I was excited to be given this book to review because of the valuable lesson of recycle-reuse-renew, something I’m already teaching my children who are 7, 9, and 12 years old. We read the book together, marveling at the soft, bright colors the artist chose. We especially liked that the brother and sister were working together to care for their environment. We all appreciated the tips for conservation, and agreed that it is our job to care for the world around us, but all of us struggled with some of the inconsistencies throughout the story.
While talking about chemicals polluting our water supply, there was a picture of the kids swimming in a pool which requires chemicals to keep it clean, and the scripture on that page references a stream in the mountains. It shows the children unplugging their Wii to conserve electricity, and then depicts them watching a TV as old as I am, with dials to change the channel – not Wii compatible or as energy-efficient as newer models. We live in a big city with lots of bright lights, yet the book looks at that as a bad thing (listed along with poisonous smog) because we can’t see the moon and stars, and where we live in Colorado, it is illegal to collect rainwater for your garden, so we talked about other ways we could conserve that are relevant to us.
My oldest son questioned why the author used scriptures that have nothing to do with caring for the planet. Good question. This book is clearly written for Christians and I’m all for using scripture when teaching, but I was as puzzled as my son.
I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.
I feel as if I’m starting off on the wrong foot with this as my first book review for Book Divas. I rarely give negative reviews, but as a reviewer and a believer, you’ll always get my honest opinion.
Over all, my children liked the book and it was a good discussion starter. While I appreciated the author’s heart for teaching children valuable lessons about caring for creation, I would not intentionally choose this book as that tool. I will say that this is the first book I’ve read by Christy Baldwin, and I would give her other books a chance.
About Christy Baldwin:
Writing has been a passion of Christy’s since she was very young. As a child, she loved to write stories for her grandfather and poems just for fun. She lives in Mason, Ohio with her family and is active in church, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts and volunteering with various organizations. Christy has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Cedarville University and a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Scranton. She is a stay at home mom who enjoys spending time with her kids and being involved in their schools. Her previous children’s titles include Nine Things Nathan Noticed at Night and Remembering Wilma.
Book web site:
http://www.CareForCreationBook.com
Christy Baldwin Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001044000739
Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com
Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176
Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks
Sometimes I Write 
Just wondering…Do you think that some of these observations could be fault of the illustrator and not the writer. I come across books many times where I wonder what the artist was thinking because the picture is such a minor part of the plot. Makes me wonder if they really read and digest the book they are illustrating.
One more thing…why do I get the green guy with the squiggley mouth when I make comments to you?
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Very good thought, Beckie. I was thinking that as I read the review. That could make a world of difference, although the scriptures didn’t fit either.
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There’s a website you can go to that manages your net-icon, which shows up on different websites, not just WordPress. I don’t remember what it is though.
It seems that the bar for getting this Christian book published is to fit a certain esthetic, not to make a good point of it. Sadly, it will probably close more minds to caring for creation than it will open, as a result.
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Yes Beckie, it’s possible that the illustrator wasn’t in sync with the author, but I still didn’t like the author’s use of scripture.
Jared, I don’t know that it will close minds to caring for creation. People will do their part or they won’t and this obscure book probably won’t impact that a whole lot.
Again, I like the author’s heart and her idea, but IMHO it was poorly executed.
The website is gravatar.com and I have it set to that gravatar as opposed to monsters, the ugly quilt pattern, the mystery shadow guy, and I can’t remember what else. IF you have a wordpress account, your picture shows up instead of a randomly generated one. 🙂
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Niki, thank you for taking the time to read and review Christy’s book for your blog and Hannah’s.
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You’re welcome. I look forward to reviewing more Tribute books in the future. 🙂
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