Review by Virginia Wood

As a First Day School teacher I am so glad to see a current study guide for this treasured storybook collection. The study guide provides discussion questions, activity suggestions, and biblical references for each of the stories. Each lesson may be used independently or in concert with the other stories in its section.

A unique aspect of the study guide is that the authors enable teachers to provide continuity between stories by suggesting an ongoing activity that can be used with each of the five sections of the book. For the section on “Courage and Nonviolence,” children are introduced to the practice of writing queries; for the section on “The Power of Love,” children are introduced to journaling; for the section on “Acts of Loving Service,” suggestions are given for service projects; for the section on “Fairness and Equality,” the suggestion is made that the children create a display that uses the historic testimonies as a daily guide; and finally for the section on “Belonging and Care of the Earth,” there are activities that focus on testimonies that have arisen in recent years. Activities within each lesson have a lot of variety: puppet plays, art, cooking, crafts, puzzles, games, letter writing, service.

Teachers at all grade levels will find lots to do with young people to complement the concepts presented in the stories. Teachers working with younger children may find the suggested questions for each story need paraphrasing; however, the questions are varied in their type and elicit cognitive responses requiring simple observation to abstract reasoning.

Looking for more to do with your classes besides telling the stories? Pick up this study guide. You will enjoy it.