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Teach children that genuine repentance and faith in Jesus leads to a transformed life.
Part of the Tales That Tell the Truth series.
Over 100k copies of the Tales That Tell The Truth series have been sold!
Zacchaeus was very short, very rich, and not very happy, but his encounter with Jesus changed everything.
In response to the grace Jesus showed him, Zacchaeus was transformed from the inside out. He repented, treasured Jesus above everything else, and showed kindness and generosity to others like never before.
Use this story to teach children that only following Jesus will make them truly happy and fulfilled, and that genuine repentance and faith is demonstrated by loving others.
Written by Carl Laferton, author of The Garden, The Curtain and The Cross, God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook and The God Contest.
| Age range: | 3+ |
|---|---|
| Contributors | Carl Laferton, Catalina Echeverri |
| ISBN | 9781784989934 |
| Format | eBook |
| First published | June 2024 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | The Good Book Company |
I am grateful for books that help bring the true story of the Bible into the everyday spaces of a child’s life. This does that so wonderfully well!
The story of Zacchaeus is a wonderful story of the changed heart and life that believing the gospel requires and that trusting in Jesus brings. Carl Laferton has done a wonderful job of communicating these truths to children and parents. Make sure to add this book to your collection of Tales That Tell the Truth!
I love this book, and I love the story of Zacchaeus. We need to give every child this story to show them that Jesus came for every child. As you read this with your kids, they’ll see and feel what a joy it is to belong to Jesus.
My grandkids and I love this book! We could see a little Zacchaeus in each of us, as well as some of the angry people.
We just knew Jesus would change everything! And when Zacchaeus chose to want Jesus, his life got better, and the people around felt the difference too. Such great lessons for all of us!
The artwork and writing are engaging! I will buy this again as a gift!
The storyline is simple and to the point. Zacchaeus was a bad man at first but then he met Jesus and then he had a heart change.
Preschoolers and early elementary aged children will learn these wonderful truths about Jesus and changed lives with this book.
I highly recommend The Man in the Tree and the Brand New Start to any Christian family who wants to teach their children Bible stories and good Christian values.
This book would also be great in a Sunday school or children's church classroom.
The Laferton and Echeverri duo is at it again, this time is the story of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus. They bring out the best on their take on the story, both in art and in the narrative.
Laferton had this great hook in the opening pages that Echeverri don’t have to have a banger level of art to pull kids in the story. The Laferton’s hook is the banger. I enjoy how he weaves the narrative and how the fillers for the biblical narrative highlights the main story itself without taking over. Laferton made this story accessible to kids so that it doesn’t lessen the essentials. I commend how he touches the mission of Christ to save the lost and further expound it on the latter part of the book. The redemption of Zacchaeus is not making him nice but being right with God.
The sinner’s prayers may be the only thing I can object to this book and I’m so glad the last page provides a brief guide to older readers about Zacchaeus and the gospel.
The cover art is amazing. I think I can put this on the list of the best covers for children’s books that The Good Book Company has published. I really love it. The lettering is so good too. They, aside from the artwork by Echeverri, are eye grabbers too.
https://delightinggrace.wordpress.com/2024/05/18/may-quick-review-childrens-book-edition/
I love the books The Good Book Company puts out for kids and this one is no different. It tells the story of Zacchaeus in an engaging way. My kids (ages 3-7) all love reading this book.
It's a great reminder to our kids that Jesus sees us, even in our sin, and desires us to come to him. It's also a reminder that when we do come to Jesus, we turn away from our sin and treat people well.
This book will get a lot of use in our house!
I received The Man in the Tree And The Brand New Start compliments of The Good Book Company in exchange for my honest review.
The Man in the Tree And The Brand New Start is the latest book in the Tales That Tell the Truth series by The Good Book Company. This story is an adaptation of the account of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. This book is authored by Carl Laferton who authored the first book in the series, The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross. An aspect of this book that I appreciate is its inclusion of the gospel message in a way that is easy for little ones to understand.
The Man in the Tree And The Brand New Start teaches children that Jesus can save anyone who comes to Him in faith and repentance and that salvation isn’t only for the spiritual elite. The illustrations for this book are by the talented Catalina Echeverri and are sure to capture children’s attention. She’s done the illustrations for the other books in the series too but the ones for this book include a variety of textures making them very captivating. This book has been a lovely addition to our collection of Tales That Tell the Truth books. I’m grateful for Carl Laferton’s ministry in making the Bible approachable for young readers and I anticipate reading more by him in the future.
Tales that Tell the Truth has been a longtime favorite series for us and we’re glad to see that they’re still adding to it since it’s been a while!
This books goes through the story of Zacchaeus from the gospel of Luke. It describes how his life changed after meeting Jesus because “Jesus had shown him a love he didn’t expect. Jesus had shown him a kindness he didn’t deserve.” All the things Zacchaeus previously held dear mattered little to him because now just wanted to love Jesus. The transforming power of the gospel shines forth in this book and we’re glad to have it on our shelf. I really appreciate how after telling the story of Zacchaeus, the author details how we can all be like him and that the love of Jesus transforms us as well.
The illustrations are a little softer and more sketch-like from the others in the series. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just different. My kids picked up on small things like that and preferred the illustrations in the other books of the series. They also noticed that Jesus looks different throughout the series. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but just something they picked up on.
The only thing I would’ve changed about the book is wording on the layout detailing the reason Jesus died on the cross. The last paragraph states “He was going to do all that so that he could put wrong things right and give people like Zacchaeus a new start that would last forever.” I would’ve loved to see more about the reconciling of God and man through the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness of sin by His death on the cross.
All in all, great book!
This book is the latest installment in the Tales that Tell the Truth series. We have several books from this series and our kids really enjoy them! This one tells the story of Zacchaeus up in the tree eager to see Jesus. I love how this book powerfully demonstrates how genuine repentance and faith in Jesus leads us to a life that is transformed. We can change because of his sanctifying work in our lives. I think my favorite part is how this book relates this story to kids lives so well, showing how we often sin (taking something that doesn't belong to you, being greedy, being unkind), but because of Jesus we can repent and turn from our sin.
The gospel is presented very clearly without oversimplifying or diluting it in this engaging picture book. Zacchaeus' life is presented as a compare and contrast before and after Jesus...before he was short, rich and unhappy and after he was still short, not as rich, but had so much more joy. I'd definitely recommend adding this one to your home library!
This book carries on this series so well. None of them were disappointed!
The story of Zaccheus is one of my favourites so I was delighted to see it in picture book form.
The illustrations are captivating. The way it is written draws in both the young and old. We love it!
What a wonderful message told in such a fun way to make kids engage with the powerful story of Zacchaeus. He was transformed by encountering Jesus and we get to be transformed too.
This Tales to Tell the Truth is once again presenting the gospel in a theologically solid and accessible way to littles.
My daughter and I both enjoyed the short, easy to understand story and talked about the brand new start that was awarded to Zacchaeus after he received Jesus into his home. The book then reminds children and readers that even when they sin, they have the opportunity to remember what Jesus says, the salvation He gives and offers a sample, short prayer of repentance.
I liked that the book has a focus on kindness (not taking what does not belong to us) and as God has instructed us because of the deep love we have inside for Jesus, as Christians.
The illustrations are eye-catching and entertaining, while depicting the story well. The book itself is large and great quality. We love the muted colors inside and found the book to be a unique way to present the salvation message in our home.
* I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.
