Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Scripture Princesses” direct from the publisher CFI (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I believe we need more Early Reader | Chapter Books such as this:
I have held an appreciation and curiosity about the women of the Bible for the full of my life; mostly because the women of Biblical times were not regularly spoken about from a biographical approach. Most of the stories shared when I was growing up in Sunday School were a bit on the boring side of the ledger to be honest – my teachers had limited knowledge, lacked curiosity of their own, and did not visually bring the women of the Bible to life for me.
I was a seeker of stories from a very young age – and the incredible thing for me growing up was how the stories of who lived during Biblical times was not as represented as the facts. Sunday School and regular education outlets held one commonality that frustrated me: the preference of knowledge and learning was about fact remembering rather than developing a knowledge of history through the perspectives of those who lived and held within their lives a well of stories waiting to be told.
I have found as I grew older, there are certain Biblical fiction authors who either take a Contemporary or Historical point-of-view to help guide us as lay readers to better understand the women (and yes, the men too!) who walked before us. They re-envision their stories through the grace of living through a character’s shoes as told through novels, allowing the breadth of their lives to be explored. The reason this particular release tipped my curiosity to engage with it directly right now, is because I was oft-times curious if there were authors of today penning stories for younger readers who like me were struggling to find quality stories about the women nearly forgotten by time.
Ms Greenwood is an encouraging presence for parents who are seeking illustrated stories who illuminate the women who are strong role models for young girls inasmuch as for young men who are wanting to have a proper balance of knowing who came before us all and how their lives are relevant to today’s world. This is a good start to getting a footing on the Biblical fiction which is happily becoming a more popular genre within the world of INSPY for readers seeking stories about the men and women we barely get to know through their entries in the Bible.
A way to seek out a story behind the scriptures, if you will!
Scripture Princesses
Subtitle: Stories of Righteous Daughters of God
by Rebecca J. Greenwood
Illustrator/Cover Designer: Rebecca J. Greenwood
Source: Direct from Publisher
Be faithful, like Sarah
Be prayerful, like Hannah
Be brave, like EstherThis easy-to-read chapter book shares beautifully illustrated stories, including those of:
Eve,
Rebekah,
Ruth and Naomi,
Sariah,
Abish and the Queen,
Mary Magdalene,
Lucy Mack Smith,
and Emma Hale SmithFull of examples of integrity and courage, this book is the perfect way to reinforce lessons learned in Primary and share scripture stories that will become a gospel foundation to last a lifetime.
Places to find the book:
Also by this author: Author Q&A with Rebecca J. Greenwood, The Darkest Summer
Published by CFI (imprint) Cedar Fort Inc
on 11th August, 2015
Pages: 144
Published By: CFI (imprint) of Cedar Fort Inc (@CedarFortBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook, and compliment Colouring Book
Converse via: #illustratednovel, #KidsLit, #EarlyReader OR #ChapterBooks + #WomenOfTheBible
Also: #INSPY (for Inspirational Fiction readers) + #LDSFiction + #LDSKids
About Rebecca J. Greenwood
Rebecca J. Greenwood studied visual art with a music minor at Brigham Young University. She is a multimedia artist, illustrator, comic creator, and designer with a love of stories. She has worked in publishing for the last six years. Rebecca lives in Utah with her husband, where she listens to audiobooks, cooks experimentally, has an interest in alternative health, and constantly has a new project in mind.
Ms Greenwood happily wrote about 16 women from scriptures accounts across Christianity (including of LDS ancestry) which provides a good foundation for curious readers who want to start to develop their understanding of these women in particular as much as the women of the Biblical past as a whole. It isn’t oft you discover an illustrator who has a genuine knack for delving into the personality of people far removed from modern times who can articulate their lives as readily as Ms Greenwood has with this collection of ‘short stories’ within the collection she’s written. Finding out there is a compliment colouring book attached to this release is champion because children have the tendency to be art-driven as much as how therapeutic colouring can be for children of all ages (this includes adults!).
Her illustrations tell stories – you can get a proper sense of the timescape and the locales of each of the women being highlighted; by the traditional garments and the facial expressions which befit each of them in turn. You can tell she’s done incredible research based on the level of integrity this chapter book presents as a starting guide towards digging inside biographical fiction. This is a genre I have developed an awareness about as a book blogger moreso than I had as a reader – biographies and autobiographies were two areas of literature I struggled to find my footing. Through historical fiction, I started to notice the writers who are creating this special niche for us are helping us develop a passion for stories based on living persons of the historical past in a way where transitioning into non-fiction is becoming easier for those of us who appreciate ‘seeing stories’ through the lens of narrative fiction. The fact there are narrative non-fiction outside the scope of biographies is further impressive and encouraging! Thank you, Katie of Doing Dewey!
The three women I want to focus on have a personal interest of joy for me to read about and thereby, I felt might inspire you, dear hearted reader to pick up this collection and find the women who whet your own thirst of interest to read about!
- Rachel & Leah : stood out to me because I have a grandmother whose first name was Rachel but she opted not to go by her given name during most of her lifetime.
