Many thanks to HarperCollins Christian Publishing for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own. I did receive the product in exchange for this review and post.
Just this week, I heard a mom mention that her youngest child has been watching her (mom) and the older siblings have their daily quiet time, and wants to have devotions of her own. What do you do with a child who isn’t quite ready to read the Bible independently but wants to have an independent quiet time? A children’s devotional like The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God & Science might be one option.
What is The Wonder of Creation
You may (or may not) be familiar with pastor Louie Giglio, and his previous devotional, Indescribable. (I haven’t seen that one in person, myself.) This book, The Wonder of Creation, is a sequel to that, in essentially the same vein.
A series of brief devotionals specifically for kids are rooted in scientific observations, so children can both marvel at God’s work of creation, and also give consideration to God’s working in their own lives.
Each devotion is brief and simple, so it isn’t overwhelming.
The Format
The book is a little smaller around than I’d envisioned. I’m not sure why, but I just thought it would be a little larger overall. It’s about 6.25″x8.25″. The reason I point that out is to clarify the breadth of a two-page spread.
Each devotion is just that — a two-page spread. It begins with a verse. This is followed by the bulk of the text, starting with a science lesson, which segues into a life lesson. The “life lesson” portion usually comprises about 1-2 paragraphs of the total. This wraps up with a prayer.
There’s also a little “sidebar” area on each layout called “explore the wonder,” which is sometimes another fun fact or bit of trivia, and sometimes a hands-on challenge.
Quality of the Content & Theology
I do have a couple of minor concerns about the theology, although overall I think this is pretty sound. With a single exception, I’d be comfortable just handing it off to my kids.
I do wish the verses that head each “chapter” were from a more precise translation. Some are NIV, and a few are from other translations (NLT, CEV, ESV, etc.); most are ICB (International Children’s Bible). I understand why this is so (the reading level is kept low, so it’s accessible), but in general I think that theological precision is lost when we do this. So far, I haven’t looked them all up, but nothing jumped out at me as decontextualized due to the translation (like Rick Warren sometimes does with, say, The Message).
The one thing that gives me pause is that in #3, the language is a bit more absolutist than I’m comfortable with as a Reformed/Calvinist Christian. It’s just a couple of sentences, though, and the overall thrust of the message is good, so it’s definitely more a thing to be aware of than a deal-breaker.
There are a few subtle things, good and bad, that careful readers might notice. On the not-so-good side, I found it a bit strange that Pastor Giglio specifies on multiple occasions that Jesus is “the Son of God,” but never once, that I recall, specifies that Jesus is God. This is not a huge problem, since there’s nothing wrong in what he says, but it’s a thing that makes me a little wary of the author.
On the plus side, I noticed that both vaccines and herd immunity pop up, each once. And they’re both addressed in a very balanced and respectful manner. Herd immunity is rightly portrayed as being about how many people in a community are immune, without any attempts to limit it to vaccines. And vaccines are described as something that “some people choose to get” and which are “one of many things” that help fight off diseases. So I was pleased that this was both scientifically accurate and also respectful both to those who vaccinate and those who don’t.
Overall Balance
There’s a good mix here. Some of the things kids are encouraged to take action on are very practical things that we might not even think of as “spiritual,” like finding healthy ways to deal with stress and reducing trash (to be good stewards of the earth). Others are more hard-hitting spiritual ideas, like being kind to others, living holy lives that stand out from the world, and guarding our eyes and minds.
All of these are handled in very age-appropriate ways, but also with plenty of specific suggestions. And they didn’t leave me thinking, “everything here is about school,” which can often be the case with kids’ books, and leaves my homeschooled kids feeling like it doesn’t apply to them! It’s a pretty good balance of concreteness and generality, I guess.
Some readers might think there’s a little too much emphasis on “earth-friendliness,” which we can be used to seeing as a red flag. It seems that, due to the nature of the devotions as rooted in science, there’s a somewhat heavier emphasis than average on health and on earth stewardship. It all really does read like earth stewardship, though, not idolatry. (And Christians should be leading the charge there!)
In addition to just giving this to a child as a regular daily devotional (probably best for around ages 6-10), this could also be used, one “lesson” at a time, to supplement homeschool curriculum. A table of contents and index are included, which should help facilitate this.
You can grab your copy at the author’s website, Indescribable Kids.
Win It!
US readers can also enter below to win a copy. (Just in time for Christmas — we hope.) If you’re reading in a feed reader or email, you might need to click through in order to see the giveaway widget.
We own the first one, Indescribable, and it looks just like this, but with different devotions and science tidbits. It’s been well-received in my house.