'Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times' by Kelly Pulley (Review & Giveaway)

About the book: The Magnificent Tales series are fun to read out loud, rhyming Bible stories with amazing art and clear lessons. Parents and grandparents won't cringe when asked to read these stories over for the one-hundredth time. Vibrant illustrations that even today's media-deluged kids will find entertaining.

Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical TImes contains a collection of engaging Bible stories that have been written in fun-to-read rhyme and meter with a bit of humor mixed in. These are stories that the whole family will enjoy, so parents and grandparents won't grow tired of reading and re-reading them night after night. The humorous, contemporary illustrations will keep even kids from the Sponge Bob Square Pants generation laughing out loud while they learn important biblical messages. 

This shows how Kelly Pulley develops his illustrations.
First the line drawings and then he colors them in.

My thoughts:  A number of years ago I encountered my first exposure to the use of cartoons to share the Gospel in the form of a tract. I had mixed feelings then because I feared the trivialization of God's Word was not treating it with the reverence and respect that should be accorded to it. I have, however, since then realized that there are many ways to share God's Word and different people have varied ways to learn and respond. So I therefore have tried to relax my personal views a bit.

Kelly Pulley is an author and illustrator whose work I have previously reviewed and enjoyed. So it is with pleasure that I am sharing this Treasury of Bible Stories that he has created.

As you can see from the shared pages depicted here, his art is colorful and very expressive while humorous and beguiling. Children will love these pictures. They make the stories come alive and fun for the children. While engaging for children, it is the parent's responsibility to also convey the serious nature of God's Word and that it is not to be taken lightly.

Nature of some of the text of stories.....

He cried, "I am Joseph! There's no need to fear!"

Joseph wept, and he asked that his brothers come near.

"Don't be worried by things in the past, for time's shown

they were part of a plan only God could have known.

"God made good out of things that were bad, so it seemed,

by giving His guidance through dreams that were dreamed."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Now Haman was known as the king's right-hand guy,

The people all bowed as he strutted on by.

They kneeled in respect,

which made Haman feel great!

But Mordecai wouldn't,

which filled him with hate!

I personally still prefer more "life like" illustrations without the cartoon characterization, but accept that this form of story telling and art can certainly get the job done and do it well.

GIVEAWAY:  One of Chat With Vera's readers is going to receive their own copy of Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times. Will it be you? Use the Rafflecopter entry form below. Begins October 7 & ENDS October 30 @ 12:01 a.m. ET. Open to USA addresses only. a Rafflecopter giveaway About the author: Born in Indiana, Kelly Pulley has called Middle Tennessee home for the past sixteen years. He began his career as a graphic artist in a leading sportswear screen-printing company in his hometown. He remained in that industry for seventeen years before taking a full-time position illustrating the Beginner's Bible series of books. Currently, he works from home freelance illustrating as well as writing and illustrating children's picture books. When he's not working, he's spending time with his four children or riding his bicycle, enjoying the beautiful Middle TN countryside.

Read more reviews of Rhythmical Rhymes of Biblical Times here

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Litfuse in exchange for this review. Opinion expressed are solely my own. No compensation was received for this review.