We had the opportunity to receive a wonderful alphabet picture book that focuses on the Word of God. The book is titled T is for Tree: A Bible ABC and is published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association. Though it is recommended for children ages 3-6, all of my children enjoyed listening to me read it during our Bible time.
This hardcover, 32-page book by Connie L. Meyer is full of wonderful rhyming verse, lovely illustrations, and Bible verses.
Each page is dedicated to one letter of the alphabet.
Each capital letter is displayed prominently on the page along with the part of creation it is representing. These first words are also the first line of the rhyming verse. The verses all follow the same pattern and have the second and fourth line rhyming. Also included on each page is the Bible verse that inspired the rhyme.
I really appreciate that the verses simplify the Bible passages, helping children understand what it is saying, while teaching the alphabet.
We were also quite impressed by the illustrations in the book. The main pictures that are the focus on each page are beautiful, with a lot of them showing amazing detail. We also loved the illustrations in the borders. These usually are related to some other detail shared in the verse. For example, on the "T is for Tree" page we see a tree planted by the river as stated in Psalm 1. And around the edges we see lovely green leaves which illustrate the part of the verse that states, "his leaf also shall not wither."
When we first received the book, we read it all the way through, omitting the Bible verses. We took turns reading the rhyming verse and enjoying the pictures. Then I decided we would make our way slowly through the book, reading one or two pages every school day, including the Bible verse. If we weren't already memorizing three verses a week, I can definitely see including these as memory work in our homeschool.
If the children were very young, or had shorter attention spans, I could see just reading is as a typical alphabet book, "A is for ants, B is for bow, C is for clouds, D is for dawn...etc." Maybe even occasionally adding in the rhyming verse. As children get older they should be able to enjoy the rhyming verse more, and you could also help the children learn about rhyming words, having them figure out which words rhyme, helping as needed. For the younger children in this age range, I would say that stopping to read the Bible verse could be a distraction to the "story," though some may not have any issues with it. I'm not saying to avoid the Bible passages altogether! However, there are times I would read just the rhyming verses to continue through the book without losing the rhyme and rhythm of the story.
If I still had preschoolers, and we were working on our Letter of the Week curriculum, I think it would be great to read the corresponding page and use it to design a craft and/or an activity, using the rhyming verse as memory work. Older children could also join in and memorize the Bible verse. Oh how I wish I had had this book just a few years ago, because that is exactly what I would have done. For now, the children have been enjoying reading it a couple of pages at a time, even reading it to each other on occasion.
We were also quite impressed by the illustrations in the book. The main pictures that are the focus on each page are beautiful, with a lot of them showing amazing detail. We also loved the illustrations in the borders. These usually are related to some other detail shared in the verse. For example, on the "T is for Tree" page we see a tree planted by the river as stated in Psalm 1. And around the edges we see lovely green leaves which illustrate the part of the verse that states, "his leaf also shall not wither."
If the children were very young, or had shorter attention spans, I could see just reading is as a typical alphabet book, "A is for ants, B is for bow, C is for clouds, D is for dawn...etc." Maybe even occasionally adding in the rhyming verse. As children get older they should be able to enjoy the rhyming verse more, and you could also help the children learn about rhyming words, having them figure out which words rhyme, helping as needed. For the younger children in this age range, I would say that stopping to read the Bible verse could be a distraction to the "story," though some may not have any issues with it. I'm not saying to avoid the Bible passages altogether! However, there are times I would read just the rhyming verses to continue through the book without losing the rhyme and rhythm of the story.
If I still had preschoolers, and we were working on our Letter of the Week curriculum, I think it would be great to read the corresponding page and use it to design a craft and/or an activity, using the rhyming verse as memory work. Older children could also join in and memorize the Bible verse. Oh how I wish I had had this book just a few years ago, because that is exactly what I would have done. For now, the children have been enjoying reading it a couple of pages at a time, even reading it to each other on occasion.
According to the back cover of the book, the book was "designed to teach young children of their heavenly Father's almighty power and his faithfulness to fulfill the promises he makes to them as children of his covenant." I would say it fulfills its purpose. T is for Tree: A Bible ABC by Connie L. Meyer is a wonderful picture book for focusing on God's amazing creation and his great love and faithfulness, while allowing younger children to learn the letters of the alphabet.
Don't forget to click on the banner below to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about T is for Tree: A Bible ABC.
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