God’s Gift by Lee Ann Mancini, illustrated by Dan Sharp

■ God’s Gift
■ Author: Lee Ann Mancini
■ Publisher: GLM Publishing
■ ISBN-10: 0-9863-6049-x
■ ISBN-13: 978-0-9863-6049-7
■ SRP: $16.99
■ Reviewed By: Janice Green

Rating:

A book designed to help children respect and embrace their differences, Lee Ann Mancini in God’s Gift creates a delightful tale of two sea creatures who wrestle with the differences between Christmas and Hanukkah. Children will love the magical setting in the coralhood where the sea kids help decorate their caves for the holiday season. Christian, a young sea turtle, puts baby Jesus in the manger in their nativity scene and Jacob, a young starfish, helps his father light a candle on their menorah. Of course the sea kids are looking forward to all the presents they expect to receive, and when they begin boasting to each other about who will get the most presents, the trouble begins. Lee Ann Mancini’s story line has a happy ending and all learn to appreciate that the greatest gifts of all are the ones that come from God.

Children will love the bright and colorful illustrations and will also enjoy looking for the crosses and stars hidden away on each page.

What I like best about this book: It deals with a touchy subject in a light and friendly way – just right for young children who don’t yet understand everything about their faith.

What I like least about this book: Seeing this book through the bias of my Christian faith, it bothers me to make the differences between the Christian faith and the Jewish faith so slight. Yet I feel it is very appropriate for very young children. They will learn more as they grow older.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 smileys.

This review was written by Janice D. Green, author of The First Christmas.

I received the book God’s Gift free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”