Bedtime Prayers That End With A Hug 

Written by Stephen Elkins

Illustrated by Ruth Zeglin

 Beautifully illustrated!

Book Description

Turn your child’s bedtime into a calm and soothing time with God. Little children love getting—and giving—hugs. Hugs generate warmth, affection, and a feeling of acceptance. Bedtime Prayers That End with a Hug! offers a fun and heartwarming way to end your child’s day. This padded hardcover book features 52 easy-to-understand Snuggle Time moment based on Bible themes, along with sweet illustrations, simple lessons to help children apply the Bible to daily life, memory verses from the NLT, and heartwarming bedtime stories. Each story wraps up with an opportunity for parent and child to share a great big hug!

This book can be purchased at the following locations:

http://www.amazon.com  $10.11

http://www.barnesandnoble.com  $10.79

http://www.christianbook.com  $11.99

http://www.deepershopping.com  $10.19

Biography

Stephen Elkins is a Grammy Award–nominated record producer and a multimillion-selling children's author and songwriter. He is owner and founder of Wonder Workshop, a multifaceted Christian media company specializing in the creation of juvenile books, audio products, and DVDs. Stephen has produced recordings featuring Christian personalities TobyMac, Rebecca St. James, Michael Tait of dcTalk, Steve Green, Max Lucado, Twila Paris, and many other notable musicians. He also wrote and produced the Joni Eareckson Tada song "The God I Love," which is used in conjunction with her book of the same title and is now the theme song for her nationally syndicated television show. Stephen lives in Nashville with his wife, Cindy.

My Review ~

This book of bedtime prayers was written for young children from the ages of three to five years old. It was designed to be used as loving lessons in preparing the child for the routine of bedtime prayer. Explanations are given to explain what prayer is and who the child is praying to, as well as a description regarding the importance of communication with God. Composed of 52 different bedtime prayers featuring a different topic, prayer preparations are arranged in steps. The first step is an easy to understand Bible verse. Following that is "snuggle time" which equates to a brief story pertinent to the Bible verse, a "bedtime Bible thought," and "my hug-a-bye prayer." This is followed by "Nighty Night! and the time to give the child a loving hug, communicating parental love and the love of God. 

The illustrations included in Bedtime Prayer That End With A Hug are beautifully done, colorful, age appropriate, and diverse. They are cheerful and whimsical, adding a sense of fun and happiness to a child's training in bedtime prayer. These illustrations are impressive and add an atmosphere of joy to the world of prayer.

The bedtime prayers relate to numerous topics, such as being thankful, loving others, making good choices, being joyful, friendship, etc. Other topics that are featured include, fear of the dark, fear of thunderstorms, worrying, etc. Some of these concepts could be skipped over if a child doesn't exhibit those particular fears. My personal feeling in this regard is that introducing these concepts could instill fears in a child that otherwise don't exist. "Going to the Doctor" is one example of the possibility of instilling fear where there may be none. The verse for that particular prayer entry is Isaiah 41:10, "Don't be afraid, for I am with you." If the child exhibits a fear of doctors this is a helpful and loving way to give comfort, but with a child who is comfortable with his/her doctor this could instill fear where none exists. 

It is important that the parent or caregiver use discretion with each individual child regarding what is appropriate for that given child and his or her age. Overall, I found this to be a very useful method of introducing bedtime prayer to young children. A few of the terms used are not age appropriate, but simplifying those terms would help to explain the message. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Tyndale Kids in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.