The Lightlings [Hardcover]

R. C. Sproul (Author), Justin Gerard (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

In The Lightlings, Dr. R.C. Sproul weaves an allegorical tale that captures the essence of the biblical story of redemption. A race of tiny beings known as lightlings represent humanity as they pass through all the stages of the biblical drama creation, fall, and redemption. In the end, children will understand why some people fear light more than darkness, but why they need never fear darkness again. Richly detailed illustrations by Justin Gerard will hold children s interest, and discussion questions and Scripture references in the back will help parents guide children into the deeper meaning of the story.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. R.C. Sproul is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, an international multimedia ministry based in Lake Mary, Florida, and can be heard teaching around the United States and overseas on his daily radio program Renewing Your Mind. He also serves as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew s Chapel in Sanford, Florida.

During his distinguished academic career, Dr. Sproul has helped train men for the ministry as a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary and later at Knox Theological Seminary.

He is the author of more than sixty books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, What is Reformed Theology?, The Invisible Hand, Faith Alone, and A Taste of Heaven. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

His impact on evangelical publishing was recognized in 2007 when the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association presented him with its Jordon Lifetime Achievement Award, which is given in recognition of exceptional contributions to the Christian publishing industry.

Dr. Sproul and his wife, Vesta, make their home in Longwood, Florida.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Reformation Trust Publishing; 1st edition (October 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567690785
• ISBN-13: 978-1567690781
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. R.C. Sproul is the founder, chairman and president of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian education ministry located near Orlando, Florida. His teaching can be heard on the program Renewing Your Mind, which is broadcast on hundreds of radio outlets in the United States and in 40 countries worldwide. He is the executive editor of Tabletalk magazine and general editor of The Reformation Study Bible, and the author of more than seventy books and scores of articles for national evangelical publications. Dr. Sproul also serves as president of Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies and Reformation Bible College. He currently serves as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's in Sanford, FL.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely story for kids saturated with rich biblical truths, March 12, 2008

By 

Lucid Thinker - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lightlings (Hardcover)

biblical story of salvation in an allegorical tale of a people known as the lightlings, which is sure to captivate a young audience.

Book Structure:

The bulk of this short book is the tale itself. We meet meet Charlie Cobb who asks a perplexing question to his mom before going to bed, "Mommy? Why am I afraid of the dark?" His mom, not knowing what to say, offers the suggestion of asking Charlie's grandpa the next day. The next day before dinner, Charlie asks Grandpa the question; thus, the allegorical story begins.

A helpful addition is included at the end where parents have the ability to lead their kids in a deeper assessment of the rich biblical truths presented in the story:

3. The King made the lightlings to shine like Him. What was special
about God's creation of people?

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. -- Genesis 1:26-27

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. -- Genesis 5:1

Notable Quotes:

* "The father lightling answered, `He is not my son. He is the Son of the King of Light. The King has given Him to us as a special gift. He has been born for us. When He grows up, He will be called the Light of the World. There will be no darkness strong enough to hide His light, no darkness deep enough to send His light away.'"
* "Grandpa looked at Charlie and said, `You see, Charlie, we're afraid of the dark because we were made to live in the light. But someday, all of us who love this Son will live with Him forever in heaven. When we go to the dwelling place of the Son, who is now the Light of the World, there will be no darkness at all. Not only that, there will be no moon. There won't be any stars or even a sun. There'll be no night lights, no lamps, no lanterns, not even any candles.'"
* `Charlie, let me make a suggestion. Every time you see the sun, the moon, or the stars, or light a candle, or turn on your night light, remember the story of the child the King of Light brought into the darkness of this world. And remember that He gave us this baby as a present. As long as you remember that, you will never, ever have to be afraid of the darkness again.'

Conclusion:

Though the intended audience is for ages 6 through 12, I particularly enjoyed the simplicity of this allegory. I look forward to the day, Lord willing, when I will have the duty and responsibility of rearing my children in the ways of God and sharing with them the deep doctrines of sin, grace, salvation, and redemption found in Christ.

