JONI EARECKSON TADA:
The Girl Who Learned to Follow God in a Wheelchair
By Kristyn Getty
The Good Book Co. 32 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 802 540 673
The testimony of Joni Eareckson Tada has been inspirational for many people over the years and this latest book in the ‘Do Great Things for God’ series seeks to make her story accessible to younger readers.
The book clearly tells of Joni’s conversion, explaining the truths she believed, what it meant for her to trust in Christ as her Lord and the change that resulted in her life. It then follows her life story, with questions at the end and additional free resources available to download from The Good Book Company website, which all allow children to think through Joni’s story for themselves. The book is beautifully illustrated with bold colourful pictures throughout, which help understanding of the story and the emotions Joni felt amidst it.
It is particularly helpful that the book tells the story of Joni’s accident (which could be distressing for some young readers) in a sensitive way, but also being honest about the feelings, questions and frustrations that Joni felt. Understanding God’s sovereignty in all situations and seeing how Joni found answers in the Bible is also beneficial for children to understand and imitate.
Although the series is aimed at ages four and above, Joni’s story may be a difficult one for the youngest children to hear initially. However, the book still has value for them for the ways it points to trust in God and how to be a friend to people with disabilities and include them. For any children with disabilities themselves, it shows how opportunities to serve God can come in their situation, to help others and above all to tell them about Jesus.
What shines through in the book is Joni’s greatest desire: that all children should come to know Jesus as their friend and look forward to eternity with Him in the new creation, and this certainly makes it a worthwhile book to read.
