A Child's Book of Character Building, Book 1: Growing Up in God's World-At Home, at School, at Play

I bought this book one month ago. My daughter will be 5 yeas old. She really likes to color the pictures in the book. And at the same time she wants to know what's going on in the pictures. The story in every picture and topic is very practical and meaningful. I read to her ervery night before she goes to sleep.She asked lots of nice question related how to be good and about God. I really enjoy to read to her too. I learnt a lot from this book. I really recommand you to buy it too. It will benifit you and your child. Thank you Lord for this loving book!

A friend graciously gave me her copy of this book, and what a blessing it has been! We read it over 12 weeks, reading one application of each virtue each day, 4x/week. My kids and I adored it. I was tempted to let them color in the pages directly, but as it was shared among multiple children, I really couldn't. (I wish I had read Mrs. Thomson's review before we read it: what a great idea, photocopying the pictures so the kids can color them!) In a world where molding a child's character seems to be sort of an afterthought, if even that, it was so edifying to just have simple applications demonstrating oft-overlooked virtues. Seriously, in a culture fixated on self-esteem, how wonderful is it to have children being instructed about contentment, meekness, or tenderheartedness? It spoke to my kids' hearts in a way that surprised me...they were just ravenous for the readings and follow-up discussions. Volume 1 covers Attentive, Faith, Creative, Diligence, Patience, Contentment, Obedience, Wisdom, Tenderhearted, Thankfulness, Honesty, Joyfulness. I wish Volume 2 were still in print; alas, whomever is selling it at prices ranging from $57-155 could benefit from a little character development themselves.

Excellent book. I use it with my 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old girls. We use it during devotions and they love it. The concepts are easily understood. I recommend this book to parents or teachers.

Practical application of the Bible: it is a vital part of our walk with Christ, whether young or old. A Child's Book of Character Building is exactly that: practical application of the Bible fitted toward a young elementary child's life. The book takes a series of character qualities, and systematically takes the child through a simple definition of that quality, a Bible verse, a Bible story that illustrates that quality in the life of Jesus or someone else in the Bible, then 3 one page stories illustrating that quality in the life of a child at home, at school, and at play, with some "character development challenges" questions at the end. No talking vegetables of glossy color illustrations, but simple, Biblical instruction that kids will understand and learn from. Great for family devotions or for young readers to read to themselves.

I recognized this book as a treasure when I first found it years ago, and gave a copy to my sister's preschool-age children. Over a decade later, when they were mourning a friend who had ruined her life, their Mom asked them (they are now teenagers), what had influenced them to avoid similar disaster. "It was those blue books, Mom", was their quick reply. These books have been out of print for several years, but have always been in demand, more recently by homeschoolers.