stephen nichols Archives | Little Book, Big Story

November 27, 2020 / 0 Comments

Peace

Our family is in a funny spot, reading-wise. On one end, we have our seventh grader, whose school reading list includes Plutarch and Shakespeare and who loves a good adventure—the more intense the better.

On the other end, we have our four-year-old, who loves Star Wars but is also still solidly delighted by Fancy Nancy and Elephant & Piggie. Choosing a book that will appeal to both, as well as to those in between, is, as they say, rather tricky. Often I just skew toward one end and then the other. So we read Brambly Hedge at bedtime, as well as Emblems of the Infinite King. It’s a broad range, and not everybody likes everything we read (though everybody does like Brambly Hedge and will forever, I bet).

Our Advent reading this year illustrates this perfectly: for our younger readers, over dinner we’ll dip into the Advent conversation cards from She Reads Truth. For our older readers, before bed we’ll read Peace.

In Peace, Stephen Nichols (Church History ABCs) tells the whole story of Christmas, from Genesis 1 onward, interweaving quotes, commentaries, and hymns from Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and more. This is a big, from-above view of Christmas, drawn directly from Scripture and embellished by some of the best writers since the church began.

Peace also offers a variety of ways to use the book: as a personal devotional, or a family one; as a story in three acts, or in a series of nine readings. It also includes some liturgies for each Sunday of Advent, which we plan to read together when we light our Advent wreath. But all together, these readings are deep enough to give a seventh grader (and her parents) something to ponder and short enough for a four-year-old to complete a 12-piece puzzle while she listens.

A note on the price: If you are tempted, as I was, to hold off on this one because the price seemed a bit steep, please know what I did not: this is a big book, about 12″x12″, and it is gorgeous. It is clothbound, with full color illustrations and lovely bronze details. The price may seem high, but the quality of the book is definitely worth it.

Peace: Classic Readings for Christmas
Stephen Nichols; Simon Pemberton (2013)

January 24, 2020 / 0 Comments

Bible History ABCs

I don’t know what you thought when you saw the title of this book, but I thought, “Yes, a new one!” I have long loved Church History ABCs and Reformation ABCs and, frankly, everything I’ve ever read by Stephen J. Nichols or seen by Ned Bustard, so I had a hunch I’d love this book too.

But I also thought, “Oh, nice, Bible History ABCs—as in the history of the Bible.” What it is, though, is much better than that: Nichols uses the alphabet as a framework for telling the entire story of Scripture, from Adam to Zion. It has all the fun wordplay of the first two books, as well as more of Ned Bustard’s illustrations, which are somehow always just what a book needs.

Bible History ABCs includes a bunch of bonus material in the back—the sort of thing I like to get distracted reading while trying to tidy up our books—and tucked away in those last pages is a little spread about the history of the Bible. (Well played, sirs.) So this is not just an engaging look at the story of Scripture, but a thorough look at the story of Scripture. And it’s a book our family will revisit often, I can tell.

Bible History ABCs
Stephen J. Nichols; Ned Bustard (2019)

Disclosure: I did receive copies of these books for review, but I was not obligated to review this book or compensated for my review in any way. I share this book with you because I love it, not because I was paid to do so

June 30, 2017 / 0 Comments

Reformation ABCs

Thank you all so much for your encouraging words after my last post! You all are good people, and it was such a joy to hear from you. And I know I said that I was going to post every other week, but when I sat down to my calendar this morning and started scheduling posts two weeks apart, I hated it. I’ll stick to my word for a while, but I may not last long publishing at half speed—we’ll see. But here, today, is a new post about a new favorite book:

One of the books that inspired me to start this blog was Stephen J. Nichols’ Church History ABCs. From the illustrations to the topic to the fun Nichols clearly has with language, I had to share it with friends, family, the school, and our whole church body. A book blog seemed the best and most expedient way to do that. So I started one.

But now Nichols and illustrator Ned Bustard have a new book out. And it’s even—gasp!—better than the first one.

While Church History ABCs highlights figures from various points of church history, Reformation ABCs focuses on figures within a single time period. That narrowed focus makes this book a little easier to pair with history curriculum or Reformation Day celebrations, but by viewing stories through a smaller historical window, it also yields a host of fascinating biographies on people whose lives overlapped either in friendship or influence (or both).

The book itself has a smaller format than Church History ABCs, and because these books are written for the late elementary crowd, I like that. These are picture books for kids who might think they’re too old for picture books (as if there is such a thing!), and I think the smaller format on this book allows it to sneak in there, right between the picture books and the chapter books. Ned Bustards illustrations are still striking and I love them; Stephen Nichols’ language is still quirky and engaging, and I love that.

In short, Reformation ABCs took a bunch of things I loved about Church History ABCs, added some other stuff to it that I also love, and made a beautiful new book that I couldn’t wait to share with you.

Reformation ABCs
Stephen J. Nichols; Ned Bustard (2017)

October 4, 2013 / 0 Comments

The Church History ABCs

History was, for me, a recent discovery. I know that sounds strange, but it was a pleasant surprise to find in history a genre that I simply hadn’t noticed—at least, not until Stephen Ambrose introduced me to the fascinating possibilities of the historical narrative.

Now I love the idea of sharing history with our children at a young age, as it is a comfort to know that others—in wildly different clothes, of course—have trod certain paths before us. Lydia and I talk a lot about fiction and nonfiction (this is how Santa was exposed, actually) and, when reading a new book, that is often one of her first questions: “Is this story fiction or nonfiction?” She leans into a book with a certain enthusiasm when she learns that this is a story that really, truly happened.

The Church History ABCs | Little Book, Big Story

The Church History ABCs offers not one true story, but twenty-six, in concise words and bold illustrations, emphasized by a striking graphic layout. Each letter of the alphabet represents a major figure in church history, from Augustine to Ulrich Zwingli (don’t worry: I hadn’t heard of him either).

Their biographies are told briefly within the context of the book and at more length in an appendix, which makes this a great book for a wide age range. There’s a lot to talk about here, so be prepared: theology, politics, persecution and martyrdom all make appearances, so this is a good one to read with your child so you can answer questions as they come up.

This book also makes a great gift for your Reformation-loving friends, if you have those (we have lots). We don’t own our own copy yet, but it’s come through our home a number of times as gifts for others, and Lydia always wants to read it when it does—with Sarah at her shoulder, calling out letters. That’s a sure sign that our small audience gives a book four thumbs up.

The Church History ABCs
Stephen J. Nichols, Ned Bustard (2010)

Tag: stephen nichols (page 1 of 1)

Peace

Bible History ABCs

Reformation ABCs

The Church History ABCs

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