The history of the women of the Bible is complicated and in this short, we can see how complex their lives truly are a good match towards contemporary women whose lives are just as fraught with difficulties such as the strife both Rachel and Leah faced. Although most of us marry only once and remain monogamous, there are other faiths today which still practice taking multiple wives as was the case during Rachel and Leah’s time. In their case, one woman was optioned as a wife in lieu of the other whilst having a trick played on their husband. This led to difficulties in childbirth which could be relatable for women who struggle with fertility and self-identity if a child cannot be bourne. Depression and issues of self-worth can develop when what you hope and pray for cannot become realised; in their story, I was surprised both women didn’t have more carry-over effects of how their lives were pitted against each other, to where at times they were competing not only for clarity within their marriage but an equality on the worth they individually had as women.
On their illustrations: The first illustration is at the start of the chapter, where you can clearly make out Rachel on the left and Leah on the right; one was spontaneously cheerful and the other was more introspective and shy. Emotionally their faces convey their personalities and the moment of which their face is captured per illustration, as the joy of their father is seen in the second and the strife weighing on one of them is visually clued to the reader in the third.
- Ruth & Naomi : I had a friend whose middle name was Ruth, but honestly, both of these women always held a bit of interest simply due to who they were.
I never knew the fullness of the story behind who Ruth was and how she was connected to the line below hers – in this short, what I appreciated the most for those of us who haven’t read up on the back-story until now OR have simply forgotten it over the tides of life, is how Ms Greenwood leaves the ending to be a happy surprise! I truly loved how Ruth is portrayed in this setting of the story and how Naomi is honoured by her steadfast faith and belief that if you are patient, good tidings are sure to come your way. It was Ruth’s legacy as well, but she was guided first by Naomi and endeared to follow her on her own path towards a life she could not even dream to believe were possible.
On their illustrations: Not only are their ages represented but their situations in status as much as the ordinariness of their lives. They are truly honoured in these depictions of women of faith who held to their beliefs and lived the lives they knew would keep them blessed through their days. I loved the simplicity of their illustrations and how well they translate the story outward from there. Especially Naomi’s wizened face who shows a hard life softened by determined strength.
- Mary Magdalene : I always had a soft spot in my heart for her and look forward to seeking out Biblical Historical fiction stories which celebrate the life she lived.
I loved how Ms Greenwood softened the harder bits of this story for the younger reader in mind; it’s a difficult story to purport into Children’s Literature in some ways due to the nature of the events, but I appreciated the tact and the angle in which she took to tell it. In many ways, Mary Magdalene is misunderstood through the centuries do to who she was before she met Christ and yet, her life is a strong testament about faith and the living will to resolve the past by cleansing oneself of their past errant behaviours. She always felt to me to be an incredible woman whose courage and strength in her faith could inspire everyone who heard her story. This was one of my favourites inside the collection!
On her illustrations: The anguish of these crucial moments in Christ’s life were aptly depicted and shown throughout the illustrations that coincide with these pages. The sorrow and the vexation of knowing you couldn’t change anything that was happening was inked out as well. It was a powerful short story to be told and the illustrations matched the context of the text. To learn more about Christ from a non-fiction release by Cedar Fort, please check out my review of: Enslaved to Saved.
A definitive guide to begin further readings, of which I will most definitely be returning to as time moves forward as I work through my 7o Authors Challenge! I cannot wait to see how my original introductions through this collection help shape what I will learn lateron about the lives the women lived as told through other Biblical Biographical Fiction authors!
Ms Greenwood gave me this special illustration to share with my readers, and I was most delighted in being selected to showcase her Scripture Princesses Affirmations! I love Affirmations because they are little snippets of reassurance and encouragement which apply to our lives even if the person who is being used as a reference lived in a time where we can only imagine now in our living world. Affirmations are little bits of praise and give an uplift of joy and when I saw this one, as well as a few others in Ms Greenwood’s connection email to those of us on her blog tour – I knew she had tapped into a special idea about bridging the Biblical women to contemporary children of today.
Without Hope, we would lose our Faith, and without Faith we’d be lost without Love.
This Blog Tour Stop is courtesy of Cedar Fort, Inc.:
Visit the Virtual Road Map to visit other readerly insights & guest author features:
Be sure to look for the FREE printables being showcased on the tour!
I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms Greenwood in an Author Q&A, too!
Don’t miss my previous reviews of picture books as I love illustrated stories!
- A Moment in Time by Jennifer Butenas
- The Olive Tree by Christine Layton Graham,
Joan Layton Merrell, Carol Layton Ogden - The Little Girl and Her Shadow by O.K. Reade
- I Can Pray Everyday by Catherine Christensen
- UPCOMING: In a Village by the Sea by Muon Van
Find out what I am hosting next via Cedar Fort in 2015!
Visit with me again soon!
{SOURCES: Author photograph, Author Biography, Book Synopsis and Book Cover of “Scripture Princesses”, Blog Tour Badge and Cedar Fort badge were provided by Cedar Fort Publishing & Media and used with permission. Illustrated Stories Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Comment Box Banner made by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded due to the codes provided by Twitter.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.
I’m a social reader | I love to tweet my bookish life!
Happily read #illustratednovel for #INSPY #KidsLit where #illustration & #scriptures paint the story http://t.co/F8u3zg22es @purplerebecca
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) August 28, 2015
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