Grandmother Time Again

By Judy Gattis Smith
Dimensions for Living, $10.50

ISBN 0-687-00802-6

Down the Generations

Judy Gattis Smith knows that stories tell us who we are and to whom we belong, but she's concerned about the stories our grandchildren hear from television and the marketplace. In Grandmother Time Again she continues her creative way of combating these with the faith stories of the Bible that she began in Grandmother Time Anytime.

Designed specifically for grandmothers to share with their grandchildren, each of the ten chapters helps grandmothers retell a Bible story with questions, crafts, and activities. Each story centers around an important character trait such as bravery, honesty, joyfulness, forgiveness, and hopefulness. The rhyming, rhythm, and interactive activities are particularly good, and she has provided Bonus Stories for the times when your grandchild begs you to "tell me another one."

More than just creative Bible stories and activities centered on virtuous themes, the chapters conclude with sections that ask "How well do you know your grandchild?" and "Praise Words." Thus each storytelling experience becomes an opportunity for building the relationship at a deeper and more biblical level. For example, after telling the story of the Transfiguration, Smith suggests these statements for sharing: "You are my beloved grandchild, in whom I am well pleased," and "You are precious, and I pray for you."

Smith, a Christian educator in Virginia and grandmother of four, knows young children well. She also knows that "children are living messages to a time we will not see." We must send our grandchildren into the future fortified with the stories of our faith. Grandmother Time Again will help grandmothers do just that--and have a lot of fun as well.

Esther Sweeney loves sharing books with her two grandchildren.

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