I received a sweet, little book/CD/stuffed toy set from ee publishing this week, to review as a member of the TOS Crew (for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine). For $15.95, this set includes a colorful children's book and story/song audio CD. (www.laughfriendly.com)

     The book is called Nana Star and the Moonman, written by two sisters named Elizabeth Sills and Elena Patrice, who have written down some of the stories their grandmother used to tell to the children in the family. It’s a colorful, cheerful book with watercolor, pen, and ink pictures that is the second in a series of books about a little girl named Nana Star. In the first book, Nana Star, "she sets out on the journey to bring a lost baby star home where he belongs. It won’t be easy - he lives high up in the heavens." (from www.laughfriendly.com)

     In the second book in the series, Nana Star and the Moonman, "Nana is ready to bring the lost baby star back to the heavens, but the world has gone to bed and she feels alone and afraid until a new friend, the Moonman, promises that he’s watching over her, even when she can’t see him." (from www.laughfriendly.com)

     Both of these books include a storytime CD with sing-along songs. I thought that the quality of the storytelling and songs on the CD was pleasant and professional. The songs were peaceful and soothing, yet had a nice, gentle rhythm to them.

     The books can be accompanied by a plush character, if purchased separately. Our set came with "Moonman", ($19.99) the plush "lovey" that was made to be loved while reading Nana Star and the Moonman. "Moonman" seems to be made sturdily so that he can be carried around and snuggled and loved for quite some time. When gently squeezed on his belly, "Moonman" glows gently and plays a small portion of the theme song from the story CD. Once again, it’s a peaceful, gentle rhythm that toddlers and preschoolers would appreciate.

     As an interesting note, each Nana Star book contains at least one mistake in the text. This gives children an opportunity to write to ee publishing to point out the mistake and then be invited to participate in Nana Star’s Little Twinkles Club, which is a book club for beginning readers. According to ee publishing, this "book club for beginners encourages emerging reading skills, provides a fun language arts craft activity, and even gives kids some mail to look forward to."

     Mini-lesson plans are also available to be used by a teacher or parent while interacting with children and these books. The website contains lists of questions which can also be used as story starters for beginning writers. Videos of the stories being read in sign language are also in place on their website.

www.laughfriendly.com has received multiple awards for their books, including:

*"Dr. Toy Winner - 100 Best Children’s Products"

*Mr.Dad.com Seal of Approval

*The Toy Man - Editor’s Choice / Award of Excellence

*Mom’s Choice Awards

*iParenting Media Award Winner

*Moonbeam Children’s Book Award

     I do want to provide a caution here about this book, Nana Star and the Moonman. When I first read through the front jacket insert, I was encouraged to see that it stated the following: "A comforting message about friendship and faith shines through this second book in the Nana Star series in terms easily appreciated especially by little listeners who don’t like the dark or feeling lonely." I hadn’t heard of this book before, having not seen it in the typical Christian book catalogs I frequently receive. I thought to myself, "This might be a great idea to purchase for my Christian friends who have littles who might be afraid of the dark!"

     However, after reading the book, I had to conclude that while I wanted my girls at younger ages to know that even when they were afraid, they were being watched over by God, I wouldn’t have wanted them thinking that "Moonman" was watching over them and that they were deeply loved by "Moonman." I didn’t want them having difficulty as they grew, transferring their thoughts about the moon when they looked up into the sky, into thoughts about a loving heavenly Father who deeply cares for them...but is definitely NOT "Moonman"! While you may disagree, I thought the book was sweet, but I couldn’t tell what kind of "faith" this book was trying to promote.

     I asked two other adults if they would read this book and give me their opinions of it. I didn’t tell them a single thing beforehand; I wanted to hear their impressions without being jaded by my own. Both of them gave me the exact same feedback, separately:

1. This isn’t a Christian book.

2. What kind of faith is being represented here? Geiya, Mother Earth/Moon, Hinduism, New Age, "fill in the blank" faith?

3. If a parent wanted their children to trust in and follow God, how would you cross the bridge to get from "Moonman" to God?

     I think those are interesting points that they brought up, with no prompting by anyone else. I wouldn’t want to highly recommend this book and then have someone very offended after purchasing it, when they realize that the kind of faith presented in the book is definitely not Christian, Bible-believing faith.

     So, for those families who aren’t as fussy as I am about the books their young children read, this might be a cute and pleasant option for their family. For those Christian families who purposefully choose books for their children using a set list of criteria that includes the book to not conflict with the Bible, this may not be something in which they will want to invest.

     Please feel free to leave me a comment or two, if you have read one of the Nana Star books or if you agree or disagree with my conclusions!

Julieanne

© Copyright 2008 by Julieanne Miller. All Rights Reserved.You are welcome to link to this article, but not to repost its contents without permission from the author.