Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding’s book Girls Who Choose God: Stories of Courageous Women from the Bible. The book, which is designed for young children, featured more than a dozen women from the Old and New Testament. McArthur told me that they had hopes that Deseret Book would publish a second book on Women of the Book of Mormon. She said at first the editors at Deseret Book didn’t think there were enough women to do another book. Yet, thanks in part to my blog, she said they were able to show them that there are more than plenty of women to write about in the Book of Mormon. I was thrilled when they emailed me earlier this year letting me know that the book was in the works and that it would be out by Christmas.
So it is with great excitement that I am sharing with you today Girls Who Choose God: Stories of Strong Women from The Book of Mormon!
The book follows the same basic layout and format as the first book did (you can see it in my first review). I really like how they put the emphasis on asking questions and “likening” these women to yourself. It is also wonderful to see the stories of so many Book of Mormon women told. I am sure that to most young girls (and even older women) that many of these women’s stories will be unknown.
The art is similar to the first book with beautiful illustrations by Kathleen Peterson. Personally, I was excited about the art work because it is just about impossible to find images of many of the women in the Book of Mormon. No one has ever taken time to paint many of them, and so I was thrilled that Kathleen Peterson did several of the lesser known women.
When we got this book in the mail my six-year-old Rose was thrilled. She loves stories about the scriptures (don’t know where she got that from) and was so eager to have me read it to her. I almost read it as a bedtime story to her, but then I realized that it was one I wanted my boys to hear as well. We ended up reading it (over several days) for our morning devotional before home school. It seems sometimes we assume that boys won’t be interested in stories because they are about girls, but it was fun to see my boys loved it just as much as Rose. They need stories about strong, brave and faithful women just as much as the girls do.
I feel that every review, in order to actually be worthwhile, needs to have a good mix of what the reviewer liked and what they thought could be better. So while I love this book and am very impressed I do have a criticism. I was disappointed in some of the names they chose for the women. Most of the women in the Book of Mormon don’t have names and so it was imperative that they choose something to call the women by. Yet I was disappointed that for many of the women the authors gave them names that are not really “usable”.
For example, for the chapter on Nephi’s wife they called her “A Strong Wife Calls on God” which is more of a description of her character than a name. For Nephi’s sisters (mentioned in 2 Nephi 5:11-17) they called them “Sisters at the Crossroads”, which again is more a description of what they did rather than who they were. I can understand that perhaps they wanted to portray the women as individuals, not just merely as the wife, sisters, or mother of a man. Yet, I feel like the names they gave for many of the women were more confusing than helpful. For example, how much more intriguing would it have been to a young girl to see the title heading of “Nephi’s Sisters” and say, “Wow, I didn’t know Nephi had sisters! I need to read about them” than to wonder who the “Sisters at the Crossroads” were.
I think that naming these women is so important. The women we do talk about in the Book of Mormon are the women that we (as a church) have named, like “The Mothers of the Stripling Warriors” or “Ishmael’s Daughters”. Even though we don’t have their real names, giving them a name makes it possible for us to talk about them, to share their stories and to remember who they were. Maybe this is my own personal mission showing through, but I wish that they had given them names, ones that would have lent themselves easier to girls being able to stand up in sacrament meeting and share these women’s stories in a way that others could identify and use them as well.
Yet, I can’t complain too much, because this book is the first of its kind. It is a big step that these stories are even getting told at all… especially to young children. It is one that I am excited to have on my bookshelf and one I know that will get read over and over again. In fact, I’m hoping that as my kids get older they can use these books (which list the scripture references for each story) as a way to start their own study of the women in the scriptures. A girl can always hope… right?
So, in conclusion this book is a beautiful companion to the first “Girls Who Choose God” book and if you have the first one you certainly need to get the second one! You can purchase it at Deseret Book or on Amazon.
I would buy this book for my sisters for their family libraries!
I would buy this book for my daughters, and my sisters, and any woman I know who needs a reminder that women have not been left out of the religious stories, except when we choose to ignore them.
Resources like this make it easier for me to confidently raise my daughters.
I would buy this book for my daughters, and my sisters, and any woman I know who needs a reminder that women have not been left out of the religious stories, except when we choose to ignore them.
Resources like this make it easier for me to confidently raise my daughters.
The illustrations are growing on me. Reminds me of that story the Three Trees…? But not her. I wonder if she's Carol Lynn Pearson's daughter or daughter-in-law. I'm so happy that books like this are being lovingly created these days. Books like this suit adults as well as children.
What a beautiful book! I would love to get this book for my daughter. We have been doing a study of women in the scriptures and this would be perfect. Thank you for the giveaway!
I would love to win!
What a Great giveaway! Would love to win! Becca
This is something I would love to give to my daughter!
