Since I work with kids and have my own kids, I am constantly on the lookout for new resources. The Adventure Bible Book of Daring Deeds and Epic Creations fit my criteria! First of all, I enjoy having an Adventure Bible around especially for those kids who love exploring and want to read from a Bible with fun extras. This version is NOT a Bible but rather a guidebook. The book includes different activities and lessons that correspond with the Bible. For example, there are sections about camping and geocaching.

The ideas are fun ways to connect your kids to scripture and great as a supplement. The book could be a great gift to go alongside the Adventure Bible. I'm excited to try more of the activities and see what the kids think of them! The book is geared for age 8 and up but could be modified some for younger ages if you wanted. Older kids may want to do more independent work.

Disclosure: I received this book for free and all opinions are my own!

I don't like to end things on a negative note, so I will get the negative out of the way at the outset so I can end my review on a positive note. Based on the title of this book, I believe most readers would expect biblical insight of some sort far beyond what is given. Granted, there are bible verses given for each activity, and most of them are tangentially connected to the activity. However, the connections are pretty loose and not at all what one might expect from a book with the word "bible" in the title.

In this book are 60 activities, each with an associated bible verse and a "Think About This" insight. To illustrate my issue, one of the activities is "Identifying Leaves". The activity is to take a walk and collect leaves, press them, mount them and identify them. A good activity, and one that is obviously an attempt to get children and adults to marvel at God's creation. However, the verse that is associated with this activity is Deuteronomy 31:8, which uses the word "leave" in it. The "Think About It" insight says, "The Bible says that God will always be with you and he will never leave you." The verse and the insight are included because of the word "leave" and the object lesson is about leaves.

Perhaps I look at this book as too simplistic, or that the associations which are made between activity and verses is too weak. This might be fine with a majority of people, but I expected more, again because of the word "bible" in the title.

Now, having said all of that, the book itself is a great product. It is colorful and creatively designed. The activities are pretty simple, many can be done by children on their own, but there are some which need adult input for safety. I believe most children will find the activities interesting and the materials needed are pretty basic and readily available.

If you need a book of activities to support your teaching materials in Sunday school or children's ministries, this is a good book. Don't plan to use this as your sole source for a lesson though as it is pretty light on biblical teaching.

I received a copy of this book from BookLook Bloggers for free in exchange for a review. The review did not have to be positive and all insights are my own.

I know from experience that the summer break from school can lead to long days of, "Mom, I'm bored!" You pack in vacation, camp, swimming at the pool, etc. and still the days need something to fill them up.

And then there are those rainy days (any time during the year) and those too-sick-to-go-to-school but bored with inactivity and you need something to occupy those little ones populating your domain.

Zondervan Publishing has just the item. The Adventure Bible Book of Daring Deeds and Epic Creations has 60 "try-something-new" activities that a variety of kids would totally enjoy doing. And what makes this so extra special is the connectivity to Scripture. Example: On the "finger knitting" activity, the scripture is Psalm 129:13-14 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together...."

This isn't a true devotional or Bible study book. It is a true activity book but has a bit of God's Grace and His Word sprinkled throughout. A nice way to stay focused on what's important.

Basically, each of the 60 activities has 3 parts. (1) The activity with directions and good, clear pictures of the activity, (2) A "Think About This" that gleans some deeper thinking that could be connected to the activity, and (3) The passage of Scripture that zones in on this particular connection.

Now granted, some of the activities need the guidance and oversight of an adult but this will be based on the age of the child. And some of the activities can be done by young children and some older. The book is designed for the 8 to 12 year old.

I highly recommend this for homes with children. You find days, weeks, well, even years of activities that you can use to fill your children's lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer or those snow-bound days of the winter blahs.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from the BookLook Review program on behalf of Zondervan Publishing to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and are freely given.

So how awesome is this??? First, off let's backtrack. This is the Adventure Bible Book of Daring Deeds and Epic Creations. It is apart of the Adventure Bible series (bibles geared towards children) It's a book full of experiments for your children to try out. And there's usually a Bible verse to go with each craft (generally at the end of the craft). This has been quite popular on my Instagram, with one mom even asking me to do a flip through so she could see what the book contained. The book is quite thin and can easily be carried around in hand or a backpack for outdoor adventures and crafts.

{FYI: I did receive a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.}

This hardcover gift-style book includes 60 activities for children ages 8 and up. Based on the cover copy, which claims that this book is the perfect companion to the Adventure Bible, I was expecting something different than what this book is--maybe activities that put historical or cultural context to Bible stories or something. Making a sling like David used may fit that expectation, but in general I'm left thinking that the Adventure Bible logo is mostly a marketing tactic.

What the book does include is a wide variety of activities (geocaching, camping, finger weaving, making rock candy, sidewalk tic-tac-toe, painting pet rocks...), of which there should be something appealing for every kid. The title claim of "daring" and "epic" is somewhat overblown, but that's okay with me because my kids think up enough daring and dangerous ideas already. =) Safety is stressed in all the activities. I really like that it gets kids outside and using creative imagination instead of technology.

The pages are thick paper and full color, with step-by-step instructions for completing the activity. Most of the activities require only simple household items. Each activity includes a "think about this" box that draws a spiritual analogy and a Bible verse. For example, with the preparing a "Hiking Essentials Pack" activity, the verse is I Peter 3:15 and the thought is "When hiking, it is important to be prepared in the case of an emergency. It's just as important to be ready to give an answer to people when they ask about Jesus."

The only activity that caused concern is the one about compass reading, which basically says the needle points to the north pole and you can follow it to walk north. I know this is a basic book for kids, but a compass points to magnetic north, and using a compass is more complicated and skilled than this simplistic explanation.

My kids are too young, but its the kind of activities I'm sure they'll love when they're older. I can see this book being a good resource for a kids club, birthday party activities, or "rainy day" ideas.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review.