Kingdom Files Biographies

Homeschool Review Crew

We love to read in this house.  If you’re ever unsure where one of my children are you can likely find them with their nose buried in a book on their bed. This trait came in handy when we received two new books to review from Barbour Publishing.  These two are in their Kingdom Files biographies series.  The two titles we received include Who Was Jonah? and Who Was Mary? Mother of Jesus?. 

Both of the Kingdom Files biographies we received are written by Matt Koceich.  He wrote the Kingdom Files biographies series to help children learn about various Bible characters in a new way. 

About the Series

This new and innovative series is geared towards kids ages eight through twelve.  I read these two books aloud to all my children.  Ages listening to me read include two up to thirteen. Also, my thirteen year old daughter, eleven year old son, ten year old son, and seven year old daughter read these on their own.

In actual pages Mary contains 81 for her story while Jonah has 87. Each also has a few pages at the end sharing about other books in the kingdom files biographies such as Jesus, Daniel, David, and Esther.  Also included are a few pages of excerpts from one of the other books. In Mary we look at David’s life while in Jonah we have pages to take notes at the end.

Each book is set up in a certain order. First you find the Fact File which gives you some key information about your character.  Next comes the action file that informs you of the Bible events this person was involved in.  The last file is the Power File which contains memory verses for your kids to memorize and apply to their lives.  In the Power File is also a truth such as God provides and how it can relate to the story but also how it can relate to you.  Also scattered through out are Clue Boxes to help you organize your thoughts or simply to write down any questions you may be having about those areas.  

Our Thoughts

This new way of reading about Bible characters is definitely not like anything I’ve read before.  I loved how it was written and seemed to capture and hold my children’s attention.  The favorite of the two for my children was Jonah.  It seems his story is a bit more action packed and exciting, or maybe just one that wasn’t quite as familiar.

Personally when I saw the book I wasn’t sure what new information could be added to make Jonah’s story this long. After all his main claim to fame is being swallowed by a giant fish. While that is in there it does go much more in depth as to the why and how and even what Jonah was feeling.  We start with Jonah receiving his calling from God to go to Nineveh.  As everyone knows Jonah refused and fled as far as he could. God allowed him because of course we know that God saw and knew what Jonah was doing. 

I found myself impressed with how well the book was written and the way it included definitions and information in a way that children could easily understand without feeling frustrated or confused.  Personally, I had never really thought much about how the other people on the boat felt besides frightened. But this shares how even in the storm Jonah was able to tell them of his great and powerful God and they believed.  Definitely a recommended book and even adults might learn a thing or two. 

Mary was a bit shorter and definitely delved a lot into what must Mary have been feeling.  It really made you see Mary as a person and not just the mother of Jesus.  Her faith was so strong!  Because I am pregnant currently and only a month or two out from delivery we talked a lot about her trip and how uncomfortable that would be.  My kids know that I can’t do everything I normally do at this point.  A nice show and tell was in my trying to get on my horse by myself.  Think of poor Mary riding her donkey!  But what would have been easier?  Walking or riding the donkey?

We highly recommend this kingdom files biographies series and are going to look into getting some of the others as well.  I think they’d make great stocking stuffers for kids.  

Learn More

If you’d like to hear more about the books and what other reviewers thought please visit the Main Blog Post over on the Homeschool Review Crew where all reviews are linked up.  You can also find Barbour Publishing and the Kingdom Files biographies on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.