I would love to buy this book for my family's library. I'm always looking for beautiful books that teach about following God, and that teach about the scriptures. Thank you!
I would buy this book for y family.
Looks beautiful, excited to read it
I would love to read this book to my children!
I would (and will) buy this book for my own family. I have four daughters and love teaching them about women in the scriptures!
I have had it my Amazon cart for a few weeks now 😉 I would love to win
We have the first book and I'd love to have this as its companion.
Thank you for this excellent review. I am so happy to see more books like these being created and made available to us. I would love to add this one to our library.
My initial thought was that I'd buy it for my daughter, but as you mentioned, our sons can benefit from the stories as well, so I'd purchase it for all my children to enjoy. I would also purchase it for our nieces and nephews.
My girls would love this book! They eat scripture stories up and would love a book full of stories about women!
This book is on my wishlist! I would love a copy to share with my children. We have the first book and I was excited to see there is a second one.
I love the illustrations! I would buy this book for my daughter and two sons, and for my sister who has three little girls. I wish I could give a copy of this book to every young child in my family! We absolutely loved the Bible stories version and I'm so excited to see this new one.
For our family, (this won't let me publish from my àccount, so its under my husbands)
This is publishing from my husband's account, but this is Kristin. I would give this to my daughter. She loves being a girl and I would love to show her examples of strong women!
I would love to buy this book for my daughter, Esther, and my second daughter due in January 🙂
I would buy this book for my strong-willed four year old daughter!
I would buy this book for my sons (and me!). They are 13, 10, and 7 and really love the first "Girls Who Choose God" book; I think it's so important for boys (as well as girls) to see women as strong and spiritual.
And if money were no object, I'd buy a dozen more copies to give out to all my Young Women (I was just released as YW president) and visiting teachees and friends, too!
I would get for my three daughters who need strong, faithful women to look up to!
I appreciate your honest review! I know my six year old would love this, too!
If love this and the first one for my daughter who loves stories of all kinds. I'd like to have more scripture stories in such an accessible format in our family's library.
I would share it with all my children. I want it for my daughters because they will love the examples of how to be a girl who chooses God, I want it for my sons because I want them to recognize what a girl who chooses God is like when they are looking for eternal companions.
I would buy this for my daughters. I want them to love the scriptures and having picture books about them really helps.
I would buy it for my daughter. I want her to know what it looks like to choose god. I would also like my sons to know what a girl who chooses god looks like too!
These books I plan on sharing with my children.
I would love this book for my younger brothers and sisters, as well as for my own son.
I'm so glad there is a Book of Mormon version! My children love the first book and I'm sure they will love the second as well.
I would love to share this with my children, especially my 4 daughters
I would love to have this book to share with my daughters (and son)!
I would love to share this book with my 5 year old daughter.
I would love to share this book with my children!
How wonderful! I've had Women who Chose God" from the Bible on my wish list ever since you reviewed it! Now I want this one, too!
My girls love the first book–they love reading about heroic women/girls.
I would love to share this book with my family! 🙂
I would buy this for my son and daughter because we stinking love the first one and need more stories of women… especially when these books are so beautiful!
Buy for myself and children to learn from. 🙂 we enjoyed the first.
I have a toddler girl and (we think) another girl on the way. We love books in our house, so I would buy it for our family.
I would but this book for my mother so she can read it to her grandchildren. I think she would like that.
I was delighted to discover this book today! I am currently in the process of writing a fictionalized story of Nephi's wife! Would love to get in touch!
I would by this book for any female friend who felt she was invisible and didn't make a difference
I would love to get this book for my daughter firstly, and also for my friend who is a recent convert and strong woman herself. And then copies for my sisters and their daughters, my mother, and mother in law. I think it's important we all remember the role womanhood plays in our time on earth and in the eternities.
I would by this book for myself! I hate to say it, but it's true! 🙂 I grew up without the gospel and in my single parent home, my mother was strongly feminist. I think most in my family think that religious women aren't strong. I need examples to encourage my own confidence, give me a voice within my family, and pass those stories to my daughter/nieces. 🙂 It's why I treasure this blog!
I would love to get this book (and the first one, but even more this one!) for my granddaughters. My daughters need to read it too, but my granddaughters need to grow up knowing about these women – in an easily-accessible way like this.
I would love to have this for my son. Everybody can learn from these women, not just other women! 🙂
I would love to buy this for my 10 year old daughter!
I would buy it for my niece. I want her knowing of the women in the scriptures and growing up strong in the gospel like the women did during the Book of Mormon days.
I would buy this book for my baby sister who just turned 9! She would love to learn about These women!
Thanks for the review! I would buy it and read it to my daughter and son!
I would buy this book for me … to enjoy … and to leave on the table in the front room