Jesus Moments: David

Danika Cooley

We want our kids to see that the Old Testament points to Christ. In her marvelous Jesus Moments series, Alison Mitchell helps children seek-and-find the Old Testament connection to Jesus in fun ways they'll be sure to remember!

Bob Hartman

What a clever series! By using symbols that children must find and explore, these books draw out significant links between Old Testament characters and Jesus. Perfect for parents and teachers who want to help their children understand God’s Big Story.

“Great way to teach about Jesus even from the Old Testament”

This is an excellent way to share and teach children about Jesus while learning about one of our favorite Old Testament people, David. Well done, to Alison Mitchell, for this great idea.

An explanation about each Jesus moment is given at the end of the book. Also, the gospel message is given at the end for adult readers.

I would highly recommend this book to any Christian family as well as any Sunday school or children's church classroom.

“Intro to seeing Christ in scripture”

A high-flying overview of the life of David that highlights some key moments where David points ahead to Christ. I appreciate this skill of seeing Christ in Scripture being modeled in a kids picture book. It helps leads to conversation and is a good practice for kids being able to do it for themselves in the rest of Scripture.
Because the book attempts to cover the span of David’s life, instead of zoom in on just one section, some transitions felt clunky.

Overall an enjoyable storybook that I’m glad to have in our Home Library. Would be great for kids 5-10years old - especially boys!

Thank you to GoodBookCompany for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

“Knowing Jesus through Old Testament stories”

One page into this new storybook (the introduction page that asks readers to look out for hidden crowns in the story to spot for Jesus moments), my 5 year old asked me, "Mummy, is this book written by the same person who wrote Jesus and the Lion's Den?"

Our family adores Alison Mitchell's books, and "Jesus Moments: David - Finding Jesus in the Story of David" was not an exception. This story tells from how David was chosen as a little boy all the way to becoming a king of Israel. The words and illustrations worked together really well - they were lively, captivating and intriguing. I especially appreciated how Alison compared David with Jesus in each "moment" (like Jesus and the Lion's Den), and finally showed us how Jesus is greater than David and called us for a simple but important response after learning about Him - "What would you like to say to him now?"

Reading Old Testament stories are always exciting, but seeing how these stories point to Jesus is so essential and this book does it so wonderfully!

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“A wonderful resource for helping children connect the OT to Jesus!”

Teaching children that the whole panoply of Scripture culminates in Jesus Christ is essential and yet sadly lacking in many resources. The fact that this book uses an engaging way to get this point across is that much more fun for kids.

This book looks at the life of David, particularly from his life as a young shepherd boy being chosen by God through to David becoming king. Then the last pages go back and explain the “Jesus moments” in more detail. I do wish the book would’ve been a tad longer and cover a few more details of David’s life, but given the scope of the book, I understand why it wasn’t. I do wish more Scripture references were included. They story of David and Goliath is pointed out at the bottom of one of the pages and the last page includes a reference to where to read about the entire life of David, but I think that a quick reference page with the Scripture (at least references if not the actual verses) would be beneficial. I found a free downloadable bookmark on The Good Book’s website that includes this and I think this should be a page in the book. It’s exactly what I thought was missing. I’ll be printing a copy of this and adding it to our book, but I hope in any future books for this series that it’s included in the actual book as well.

The illustrations are bold and don’t shy away from the story while maintaining appropriateness for children. The text is bigger and easy to read for any independent reader. There’s also a matching worksheet on the website for children to complete while reading or after reading the book. You match the David moment to the Jesus moment and then use the space at the bottom to explain how David’s story looks a bit like Jesus’ in each scene. The homeschool mom in me loves this kind of stuff. What a great way to practice recall and writing competency.

“A good resource for Christian homeschool families and children's ministry”

Written by award-winning author, Alison Mitchell, who also wrote “Jesus and the Lions’ Den” and “The One O’Clock Miracle” (two favorites in our home), “Jesus Moments: David” focuses on moments in David’s life when he was little bit like Jesus, such as when he was anointed by Samuel, fought Goliath, and spared Saul’s life.

This interactive story written for ages 4-7 is the first book in a new series called, “Jesus Moments,” which helps children to understand the relationship between the Old and New Testaments and that the whole Bible is about Jesus.

With a six-year-old girl who loves the story of David and Goliath, this book became an instant favorite for her and was well-liked by my three-year-old and almost eight-year-old.

I believe “Jesus Moments: David” would make a nice addition to any home or children’s church library and paired with the free extras available on The Good Book Company’s website would make a good resource for both Christian homeschool families and children’s ministry.

Thank you, The Good Book Company, for my copy in an exchange for an honest review.

“A Must Have - A Fun, Engaging Way to Present Christ!”

This brand new book is hands-down a must have for our bookshelf! I was excited when I read about the book and even more excited about it when I read it with my daughter. This book offers a relatable, enjoyable overview of the life and story of David from the Old Testament.

As you read the story, there is a fun interactive component that kept my daughter engaged, by visually searching for crowns as I read. Each crown marked a “Jesus Moment” in the story. About two thirds of the way through the book, it asks children if they found the crowns. It then explains the Jesus Moments as a moment when Jesus was a little like Jesus, Each of the moments are then explained in simple terminology and points readers to the salvation message. By doing this, our family felt this was a valuable resource in our home. We loved that it seamlessly and simply tied both the Old and New Testaments together in an entertaining way that is easy for young children to grasp.

With vibrant, expressive illustrations, this book offers thick, durable pages and a solid hardcover. It is a fantastic, interactive book that would be great for any child’s library, but also for children’s ministry programs, in homeschool, or a private school.

* I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

“Toddler & Baby love it!”

It makes me so happy reading stories like these to my 2 year old and my 8 month old baby! David and Goliath is my son’s favorite story so far. And he stays conpletely engaged with this story and as we go through this book. So happy we got our hands on it.

“Points to Jesus Through the Story of Jesus”

This is a great idea for a new series, telling the stories of some famous Bible characters in a new way. Mitchell gives us a short summary of the story of David, and then through the illustrations and story, shows us moments which foreshadow Jesus. David might have been a fantastic king, but he was no match for King Jesus! I'd have loved for this to be just a little longer as David's story is very sharp and to the point, but it's a brilliant idea for a children's book.

“Nicely told, new teaching moment”

The concept of this new children's story book line is promising. Teaching children when Jesus is pictured in Old Testament characters is pretty new. Usually, that bit of theology isn't taught until later years.

The story of David is nicely told in clear text. It begins with the selection of Israel's next King by the Prophet Samuel from among the sons of Jesse. The anointment of David with oil takes place and later in the book Jesus is identified as "the anointed one." David doesn't become king immediately as Saul is currently king of Israel.

As the story progresses through highlights of David's life, the reader is given the opportunity to find crowns hidden in the art work. These denote special "Jesus Moments" and provide interesting teaching moments and a fun exercise.

I don't care for the overall dark illustrations and the text also being dark on a dark background. The illustrations will catch children's attention, I think, but the dark colors may be a deterrent.

Overall, this is a high quality and theologically sound children's book. I look forward to more "Jesus Moments" story books.

I received a complimentary book to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.