By Patricia St. John
ISBN 1 85792 558 0
Christian Focus Publications
Many Christians have valued Patricia St. John's classics Tanglewood Secret and Treasures of the Snow; rather less ever came across a collection of stories she wrote to illustrate points of doctrine. It's called Would you believe it? and in our house, it was more well-thumbed than Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course, and more useful too.
Having recommended it to our friends for years, we were dismayed when we were informed it was no longer available. So what joy to discover that it has now been republished under the new title A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God.
This book is a great investment for parents, Sunday School teachers and pastors who suffer from the Saturday night 'what can I do for the children's talk' syndrome. There are 46 stories in the collection, each one linked to a point of doctrine. Following each story is a key Scripture text, a prayer and a short comment, a question for discussion or something to think about. Some of stories are well-known, some are not. Patricia St. John draws on church history, nature, missionary biography, her own experience and, most of all, her wonderful imagination.
But mainly, it's the way she tells them. One point of warning - you might find it hard to read some of these stories out loud without a crack in your voice, so steel yourself and have tissues handy. Highly, highly recommended.
