Book Review: Simon and the Easter Miracle by Mary Joslin

About the Book:
The gospels tell of Simon of Cyrene--"a man coming in from the country"--who was ordered to carry Jesus' cross. Over the centuries, his story has been woven into a Polish folktale. In the tradition of The Three Trees, this folk tale gives a fresh perspective on the Easter story.

When Simon the farmer brings his wares to market, little does he expect how he will be involved in the events of that very special day, nor how his items--bread, eggs, and wine--will become important symbols of Jesus' passion and resurrection, remembered throughout the ages.

About the Author:
Mary Joslin, published exclusively by Lion, is known for her children's books on belief and spirituality. Her books, which include The Story of the Cross and On That Christmas Night, have sold more than 200,000 copies.

About the Illustrator:
Anna Luraschi, has illustrated a number of books for Usborne.


Oh, how excited I was for Simon and the Easter Miracle to arrive - and oh, how disappointed I was with it. The illustrations are absolutely lovely, but the story, honestly, is terribly written.

The story starts off with Simon, a farmer of sorts, coming into the city to sell his items at the market. He is distracted by guards beating a man who is carrying a cross. (Side note: while I think it's important - when telling the Easter story to children - to make a point of telling them how Jesus was treated, I was not impressed at the presentation of his treatment, either. But, moving on...) The guards then bark at Simon for HIM to carry the man's cross. Before obliging, he asks the man (Jesus - though the story NEVER ONCE clarifies that this is who the man is) what is his crime for deserving such treatment? The man shrugs and replies "for preaching a message of peace." Really? He's being beaten and tortured and he's THAT blase about the whole situation? 'Meh - just preaching peace. No big deal.' *shrug*

At this point, we fast forward to the Crucifixion. Simon hears some people crying, others yelling, cheering, demanding Christs' death... So what does Simon do? He runs away. He runs to his food that he had come to sell at the market, and discovers that it is all ruined and that he has lost his day at the market, and any money he might have made that day.

Let me reiterate what just happened: Simon was more upset about the money he lost than the man he had just witnessed being beaten and crucified.

At this point, I'm going to let another reviewer explain what happens, because I think they hit the nail on the head:

Simon goes home, eggs break open, and doves fly around...and Simon knows doves are the symbol of peace, "And God blesses all those who work for peace." Easter is all about working for world peace? No explanation of eggs as symbols of resurrection..new life from the tomb? What about the spilt wine? No mention of Christ's saving blood. What about the trampled bread? No mention of the bread of life, the Body of Christ.

The other supposed miracle is "when he returned to work he noticed how quickly spring had warmed his new season's crops." I kept looking for a missed page, thinking, that's it? The other miracle is that spring comes? No mention of the symbolism of new life there either.

Exactly. No life changing realizations, no emotions, nothing. And worse? That where the book ends! Abruptly. No 'wrap-up'. Just 'spring came. The end.' When we read the last page, my 4 year old asked 'is that it?' I said it was and he asked if I'd missed a page. It felt like it, but no. He looked at me, with a very puzzled expression, said 'Oh.' and just turned around and walked away. It just wasn't a story that we could connect with at all.... which is sad.

I've only done this one other time here, and I truly hate to do it, but I don't think I'd recommend this book to anyone. The illustrations were beautiful, but the story was terrible. I think that, especially for the Easter story, there are MANY books that are far better.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher, Kregel Publications. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Booksneeze Book Review: 'Fasting' by Scott Mcknight

Publishers' Book Description:
Building a body and mind that hungers for God.

Is the practice of faith centered solely on the spirit? Is the body an enemy, or can it actually play a role in our pursuit of God? In this installation of the Ancient Practices Series, Dr. Scot McKnight reconnects the spiritual and the physical through the discipline of fasting.

The act of fasting, he says, should not be focused on results or used as a manipulative tool. It is a practice to be used in response to sacred moments, just as it has in the lives of God's people throughout history. McKnight gives us scriptural accounts of fasting, along with practical wisdom on benefits and pitfalls, when we should fast, and what happens to our bodies as a result.

For those who have wondered how to grasp the value of this most misunderstood ancient practice, this book is a comprehensive guide.

A volume in the eight book classic series, The Ancient Practices, with a foreword by Phyllis Tickle, General Editor.

I wanted to like this book.  No, I wanted to love this book. It sounded absolutely fascinating to me and I couldn't wait to read it. My husband also wanted to read it and kept asking me to hurry up so it would be 'his turn'. Finally, this books' ticket came up and I dove in, eager to soak up everything Scott Mcknight had to offer. I gave up about halfway through - and my husband lasted about 40 pages. Neither one of us could finish it - although my husband says he may try again.

The book, to be perfectly honest, was one of the most dry, repetitive, and redundant books I've ever read. It had all of the potential in the world and it fell way short of expectations. It was very critical of the modern perceptions and treatment of fasting and, while I agreed with a good chunk of his positions, it came across as quite negative sometimes. That's not the feeling I would think you'd generally be going for when you're writing about something as spiritual in nature as this. Mr Mcknight also tended to repeat the same subject matter over and over in each chapter, adding very little new information - just re-formatting and repeating what had already been said. My opinion is that people could understand the main viewpoint from the book in the 2 page conclusion at the end.

As much as it pains me to write a bad review (and, I assure you, it does pain me), I can't help but be honest with you. I think this book is one that can be skipped. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must tell you that according to the reviews on Amazon.com - I'm in the minority when it comes to my opinions on this book. As of the time this post is being written, 'Fasting' has 4 stars with 67 reviews.

What can I say? I've never been one that goes along with the crowd...

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Booksneeze Book Review - 'Heaven is for Real' by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

Publishers' Book Description:
A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready there is a coming last battle.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Honestly, sometimes these books end up being either preachy or corny. This one was neither. It was honest, real, and touching. I was fully expecting a dramatic grab-a-box-of-tissues kind of book, but it really wasn't like that. I honestly have a hard time putting my feelings about this book into words. It was just amazing. Nothing I write here could possibly do it justice.

Colton Burpo, 2 months shy of his 4th birthday, has to have an emergency appendectomy because his appendix exploded. His life is literally hanging by a thread as he goes into surgery and doctors don't give the Burpo family much hope that Colton will be ok. After a truly amazing turn of events, Colton makes a complete recovery slightly less than 3 weeks after his surgery. Six months later he starts talking about seeing Jesus in Heaven.

To be frank, it's not the details of Heaven, God, or Jesus that are so amazing. I think we all know that almost-4-year-olds aren't generally all that great at giving detailed descriptions, although some of his descriptions were very impressive. It was more the very matter-of-fact way he gave his details; His absolute steadfastness in his statements that are so compelling. The fact that some of the things he says so perfectly align with intricate Bible descriptions of God, Jesus and Heaven, to me, are evidence that he's seen something. And I believe he saw what he says he saw. But from a parents' perspective, to imagine having your child tell you he's seen Heaven, sat on Jesus' lap and had conversations with his sister that was miscarried - and that you didn't know was a girl... mind-blowing. Truly mind-blowing.

I also loved how the book was written. Very conversational and easy - almost as if you are sitting over coffee with your friend and they just start telling you this amazing experience they've had. You're completely in awe and just want to hear more. It had a lovely, enjoyable rhythm to the writing and I finished it in about 3.5 hours. I would HIGHLY recommend this book. I may even read through it again, I just loved it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Next Book Review: 'Heaven is for Real'

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back
By Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent
Published by Thomas Nelson

Publishers' Book Description:
A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready there is a coming last battle.


I'm really excited for this one!