Introducing...Stamp Club (Summer Edition) from Ink Blot Shop, LLC!

Looking for something to keep the kids busy while school is out for the summer?

Sign them up for the Stamp Club (Summer Edition) from Ink Blot Shop, LLC!

Each Monthly Kit* Includes:
- One (1) 4x6 Clear Stamp Set
- Two (2) Washable Ink Pads
- Two (2) Clear Stamp Mounting Blocks
- Two (2) Rolls of Washi Tape
- Two (2) White Cardstock Card Bases
- Ten (10) Quarter-Sheet Cardstock Panels
- Supplies and instructions to make a total of at least 1 card and 1 non-card project

(May Kit pictured)

Starter Kit* Includes:
- One (1) 4x6 Clear Stamp Sentiment Set
- One (1) Washable Black Ink Pad
- One (1) Clear Stamp Mounting Block
- One (1) Roll of Washi Tape
- Two (2) White Cardstock Card Bases
- Two (2) Quarter-Sheet Cardstock Panels

To get all the details - head on over to the Stamp Club subscription page.

Book Review :: The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories

If you have a previous version of The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories, I am going to go ahead and save you the time...you don't need the newest version. 

With that taken care of, I am going to take a little time here to compare and contrast the older edition with the newest (2016) edition of The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories. (I believe the older edition can still be found in the Collector's Edition. The Collector's Edition comes with audio CDs as well as a DVD - which happen to be additions that are worth the extra price, in my opinion.)

Probably the most notable change is the adaption of illustration style. The older editions of The Beginner's Bible products had artwork with black outlines. The newest illustrations are more of a 3D look and have more detail.

The pages in the newest edition of The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories are coated (like something you would find in a magazine), where the older version had uncoated pages.

The text in The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories is all the same as you will find in the older version, with a large text size that is great for young readers.

If you don't already have a copy of The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories, it is a wonderful book to add to your collection of Bible stories for young ones. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through their book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: The Plans I Have For You Holy Bible, NIV

The Plans I Have For You Holy Bible (NIV) is a new children's Bible. There are a couple of cover options, but the one I am reviewing has a printed hard cover with some colored foil accents.

The Plans I Have For You Holy Bible (NIV) has black text (including the words of Christ) with various blue accents (headings, chapter numbers, etc.), and is laid out in two columns. This is the NIV version of the Bible (© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011). The text is standard size - not too large, and not too small. It does contain some basic footnotes.

There are a few regular features that make The Plans I Have For You Holy Bible (NIV) unique. Each of the features have a blue scale color scheme.
They are:
- Highlighted Scriptures (100): highlighted Scriptures throughout (listed in order of occurrence at the back of the Bible in the "Scripture Index")
- "God's Big Plans" (50): practical overviews detailing God's plan for specific individuals/groups of people, ending with a call to action (listed in order of occurrence in the "Index to God's Big Plans" at the back of the Bible)
- "Promise Prayers" (25): verse references and written prayers

With the attractive styling and the gender-neutral colors, I'd say The Plans I Have For You Holy Bible (NIV) would be great for either gender and a variety of ages - starting as early as age 6 (if they are reading) and up to around age 11. 

The Plans I Have For You Holy Bible (NIV) has the basics you need, with some great extras and is a good choice for a Bible for any child in your life. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through their book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: Investigator's Holy Bible, NIV

The Investigator's Holy Bible (NIV) is a new children's study Bible. There are a couple of cover options, but the one I am reviewing has a printed shimmer hard cover.

The Investigator's Holy Bible (NIV) has navy text (including the words of Christ) with various muted orange accents (headings, chapter numbers, etc.), and is laid out in two columns. This is the NIV version of the Bible (© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011). The text is standard size, and the font is easy to read. It does contain some basic footnotes.

There are a few regular features that make the Investigator's Holy Bible (NIV) unique. Each of the features have the same navy/muted orange color scheme for both the text and illustrations.
They are:
- "The Evidence": an introduction for each book of the Bible addressing the basics, such as: who, when, what, etc.
- "Breakthrough!": answers to anticipated questions
- "The Witnesses": the meaning and/or history of the names of various Bible characters
- "The Scene": descriptions of locations of Bible events
- "Check the Facts": single-question quizzes
- "Case Closed!": summary at the end of each book

At a glance, some of the text in "The Witnesses" feature can be difficult to distinguish from the Scripture text. Most of the features are easily distinguishable from the Scripture text, but that was one that I noticed that could have benefited from an outline or a differently colored background.

There is an "Index to Features" at the back of the Investigator's Holy Bible (NIV). The "Index to Features" lists page numbers for all the features, broken up into feature type and listed in order of appearance. Additionally, there is a 100+ page Concordance and 7 blue scale maps at the back of the Investigator's Holy Bible (NIV).

With the attractive styling and the gender-neutral colors, I'd say the Investigator's Holy Bible (NIV) would be great for either gender and a variety of ages - starting as early as age 6 (if they are reading) and up to the early teens. 

The Investigator's Holy Bible (NIV) has the basics you need, with some fantastic extras and is a fantastic choice for a Bible for any child in your life. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through their book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible

The Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible is a large, hardcover picture storybook. The coated interior pages are full-color. A presentation page is included.

There are a total of 33 Bible stories in the Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible, with 18 being Old Testament stories and 15 being New Testament stories. Each of the stories starts with the phrase "Once Upon a Time..." and end with a "Happily Ever After" (which is a very short recap of each story with a verse reference). There are 4 pages per story.

I liked that at the end of the Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible, it states that this is "The End, and a Beginning". It encourages the reader to pick up a full version of the Bible and read more. 

The Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible is a nice storybook Bible, and the large pages are a good size for reading to a group.

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through their book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: Once Upon A Time Holy Bible, NIrV

The Once Upon A Time Holy Bible (NIrV) has a hard cover with glitter accents. (The glitter does not rub off.)

The Once Upon A Time Holy Bible (NIrV) is the New International Reader's Version (NIrV) version of the Bible. The NIrV is a simplified version of the NIV, written at approximately a 3rd grade reading level. The NIrV is composed of smaller, easy-to-understand words in shorter sentences than the traditional NIV.

The Once Upon A Time Holy Bible (NIrV) has all black text (including the words of Christ), laid out in two columns. The text is standard size - not large, but not extra small. There are no study notes or footnotes in the Once Upon A Time Holy Bible (NIrV), just strictly Bible text.

At the back of the Once Upon A Time Holy Bible (NIrV) are two study helps: a 5-page dictionary (words & definitions, but no verse references) and lists compiling 92 "Great Bible Stories" (with verse references). The "Great Bible Stories" lists would be great to use for monthly reading plans. 

There are some full-color page inserts that are placed throughout the Once Upon A Time Holy Bible (NIrV). (The full-color pages are a bit thicker than the text pages.) There are a total of 6 full-color inserts, with 4 pages in each. Each of the inserts are illustrated and have a summarized story version of popular Bible events.

If you have the Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible, you will notice that the stories in this Bible are very similar to some of the stories in the Storybook, but they are not identical. The illustrations are also similar (which is to be expected being from the same line), but the illustrations are different in each version. The story of Isaac and Rebekah is not covered in the Once Upon A Time Storybook Bible.

Here are the topics/stories covered in the inserts:

- God Makes Man and Woman

- Isaac and Rebekah

- Ruth Finds Happiness

- Queen Esther

- A Visit from an Angel

- He Lives!

The Once Upon A Time Holy Bible (NIrV) has the basics you need, with some nice extras. 

FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through their book review bloggers program. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.