My Mama and Me: Rhyming Devotions for You and Your Child

by Crystal Bowman

A companion book to "My Grandma and Me, " this book is specifically written for mother and child. "My Mama and Me" is designed around four questions: Can You Tell Me about God? Can You Tell Me about Jesus? What Does God Think about Me? How Can I Show God I Love Him?Through 25 rhyming devotions and fun activities, Mom can answer these questions for the curious little one. It's a great way to introduce kids to faith at an early age yet in an age-appropriate and understandable manner. Each devotion also includes a short Bible verse and a prayer that mother and child can recite together. Some of the activities include creating a card, making a heart wreath, and singing--all of the activities are directly related to the theme for the devotion. These devotions translate to hours of meaningful, faith-filled fun.The book ends with a touching prayer every mother will want to pray for her children.

68 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Crystal Bowman is an author, speaker, and former preschool teacher. She graduated from Calvin College with a degree in elementary education and studied early childhood development at the University of Michigan. Her writing career began in 1990 as a lyricist for children's piano music. She began writing children's books in 1993 and has since written more than 100 books for children and 3 for women. She has written books for many popular children's series, such as Little Blessings, BOZ the Bear, MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), Berenstain Bears, and I Can Read! She has also written two books of humorous poetry for children, numerous magazine articles, Bible study materials, and educational resource books. As a speaker, Crystal enjoys sharing her stories and poetry with students in the classroom and also with adults at teachers' conventions, writers' conferences, and women's seminars. "Writing and speaking can be intimidating because in order to connect with your audience you need to be personal and transparent, exposing what's in your heart and soul. But when readers or conference attendees respond positively to something I've said or written, it is humbling and rewarding all at the same time!" Crystal and her husband, Bob, have enjoyed 44 years of marriage and are the parents of 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. They spend summers in Michigan and winters in Florida.

Reviews

[Jalynn Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

About the Book:

A companion book to "My Grandma and Me, " this book is specifically written for mother and child. "My Mama and Me" is designed around four questions: Can You Tell Me about God? Can You Tell Me about Jesus? What Does God Think about Me? How Can I Show God I Love Him?Through 25 rhyming devotions and fun activities, Mom can answer these questions for the curious little one. It's a great way to introduce kids to faith at an early age yet in an age-appropriate and understandable manner.

Each devotion also includes a short Bible verse and a prayer that mother and child can recite together. Some of the activities include creating a card, making a heart wreath, and singing--all of the activities are directly related to the theme for the devotion. These devotions translate to hours of meaningful, faith-filled fun.The book ends with a touching prayer every mother will want to pray for her children.
About the Author:

Crystal and her husband, Bob, have enjoyed 38 years of marriage and are the parents of 3 grown children and 1 grandchild. They live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.



My Review:

My Mama&Me is a precious children's book. It is a devotional that is in a question and answer format with prayers and activities included. A perfect book to introduce to your children to a more close and loving relationship with God.

This book includes twenty five different devotions that teaches children about God, scripture, and prayer. And the activity is used to reinforce the theme of that particular devotion. Our children always have tons of questions and this little book can be a parents best friend to help with those questions. There is also a special mother's prayer included in the back of the book.

This book is rich in scripture and all topics related to a subject that we should never stop talking about especially with our kids. The illustrations are perfect. They are sweet and innocent. The subject matter is something that should be addressed and taught to our children at an early age. This book is the best one I have found out today that would be a good starter. If you are interested in purchasing the book you can go to this link. This book is showing a release date of September 2013.

**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from Tyndale.

[Randi Schmid · Rating 4 out of 5]

"My Mama and Me" is a "Rhyming Devotions for You and Your Child" by Crystal Bowman and Teri McKinley. Phyllis Harris made some really beautiful illustrations for this devotional.


image via Amazon
Each devotion rhymes, so it's easily entertaining for children. The sections speak to telling children about God, Jesus, what God thinks of us, and how to show God that we love Him. I'd like to share an example of the devotions:

God Keeps You Safe
The LORD is the one who keeps you safe. -Psalm 91:9, NIrV

Our Devotion
God keeps you safe all through the day.
He watches you as you run and play.
When you're at home or in the car,
God is with you where you are.

He keeps you safe all through the night.
His moon shines down to give you light.
Even through a thunderstorm,
God will keep you safe and warm.

Our Prayer
Dear God, thank you for protecting me and keeping me safe all the time. Thank you for always being with me and watching over me. In Jesus' name, amen.

Then each devotion has a fun idea for "mama and me" that shares and activity or song that you can do with your little one(s).

This is a really great book for moms with small children. A very simple devotion to get them ready to have their own quiet times with the Lord as they grow. I try to have some devotion time and time to read the Bible itself with my kids every day (although, as any mom knows, not much happens as regularly as we would like). My boys enjoy the time and I am encouraged as they have grown in knowledge about the Bible and love for the Lord.

[Lindsey Silvestrini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this devotional! I read My Mama & Me with my four year old daughter Paige and she couldn’t get enough of it.

I think the thing that she loved most and really made the lesson hit home for her was the “Fun Idea for Mama and Me” portion at the end of each devotion. These were things that took the message and put it into practice. She she is my creative, active, artsy child, it was a perfect way for her to learn and retain.

