Review: Worthy Kids/Ideals

Our family recently received two books from Worthy/Kids/Ideals. We received both Book 1: The Beginning and Book 2: Race to the Ark in The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series.  I allowed my two sons to read each of the books themselves. I am actually allowing them to be the primary "voice" of this review.

My son Isaac (age 9) did the review on Book One: 
This book is about Peter and Mary's visit to heir Uncle Solomon's house. They find some hidden scrolls while at their Uncle's house, and they then go back in time to the days of when God created the world. The hidden scrolls had a message written in Hebrew. Whenever they said the right word, it turned into English so that they could understand it.  They only had a week while they were back in time to translate the message or they would be trapped there forever. In this book, the message was GOD MADE EVERYTHING which made sense because it was in the beginning of the whole world. After they figured out what the message was, they got sent home.  Their Uncle found out that they  travelled back in time, and he said whenever you hear another lion's roar wake me up!
Was it a good length? "Yes. I read it in two days in about thirty minutes in each day." Were the words easy to understand? "Yes, it was easy to understand especially because I knew the story of creation." What was your favorite part of the book? "I really enjoyed the pictures. You should tell people they were not in color though." What lessons does the book teach? "I don't really think there were lessons, but it taught me stuff about the Bible." Did you like Peter or Mary more? "I liked Peter better because he was a boy. Pretty obvious Mom. The girl acted like a know-it-all." Would you recommend this book to other kids? "I would recommend this book to other kids who would like to learn the Bible." Did you want to tell me anything else? "Well, I think this would be a good book for teachers to read to their students. Especially Bible teachers." If the author wrote more books, would you like to read them? "I think so. It depends on the theme. I would really like one on Esther or Jesus."

My son Elijah "Sidge" (age 8) did the review on Book Two: 
Peter and Mary were at their Great Uncle Solomon's house. When they heard the lion's roar, they went back in time again. They met some mean people. I can't remember the mean person's name, but he tried to take their dog. Their dog's name was Hank. He did not take their dog though. They had to go back to the the city to buy a hinge for the ark. The city people did not believe in God. They said you should never say the word God. Peter and Mary had to figure out a scroll with some Hebrew words on it within seven days or they would be stuck there forever. They figured out the words just in time and were able to go back home. Was it a good length? "The first book, since I was sick, I read it in one day. Less than one day even. The second book took me about five days just reading a little bit everyday. I would have liked it to even be a little longer." Were the words easy to understand? "I think so, yes." Which book did you like better? One or two? "I think the first book was my favorite." What did you learn? "I'm not sure I learned anything new, but it was just that they were good books, and I enjoyed them." Who did you like better: Peter or Mary? "Peter. He's a boy. Same as Isaac said. I didn't really think Mary was a know-it-all. I just thought she was smart." Do you think other kids would like this book? "Maybe if they like Bible and they like adventures, and they would like to learn about the Bible they would love it." How old do you think you have to be to read this book? "Maybe about seven." If the author wrote more of these, should I buy them? "Yes!"
*****
M.J. Thomas wrote these books after being unable to find any books for his son, Peter, that would teach about the Bible in a fun, imaginative way. I found it interesting that he   grew up in Florida and now lives in Tennessee -- just like our family!!

My kiddos loved the black and white photos scattered throughout the pages.

Overall, I will say that these books went over very well with my boys. They don't tend to rave about anything, but they really enjoyed these books and didn't complain at all when assigned it for school work. Based on their reading level and the reading abilities of my six-year-old kindergartener who would not have been able to read this herself but would have really liked to listen to them, I would say that the age range is probably right at about 6-10 depending on your child's ability and interest. A positive review from our family and from my two third-grade boys! We really enjoyed this one! Please take the time to support Worthy/Kids/Ideals. We need more positive literature like this for our children!