her fifth grandchild and her new book, Preparing My Heart for Grandparenting (available at Christianbook.com and amazon.com).