Some of her favorite activities were making a picture of a clock to remind her that God is good all the time and cutting out paper hearts and making a wreathe to show Gods love makes her happy.

Each devotion is short and sweet and about as long as my four year old could handle. There is a main theme, a short Bible verse, a devotion that’s just a couple paragraphs and rhymes, a short prayer and then the fun idea.

Each section is short enough to sink in and hold the attention of a pre-schooler. The rhyming portion really made it fun for Paige and helped her to remember some of what was taught.

There is also a rhyming poem at the beginning of each section that outlines the overall topic and helps prepare you both for what you are about to read.

My Mama & Me is a great devotional for little ones and would make a perfect gift for kids under five. It’s become a read bonding time for me and my daughter and she loves forward to the section at the end of each day where she gets to put it into practice!

[Vera Godley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thoughts: If you were to glance at this book in a store or see it online to purchase, you would think it about a love between child and mother and how they interact with one another. However, that is not the case. This lovely little book is filled with soft, whimsical pictures that will draw the attention of the young child.

As a devotional book, it is especially nice in that it is filled with lovely rhymes.

The greatest thing for you to know
is God loves you from head to toe!
He made you, and he knows your name.
His love for you will stay the same. (page 39)

Mama, I've got questions for you.
Who is God, ad what does he do?
How did God make the great big sky?
How did he put the stars so high? (page 9)

The teaching opportunities are plentiful and the special moments of spiritual discovery that are shared will create memories to last a lifetime. A wonderful little book to help shape a young life. Sadly, this delightful book was not available when my children were growing up. But I plan to pass it along to my daughter who has four lovely little girls who will delight in having it read to them and learning its valuable lessons.

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Tyndale Blog Network to facilitate my honest review. Opinions expressed are solely my own and I was not compensated for this review.

[Rheanna Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a couple different devotions that I've used with the kids. I prefer ones that are interactive. My kids seem to learn, engaged and remember better when there is an activity associated with whatever it is we are talking about. Plus it usually gets a moving, or having a discussion for longer. This particular devotion, beautifully illustrated by the way, is perfect for smaller children, probably about 3 I would say. The devotions are short enough that your smaller children could sit and read and stay engaged as well.

The devotions are set up simply: Bible Verse, devotion (something that the children learn - God keeps us safe, God gives us what we need, God is your friend), prayer and an activity. The activities range from simply going outside and looking for things, while some are more artsy.

4 out of 5 stars

This is a great devotional for very young children. While I'm sure older children (my 5 and 7 year old included) wold enjoy this, I prefer a little more in-depth study, and one where they would sit for just a smidge longer. The illustrations are sweet and this would make a great gift and/or heirloom.

*I received this book in partnership with Tyndale Publishing and Tyndale Blogging Network

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Mama and Me by Crystal Bowman and Terry McKinley is a beautifully illustrated read-aloud for young children. Written specifically for mothers to read to their pre-school aged children, this sweet book seeks to answer many questions children have about God.

As a mother of children who love to read, I heartily recommend this book as a way to engage young minds and open young hearts to the ways of the Lord. The daily read-aloud pages are beautifully designed to hold the attention of the young child. The thought for the day is written in fun, poem form and an activity is suggested to reiterate the lesson.

This important book can be a great blessing in helping children understand the Gospel. Recently, my youngest child asked me to help her "to be good." It is a book like this one that can help us all do our part to do just that for our children. (She really enjoyed reading this book together, by the way).

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice book to read with your child. There are twenty-five rhyming devotions spanning a number of topics to open discussions about God, Jesus and our relationship with Him.

It makes a nice bedtime activity as you can read two or three devotions before bedtime. They are short enough to keep your son or daughter's attention and the pictures are eye-catching.

The book is wide enough so both you and your child can see the pages without feeling squished.

Each devotion is followed by a Bible verse, a prayer suggestion, and a fun activity to do that reinforces the idea. This kind of rhyming book is a fantastic way to learn to pray with your family. It's great at teaching kids simple prayer ideas.

My wife and son have enjoyed reading this just before bedtime; it's simply a comfortable, inviting devotional book.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Tyndale Publishing.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Mama & Me is such a wonderful book to be shared between Mother and child. You know that magical age between 2 and 5 when children can't stop asking questions. They want to know the how and the why....usually they want to know it right now! This book helps the Mother give great answers about the important ones they ask about God.

This book is loaded! Every couple of pages a question is answered with a rhyming devotion, a prayer, bible verse, and then a fun idea for the mother and child to do together. The activities will bring the lesson home so to speak. Telling children about Jesus should be a priority and this book makes it easy and fun.

I loved the illustrations shown on each page helping to emphasize each lesson.

You will be bringing this book down from your children's book shelf again and again.


I received this book from Tyndale Rewards.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute! I enjoyed the little devotions presented in this book and my daughter really enjoys it as a bedtime story. Colorful illustrations will keep your little one interested. It is more appropriate for toddlers than for older children but it introduces them to the idea of a devotion time. Simple and cute.

DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Tyndale Blog Network to facilitate my honest review. Opinions expressed are solely my own and I was not compensated for this review

[Pamela Rote · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book My Mama& Me is a wonderful interactive spiritual book for children to do with Mother or Father. The sweet little rhyming devotion keeping the child's attention, I love each verse that is included and Fun Idea section is very creative way to keep the topic going through out the day.