God's Daring Dozen: Box Set 2 (Books 5-8)

There are twelve minor prophets, and Christian Focus is releasing them all gradually – in three boxed sets of four books each. This is number two, and contains the messages of Joel, Jonah, Nahum and Malachi.

I’ll be honest, ‘God’s Daring Dozen’ won’t be making it to my children’s top ten bedtime stories anytime soon, but as a way to introduce and embed the message of the minor prophets, they are excellent – I know of no other children’s books which do this. I would have them on our shelf as a reference guide to use with older kids (8+), teens and even adults. Yes, they are fully illustrated in colour, but with abstract themes and a fair bit of Old Testament violence, they’re not really for younger children. However, if your older kid/teen comes across the minor prophets – say in youth group, church or their own devotional time – these books are an easy way to get an overview. My 9 year old twins were particularly taken with the story of Jonah, as they didn’t know what happened after he went to Ninevah (a difficult section of the story that most kids’ books don’t cover). And in Malachi, they spotted (thanks to the excellent illustrations) the prophecy relating to John the Baptist.

All the books in ‘God’s Daring Dozen’ are Biblically faithful, and told in simple language, with a brief application at the end.