The Jesus Storybook Bible
Sally Lloyd-Jones
(UK: ZonderKidz, 2012; USA: ZonderKidz, 2007)

The Moonbeam Award Gold Medal Winner in the religion category, The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the centre of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David – every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the story unfolds, children will pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. A Bible like no other.

Recommended by:
Ruth Jackson, Deputy Editor, Premier Youthwork and Premier Childrenswork

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (The Jesus Storybook Bible)
Available in the USA via Amazon (The Jesus Storybook Bible)

Bhagwan: The God That Failed
Hugh Milne
(UK: Caliban, 1986; USA: St Martin’s Press, 1987)

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his Orange Movement wer’ in the news ever since he founded it in Poona in the early 1970s. Here is the ‘inside story’, told by a man who was for many years a devoted follower of Bhagwan, one of his inner circle, and the head of his personal bodyguard. Hugh Milne found in the movement a purpose he had not experienced in his successful professional life, a haven from a world he found lacking in spirituality and headed for self-destruction. He details his experiences from the ecstatic early days in Poona to the recent cold and materialistic power struggles which dominated the commune in Oregon, after Bhagwan had fled from India following pressure from the Indian authorities.

Recommended by:
Ian Winn, Author and Podcaster, Octopus Messiah (author website) and Litopia After Dark (podcast website)

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Bhagwan: The God That Failed)
Available in the USA via Amazon (Bhagwan: The God That Failed)

Ian’s debut novel will be republished soon (3rd edition)
The Techno Pagan Octopus Messiah

Benedictus: A Book Of Blessings
John O’Donahue
(UK: Bantam, 2007)

Living in an anxious world – a world so often dominated by unwelcome change, unhappiness and even despair – many readers will find comfort in John O’Donohue’s illuminating introductions, covering areas such as Beginnings, Desires, States of the Heart, Callings and Beyond Endings, and the blessings themselves provide an inspiring and reassuring new vision of possibility. It is also a vision of hope and belonging for this sometimes troubled world.

Recommended by:
Christopher Norris, Jolabokaflod Book Campaign

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Benedictus: A Book Of Blessings)

Faith Generation
Nick Shepherd
(UK: SPCK, 2016)

Is institutional religion in Britain ‘one generation away from extinction’? Recent statistics seem to bear this out: the Church is losing young people and failing to attract a new generation. In an increasingly secularized culture, faith formation no longer just happens. So how do we help children and young people to form faith today and help our churches to grow in the process?

Based on his own research, Dr Nick Shepherd, argues that there is an urgent need for faith generation within our churches. Through examining youth ministry practices, he explains both the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of faith generation today.

Recommended by:
Ruth Jackson, Deputy Editor, Premier Youthwork and Premier Childrenswork

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Faith Generation)

Parenting Children for a Life of Confidence
Ruth Turner
(UK: Bible Reading Fellowship, 2015)

The world has a formula for confidence. It goes like this: ‘You are amazing and perfect, just the way you are. People should love and accept you, and, if they don’t, well, that’s their problem.’

Some of the Christian community goes along with this formula. We can be told in church: ‘God made you perfect and precious. You are unique and wonderful, like a gemstone in his eyes, worthy of so much.’ We think that if our children could just believe those statements deep in their hearts, then they would be confident. If they could discover who they are and express it well, then they would have joy. If only they could live those beliefs, they would be able to weather the storms in the world. The problem is that the formula doesn’t work…

In this thought-provoking and engaging book Rachel Turner explores how we can help our children to discover a healthy core of confidence, offering practical wisdom and suggestions for nurturing this in daily life.

Recommended by:
Ruth Jackson, Deputy Editor, Premier Youthwork and Premier Childrenswork

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Parenting Children for a Life of Confidence)

Diary of a Disciple
Gemma Willis
(UK: Scripture Union, 2016)

Dr Luke has a story to tell. It’s a super incredible, massively, mind-boggling totally AMAZING, absolutely awesome, epically HUGE story. Luke wrote down everything that happened because he wanted everyone, everywhere in the whole world to hear what he had to say.

Luke’s story tells you who Jesus is, what he did, the people he met, all the super interesting things he had to say, and it has a pretty jaw-dropping twist right at the end …

Recommended by 2 people:
Ruth Jackson, Deputy Editor, Premier Youthwork and Premier Childrenswork
Terry Clutterham, Ministry Development Director: Guardians of Ancora, Scripture Union
Terry says: ‘This is Luke’s story [Gospel] told in the style of Dairy of a Wimpy Kid. It’s lots of fun.’

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Diary of a Disciple)

Disappointment, Doubt and Other Spiritual Gifts
Mark Yaconelli
(UK: SPCK, 2016; USA: SPCK, 2016)

A honest, heartfelt and ultimately deeply hopeful collection of stories and reflections on the author’s own woeful inability to be the perfect Christian. Acclaimed Christian writer and speaker Mark Yaconelli talks of his own failures and disappointments in Christian life and ministry, in order to offer others hope for the future.

Recommended by:
Ruth Jackson, Deputy Editor, Premier Youthwork and Premier Childrenswork

Available in the UK via ‘My Local Bookshop‘ search engine or Amazon (Disappointment, Doubt and Other Spiritual Gifts)
Available in the USA via Amazon (Disappointment, Doubt and Other Spiritual Gifts)