Just Sayin': A Book Look Blogger Review

A friend of mine was lamenting the woes of parenting a preteen and I said how I couldn't really relate because I had not yet reached this stage. With raised eyebrows she informed me preteen refers to kids ages 8-12 and I suddenly realized she was right! I have an official preteen under my roof!

I have recently been studying and reading articles concerning teenagers/adolescents and was surprised to find this is a relatively recent term fairly unique to the western culture. While the ages are universal, the phenomenon of the difficult teenage years is something our culture has created and subsequently embraced. My husband and I are doing our best to raise kids in a counter-cultural way, but it is increasingly difficult as my daughter sees friends say and do things she is not allowed. I've been looking for ways to help her grow and be discipled in addition to the times she has at church.

Rose and I were both excited to have a chance to review Just Sayin' new devotional for just for preteen girls. It is designed to go beyond just reading, but engage them emotionally and creatively. The layout is simple and short so it has so far enticed my daughter to want to complete a devotional each day. Carol McAdams Moore is highly experienced at writing for kids and my daughter was excited to hear she had written for Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines. She definitely knows how to speak into the hearts of this age and my daughter says this is the coolest book she's had about God!

The super fun feature about this devotional is it is interactive. Each devotional encourages drawing or something else artistic right in the book. My girl loves anything artistic so this excited her right off the bat. When I told her it was fine to decorate, add glitter, draw, or whatever right on the pages her eyes got huge and she was shocked! Then she ran off to get some glue and glitter. 

I appreciate that the text is appropriate for this age group, no matter where they are reading-level wise. Rose has never struggled with reading, but I feel comfortable recommending this devotional to anyone with kids this age no matter their abilities. 

The only part Rose said she would like changed was more Scripture to read and to use her Bible, not just have it written there. My daughter has been raised in Awana and strong Sunday School classes as well as discipleship as part of our homeschoooling curriculum. Her desire to see more Scripture is something I know is unique for one her age. In some ways I think the simplicity of meditating on one verse has been good for her. I also feel the simplicity makes it something I can recommend for anyone's child no matter what their background is with the Bible.

Rose has loved this book and will continue to use it. After just one day she asked me, "Is there another book after this one is done I can get?" I hope the author is planning a volume two! 

Disclosure:  I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook.com® <http://BookLook.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.