11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Parable of Pride...And The Only Way to Destroy It, December 21, 2009
This review is from: Fool Moon Rising (Hardcover)
Fool Moon Rising is one incredible book! In a delightful and well-illustrated short poem, The Kristi & T. Lively Fluharty will demonstrate the foolishness of pride and point your child (and you!) to the solution.
The moon begins the story living for himself. His one aim is to sing his praise, to make sure that all who see him recognize his greatness. It is obvious that the moons great light is not his, but from the sun. But the moon is oblivious to this fact and sings his praise. Does that sound familiar? O, how convicting because I am just like this foolish moon so often. Fool Moon Rising reveals the proud sinner inside of me each time I read it. Everything good in me comes from God, so why would I boast as if it were not a gift? Yet, in my blindness, that is exactly what I (and my child) am prone to do.
It would be an excellent book if that was all it did: Point out the foolishness of pride. But it would not be a complete book. The moon is suddenly and remarkably changed when one day he sees the bright and blinding light of the Sun, the source of his light. From that glimpse on, the moon lives for one and only one purpose: To point all the glory back to the Sun. The only way to kill my pride is to gaze upon the glory of God; this will irresistibly direct my life after my one great aim: to enjoy God and glorify Him forever.
But what I love about the story is that it doesn't explain any of the meaning behind the parable. This leaves likely countless years of many quality discussions with your child (your spouse, and even your own heart) about all of the rich meaning behind the parable. To help you out, there are a couple Bible verses and number of very good questions included.
My daughter, 19 months, loves the pictures and wants me to read it to her all the time. The book includes incredibly fun illustrations. I can't wait for the day, very soon, when I can begin asking her simple questions about the content. It is simple enough that a 2-and-a-half or three-year-old could get some points, but deep enough to even challenge adults.
As the elder at my church who determines books-of-the-month, this has quickly vaulted to the top of the list for children's books of the month. I long for the next generation at my church to be deeply affected by the message of this book; I long for the parents at my church to be deeply affected by the message of this book; and most of all I want my family (starting with myself) to be deeply affected by the pride-destroying message of this book.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Positively Gorgeous...*and* funny, September 27, 2009
This review is from: Fool Moon Rising (Hardcover)
It's been quite a while since a Christian picture book got me so excited I couldn't wait to write a review of the book, but such is the case with Kristi and T. Lively Fluharty's Fool Moon Rising.
The book begins by quoting 1 Corinthians 4:7, which points out that everything we have is something God has given us. Then we see a young boy staring up at the night sky. He asks God if a certain story he's heard is true. The moon, he says, once bragged every night that he could bring light to the dark night sky; he pompously sang only songs about himself (like "Moon River" and "Blue Moon"), took pride in his ability to transform from a round orb to a sliver, delighted in the thought that astronauts "danced across his face" and that he caused the great oceans to rise and swell. "I am the greatest light!" he bragged to the universe.
"Until one day a piercing ray
Showed him a shocking sight.
He saw his pride and then he cried
For all that he had done.
For he had lied when he denied
His light came from the Sun."
Then, the young boy concludes, the moon fully admitted he was just reflecting the Sun's glory - and the boy prays that every day and in everything he does he will make much of God, not himself.
The last page of the book offers a few discussion questions, illustrations of some amazing sights in space (including the X Structure at the Core of the Whirlpool Galaxy), and some fun facts about space.
What I Like: First, the illustrations in this book are nothing less than outstanding. T. Lively Fluharty's artwork is not only rich and detailed, but it's just plain fun. My four year old (who happens to love everything space related) laughed out loud at these illustrations: We see a cheesy moon, clearly full of himself, surrounded by animals and planets that find him perfectly annoying. On the page where the moon sings, the he also plays a guitar and has a cow jumping over him. Later, we see astronauts in ballet shoes and tutus "dancing" on the moon, as well as monkleys in space suits trying to eat bananas through their helmets.
Second, the message here is not only terrific, but the moon and how it reflects the light of the sun are a great way to explain how we can reflect Christ's light.
What I Dislike: The rhyming text in this book is okay - it's neither bad nor great. Given the terrific nature of both this book's illustrations and its premise, I would have loved to seen a stronger writer tackle this tale.
I also wish that instead of devoting the last two pages of the book to miscellaneous facts about space, the author had instead spent at least a little room explaining how the moon really does reflect the sun, how it waxes and wanes, how it affects the tides, etc. As it is, all this is spoken of as if the readers already understand these concepts, so I spent a bit of time explaining them to my preschooler.
Overall Rating: Despite these flaws, Fool Moon Rising is exceptional. My four year old asks me to read it to her over and over again, and I give it a rating of Excellent.
Kristina Seleshanko
Managing Editor
Christian Children's Book Review
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fool Moon Rising, September 16, 2009
This review is from: Fool Moon Rising (Hardcover)
Fool Moon Rising--First let me talk to you about being a mother and reading this wonderful book. Well of course I think it is phenomenal!!!! I've always been a fan of Tom's illustrations and Kristi's way with words and the God given talent they both have.
I'm not just a mother but the mother and mother-in-law of the authors, Tom and Kristi. I am so proud of both of them and how God has enriched their lives and brought them to where they are today. Not only sharing their love of Christ thru this book, but it's how they have raised their girls and live their life every day. How I wish I would have had something like "Fool Moon Rising" when I was raising my children, but God has been faithful and patient in bringing our family to this place and He is changing our pride to humbleness daily.
I have shared this book with my coworkers and they are so excited to have a book to read to their children and grandchildren and to share with family and friends. They express to me how great the illustrations are and they love the story. Of course being the mother/mother in-law, I anxiously agree with them. Everyone who has purchased a book is anxious to have the book autographed and Tom and Kristi have graciously agreed to do so in December.
Thanks for letting me share my heart and I look forward to getting their next published book.
May God continue to richly bless your lives.
Love you
Mom
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