About the Book

Book:  Say & Pray Bible

Author: Diane Stortz

Genre:  Bible stories, board book

Release Date: 2015

Curl up together and experience the Bible in a fresh, new way. Young children will enjoy pointing to and naming objects on each page for early learning. Most important, they’ll discover favorite, age-appropriate Bible stories, with Scripture verses and short prayers that also hide God’s Word in young hearts.

 

 

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Diane Stortz is a multipublished author who writes to make God’s wonders known to the next generation. Her children’s releases include the best-selling Say & Pray Bible and I AM: 40 Reasons to Trust God, both from Tommy Nelson. Diane’s books for women, A Woman’s Guide to Reading the Bible in a Year and Encountering God’s Heart for You, both from Bethany House, encourage women to get to know God through His Word, the Bible. Diane and her husband have two married daughters and five grandchildren—all boys! Visit her at www.DianeStortz.com.

 

More from Diane

Once upon a time there was a little boy who loved his books. Long before he could talk, he loved turning pages, looking at the pictures, hearing his grandpa name the objects in the pictures, and pointing to those objects.

 

And once upon a time there was a grandma looking for a truly age-appropriate Bible storybook for that same little boy. And the best ones she found still contained too many words.

 

And she wondered . . .

 

Why not write a Bible storybook that could be designed especially for babies, toddlers, and young preschoolers? With the shortest stories you’ve ever seen, and with labeled objects and people in the illustrations that little ones could point to and name?

 

That’s how my book Say & Pray Bible began.

 

I wanted a book with age-appropriate, SHORT Bible stories. Babies and toddlers LOVE turning pages. Listening to long stories has to wait until they’re older.

 

I wanted short Bible verses and prayers to go with the very short stories.

 

And I wanted the illustrations to have lots of LABELED objects to encourage little ones to point and name.

 

Some days you might just read the stories. Another day, just the verses. Yet another reading, just the prayers. And some days, you might just talk about the pictures.

 

Most children begin to say single words with meaning, always nouns, at 12–18 months. This is the stage when children can point to—and eventually name—photos or illustrations of objects in their books.

 

Around 24 months, children begin to say two-word, noun plus verb sentences, such as “Cat run.” In time, sentences become longer and include adjectives and adverbs, but no function words: “Big cat run fast.” Last to develop is the use of function words (such as the and an) and more complex sound combinations and sentence forms.

 

Human beings seem to be hardwired to acquire language and learn to speak—evidence that, as the Bible says, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139). But there’s a lot we can do to help little ones develop language skills and expose them to God’s Word at the same time!

Mindy Houng’s Q&A with Diane Stortz

What inspired this book?

My grandson Reed when he was very little. He loved pointing to objects in the pictures of his books. I wanted him to have an age-appropriate Bible storybook, and I couldn’t find one with short enough text. I decided to try to create one myself and include labels in the illustrations to encourage kids to point and name the objects, animals, and people.

What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?

I have many, but one is Psalm 78:4: “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.”

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
I will spend time at an ocean beach any time I can. Most often, however, I travel several states away to spend time with grandchildren.

What is your most well-loved and well-used house appliance?
My Keurig.

Describe your view as you’re sitting in your writing chair.
Until last year I had a home office and sat near a large window looking out on our backyard. Last year I gave up my office to turn it into a playroom for my grandchildren. Now I have a desk and bookcase in a portion of a bedroom. Above my desk is a large framed photograph of two empty chairs side-by-side, looking out over a valley. Isaiah 30:15 is printed in script below the photo: “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

Thank you, Dianne, for you time in letting us get to know you better!

Blog Stops

For Him and My Family, May 23

Texas Book-aholic, May 24

Through the Fire Blogs, May 25 (Author Interview)

deb’s Book Review, May 25

Older & Smarter?, May 26

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 27

A Baker’s Perspective, May 28 (Author Interview)

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, May 29

Inklings and notions, May 30

A Reader’s Brain, May 31

Spoken from the Heart, June 1

Simple Harvest Reads, June 2 (Author Interview)

Southern Gal Loves to Read, June 2

Aryn the Libraryan 📚, June 3

Splashes of Joy, June 4

Artistic Nobody, June 5 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Diane is giving away the grand prize package of a signed copy of the book, a signed copy of the companion book (Say & Pray Devotions), and a $10 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/fa0a/say-pray-bible-celebration-tour-giveaway