This luxurious presentation of the Bible is a classic in the making. With an extensive arracy of Bible stories and short prayers, dated on for every day of the year, Mary Joslin's sensitive writing is complemented by wonderfully warm, atmospheric illustrations from Amanda Hall which truly capture the essence of Bible times.

Author: Mary Joslin
Illustrator: Amanda Hall
Price: £14.99

Candle Read and Share Bible is the perfect way to share the joy and wonder of God’s word. With more than 200 Bible stories, discussion starter with each story and based on the International Children’s Bible translation.

Great as a Sunday School curriculum, school assemblies, family devotionals, or as a gift item (birthday, confirmation, baptism, or other special occasion).

Author: Gwen Ellis
Format: Hardback
Price: £9.99

William P. Young, The Shack (Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007).

Reviewed by William D. Lollar

Over the past thirty-seven years of my journey with the Lord, I can count on one hand the number of books that I could honestly say, "Every Christian should read this!" With over 1,000 books in my library, I have chosen most of them for their theological integrity versus their ranking on the New York Times Bestseller list. If I could only own three or four books plus a Bible, I would choose The Pleasures of God (John Piper), The Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan), The Jesus I Never Knew (Philip Yancey), and The Shack (William P. Young).

The Shack is one of those rare books that grabs you…heart, soul, and mind. One refreshing factoid is that the author didn't actually write it for publication; in fact, it's the only book he's ever written and William Paul Young (aka "Willie" or Paul) will quickly tell anyone that it was his wife's idea. She thought it was important for him to put something in writing for his children, to explain what makes him tick. He explains on his blog,

The Shack was a story written for my six children, with no thought or intention to publish. It is as much a surprise to me as to anyone else that I am now an ‘author’. Overall, I am a very simple guy; I have one wife, six kids, two daughter-in-laws and two grandkids on the way. I work as a general manager, janitor and inside sales guy for a friend who owns a small manufacturers rep company in Milwaukie, Oregon, and I live in a small rented house in Gresham, Oregon, that Kim has made into a marvelous home. My time is spent loving the people that are a part of my life. I am not connected, or a part, or a member of, or involved inside any sort of organization or movement anywhere. The truth is that I doubt anyone would want me.

You see, he grew up in West Papua, New Guinea, as a third culture kid (we used to call them MK's) until the age of 9 or 10. Imagine being raised in a tribal culture, thinking of yourself as a member of that culture, then being uprooted and replanted in his native land of Canada, only to find yourself eventually moving to the backwoods of Oregon. [He's as mixed up culturally as my children and grandchildren will be one day.]

Young uses the genre of fiction to explain a lot of things about God that just do not fit neatly into a systematic theology book, or a PowerPoint presentation, or even a feature-length Hollywood production. You sense immediately that this writer is a trained theologian, but his amazing artistry puts words into the most profound sequences like the awe-inspiring Renaissance masters who could produce priceless treasures from blocks of stone or a simple palette of ordinary paint.

Read the endorsements of others, or preview the first twenty-three pages, or listen to an online interview of the author by Greg Albrecht or the hosts of the God Journey podcast. There's enough here to whet your appetite and convince you to trade the cost of three latte's at Starbucks for this 250-page paperback.

What would you do if you met someone you thought just might be one of Jesus’ original disciples still living in the 21st Century? That’s Jake’s dilemma as he meets a man who talks of Jesus as if he had known him, and whose way of living challenges everything Jake had previously known.

So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore is Jake’s compelling journal that chronicles thirteen conversations with his newfound friend over a four-year period and how those exchanges turn Jake’s world upside-down. With his help, Jake faces his darkest fears, struggles through brutal circumstances and comes out on the other side in the joy and freedom he always dreamed was possible.