I think Sproul's tale will spark the interest of many kids, along with the beautiful illustrations by Justin Gerard.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Snuggle-time Reading, March 3, 2008

By 

Benjamin Potter "Loom & Wheel" (Mulberry Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lightlings (Hardcover)

Here we have two of my favorites rolled into one--stories about Christmas, and stories for children. R.C. Sproul--pastor, teacher, founder of Ligonier Ministries, and radio/tv personality from Renewing Your Mind--has penned a pleasant little allegory that speaks to children. He teams up with artist Justin Gerard to present this book for children dealing with fear of the dark.

I'll start with the artwork. The images are beautiful and inspiring to the young mind. Imaginations will run wild when your children are paging through this book. The book is worth your money and your time for the pictures alone.

In terms of literature, the book begins with almost too much detail before the story begins. We are introduced to Charlie Cobb who is afraid of the dark. Even with the specific details into his nightly bedtime routine, we fall in love with Charlie, and want to comfort him. But like his mom, we feel much better leaving the answers to tough questions like "why am I afraid of the dark?" to Grandpa (who conveniently will be over tomorrow for dinner).

Grandpa's story, told to a Charlie snuggled into Grandpa's lap, is one that tells of the history of a beautiful people who turned away from their maker and lost their inner "light". People familiar with biblical stories will see the stories of creation, the Fall, and the birth of Jesus all wrapped up in a short readable tale. It is heartwarming and helps Charlie deal with his fear of the dark even offering advice on how to overcome that fear in the future. While the book isn't strictly a Christmas book, it would be a great read during the holiday season because it explains not only the coming of the Son of God, but why He came in the first place.

Like many children's books, this one is less written on the child's level for reading than written as a "read to me" book. It provides great time for parents or grandparents to read with their little loved ones. The book includes some learning questions after the story to help guide discussion about issues addressed. Sproul also includes Bible verses to help parents in their discussion of the questions.

The Lightlings is an excellent tool to use not only in answering questions about fear of the dark, but also to aid in giving word pictures to help children to understand God and salvation as well. The beautiful pictures, the heartwarming story, and the prospect of spending special time with the little ones makes this a book that should be sought after by parents and grandparents alike. It has made me want to search for Sproul's other children's books - The King without a Shadow and The Priest with Dirty Clothes.

21 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite..., February 20, 2008

By 

Seth McBee (Maple Valley, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lightlings (Hardcover)

I was given this book by a friend of mine for our kids this past Christmas and decided to finally read it to my oldest son this past week. No reason not to read it before besides the mere fact that I just overlooked it.

The story by R.C. Sproul is an allegory to the creation and fall of man and then the coming of Christ for redemption. The lightlings are a people that were created by the King of Light but they didn't follow His rules and so they were turned over to the darkness. After some time in the darkness they notice in the distance a light shining. The younger lightlings were curious and decide to go check it out and find that it is the King of Light's son to return the light to the lightlings.

My 5 year old son was on top of the story pretty well, understanding who was God and who was Jesus and also the sin of the lightlings. What he didn't understand, and kind of made the story lose focus, was the fact that the lightlings were little fairy creatures that my son thought were angels. I had to correct him and tell him that it was just a story to try and show us who God is, what we have done in our sin and the coming of Christ into the world. He understood afterwards, but that one question for me was enough to question the book as a whole.

I did like the parallel and thought the story was done very well, but I wish that the illustrations of the lightlings would have been more geared to not look like little fairies or little angels. I know that it is fiction and just a parallel but it did confuse my son when he first went through the book with me.

The only other thing that I wish R.C. Sproul would have done was include the actual biblical account at the end of the story. This would have made a complete book. Instead, Dr. Sproul puts a glossary at the end of the book to describe who each person is, but to read that to a child is a little weird. I only say this because there are some Christian parents who need the aid of drawing out the biblical principles of even a children's book. Although, there are discussion questions that will aid in this, I would have rather have had those questions AND the story end with the actual biblical description. This could just be personal preference though.

Overall, I liked the parallel (even more so if the description came at the end) but wish that the illustrations would have been geared to something different (even though the actual illustrations were very well done). Not Recommended