Monday, April 1, 2019

Buck Denver’s Giant Robot Suit and Buck Denver’s Bad, Bad Day by creator of Veggie Tales® Phil Vischer



In case Chat With Vera readers are not familiar with Jelly Telly Press, you can learn more about this publishing group that is home to Veggie Tales and other fun, strongly Christian products for children.  Check out their social media sites.



From creator of Veggie Tales® Phil Vischer, these fun and easy-to-read picture books based on the popular video series Buck Denver Asks... What's in the Bible? teach children about character and virtue through beloved Bible stories.


Buck Denver's Giant Robot Suit  

My thoughts:  The buck Denver books are cute and present a good message to the child. Buck Denver's attempt to be closer to God (long legs of the Giant Robot Suit) and to be able to easily help other folks (long arms to reach out and help) falls flat as he gets tripped up and falls breaking into pieces.

Typically flawed thinking as many of us think we can reach up to God with this or that aid or if we just "had more talents" we could help more folks. But it fails, just as the Giant Robot Suit fails.

What I like about the book....  The illustrations are happy, cheerful, and show excitement. The Bible stories (David and Goliath and the David and Jonathan) are nicely told. The book teaches a great lesson in having friends.

What I don't care for..... I think the story jumps around too much. From a church/Sunday School setting where Buck shows up in his catastrophe of a robot suit to the classroom where they magically jump "into" the flannel-graph lesson. Then the Sunday School Lady teaches two different Bible stories as lessons on how Buck can have more friends and can help others. I like the Bible stories but just felt that two was a bit much.

There is a nice page in the back titled "Family Connection." This helps the family utilize the story to Know the love of God, Grow in God's love, an Show God's love to others.

The book and story definitely have merit but it simply wasn't as appealing to me as others.  So I would suggest purchasing it from a book store where you can actually see it for yourself and determine if this is a book that would appeal to you and your child.

About the book: (Link to bookWhat does it mean to be a good friend?

Buck Denver wants to be friends with God, so he makes a giant robot suit to be closer to Him. To help Buck understand the true meaning of friendship, his friends share their favorite Bible stories. First, Sunday School Lady tells him all about David and Jonathan and their loyalty to one another in tough times. Then Pastor Paul talks about how Jesus offers friendship to each of us. In the end, Buck learns that God uses friends to help us grow stronger and our friendship with Jesus helps us grow closer to God!

Buck Denver's Bad, Bad Day

My thoughts:  I am guessing that the idea behind Buck Denver's Bad Day "mask" is that we as individuals often hide behind our own masks when we're having a bad day or even on our good days. We mask our feelings or we actually mask our true beings.

In Bad, Bad Day A Lesson in Thankfulness, the author again takes Buck Denver to the Sunday School Lady and his friends in Sunday School. This book, too, has two Bible stories - Jehoshaphat and Lazarus. Totally different and one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Two stories in one children's storybook (unless a compilation of stories) is a bit heavy for the young listener.

The lesson in thankfulness is good.

I think the book is too wordy, and incorporating two Bible stories in one children's story that is somewhat of a 'time-slip"  is a bit of overload for the young listener. The concept and story are entertaining.

About the book: (Link to bookWhat does it mean to be thankful?

Buck Denver has had a bad, bad day, so his friends take him on a quest to learn about thankfulness. Soon, he's on a ride with Sunday School Lady, Marcy, and Brother Louie to learn about Jehoshaphat and Lazarus. In the end, Buck learns that on good days AND bad days, God is good and worthy of our thanks-every day, no matter what!

DISCLOSURE: I received complimentary copies of both books from the publisher to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

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