Bible Belle's Esther: The Belle of Patience {A Book Review and Giveaway}

It is very important to me to be able to share truths from the Bible with my children. I love finding new books that  help to further this goal. This new book, which is a part of a series, is especially designed for young girls, though my son did seem to enjoy the story. I was sent a copy of the second book in the Bible Belles series, titled Esther: The Belle of Patience. 

Synopsis: 

"Bible Belles' The Adventures of Rooney Cruz is an original children's series that presents real life heroes like never before. The series highlights five superhero women of the Bible: Hannah, Esther, Abigail, Ruth and Deborah.

We're setting out to present women in the Bible in a way that has never been done before. We want girls to connect with them and find out what being truly beautiful is all about. We want girls to remember their names, their stories, and how special they are."

I learned that "the goal of these books is to teach young girls about inner beauty using prominent Bible characters and real life problems."

In this series Rooney Cruz is learning more and more about God and his will for her life. Rooney is a modern girl with modern problems. With the help of her angel Mari, Rooney travels to Bible times to see first hand the stories of five superhero women of the Bible. These lives are specifically shown to her to help her through her current problem. While I have not read the first book of this series, Hannah: The Belle of Prayer, it is obvious from reading this newest book (and from the title of the previous book) that she learned about the power of prayer in her last adventure by visiting the Hannah who was the mother of Samuel in the Old Testament. 

In Esther: The Belle of Patience, Rooney learns the importance of being able to wait and trust in the Lord. She has been having problems on the soccer team and wants to just blurt out her frustrations to the coach. However, Mari appears and takes her through a magical window to see specific scenes from the live of Queen Esther. She watches as Esther turns to the Lord to know the right time to approach the king and confront Haman. 

This story focuses on learning to allow God to lead us in His perfect time. 

And yes, Rooney took the knowledge she gained, added it to her power of prayer, earned another "bell" to her collection and used it to help her with her problems on the soccer team. 

The story ends with this Bible verse: I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5

What did we think of the book?

Tabitha says "I think it was really cool because she learned the power of patience and I think that's just cool."

Amelia says "It was awesome!" When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said, "All of it." 

Hannah says "I liked it about the angel parts."

I also enjoyed reading  Esther: The Belle of Patience. My girls all seem to be at the right age to enjoy this story and learn from it. Tabitha, who is 9 years old,  was able to zing through the book. Amelia would be able to read it, but it would take her a little longer. Hannah is just learning to read, so she was able to enjoy it by my reading it to her.  Being only 50 pages long, with only partial text on most pages, and with some pages with only pictures, this story was easy to read in one sitting. 

You are not reading the whole story of Esther as found in the Bible, but skipping to parts important to focusing on God and his perfect timing. I like that Rooney learns from a Bible heroine, because it helps the children learn that there are answers to life's problems in the Bible, even in this day and age.

The one aspect about this series that concerned me, was the way they chose to portray the angel. I wasn't sure how the children felt about this, so I thought I would ask. Amelia didn't see a problem with her. However, when I asked Tabitha what the angel looked like if you were glancing through the book without knowing what she was or what the book was about, she said Mari reminded her of a fairy. Which was exactly what I was thinking. I would have preferred a human sized angel who was worthy of the name "angel" as opposed to a little magical creature. 

All in all, I do recommend this book. It is a great way to instill Biblical values to young girls. Now, if there was just a similar series for boys. 

You can find out more about Bible Belles on the website. While there, you may want to look into joining the Bible Belles Club. There are also some free resources available, coloring pages and activity cards. You just need to provide a name and email address for access.

Here is a little video about the book

Bible Belle's Esther: The Belle of Patience from Bible Belles on Vimeo.

Great news! I have been given the opportunity to offer a giveaway for one person to win their own copy of Bible Belle's Esther: The Belle of Patience.

All you need to do is enter in the Rafflecopter form below. 

There are only 2 simple mandatory entries, with the remainder of the entries being optional. 

Remember, you do not have to do the extra entries, but they will increase your odds of winning. 

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and over. 

The giveaway runs June 15th through June 24th.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

 By entering the giveaway, you understand and agree that your contact information will be shared with the sponsor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of Bible Belle's Esther: The Belle of Patience in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.