The Hollyhonk Gardens of Gneedle and Gnibb: A Book about Forgiving

Each book of The Christian Character series encompasses a specific topic. Some of them are: Thankfulness, Obedience, Showing love, Fairness, Jealousy Helpfulness. This one focuses on forgiveness. The books in this series are done in rhyme and have a smooth, easy flow to them that keep the child interested; as well as an abundance of cute, applicable illustrations that convey feeling and emotion. At the end of each story is an applicable Bible verse. My 4 children all loved these books and we read them over and over. I think they really do teach a lesson in a way that the child can identify with. Each child has had all of these conflicts and emotions and can see him/herself in the situation. The books show wonderful conflict resolution. In this book, two little gnomes, Gneedle and Gnibb live in Green Gully Grove. Gneedle grows beautiful flowers that light up the night and Gnibb grows a garden of musical flowers. Together the sparkle and sound of the flowers caused no thorns to grow on the ground. But one day after borrowing Gnibb's pail, Gneedle steps on a rake that Gnibb left out and gets smacked in the face. An argument ensues and Gnibb builds up a big fence between the two and Gneedle builds one of her own with stone. Then they find that without one's flower lights to complement the other's musical flowers, thorns begin to grow and the gardens were no more. In the end, they realize their mistake and forgive one another and Green Gully Grove is beautiful once again! "Gneedle sat down on her porch in the gloom and wished she could hear just one boomba plant boom. She thought about Gnibb, how they used to have fun, how they used to have gardens that grew in the sun. She wondered and wondered 'Oh what have I done?'" Highy recommend for kids up to about age 8.

While likely geared for younger, my boys at 8 and 10 still like the series after the years. The rhyming is soothing and the lessons are excellent - without preaching to the kids. All the series is good - with each child having their own favorites. Max and the Big Fat Liar is my favorite.