Published by Zonderkidz on March 7, 2023
Genres: Children's, Bible Stories
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Girls are beautifully and wonderfully made in God’s image. This comprehensive collection of stories focused on 50 women of the Bible shows how God worked in their lives and continues to have a plan and a purpose for his beloved daughters today.
In a world that too often tells girls that they are not enough, Her Story, Her Strength uses biblical retellings and reflections that include the historical context behind each story to remind young women that they have a God who loves them deeply and empowers them to live and love like he does. For any girl ages 8 and up who is asking questions about her worth, identity, and place in the world and church, this colorful and engaging book provides a positive, loving, and scriptural lens that helps them interpret the messages they receive from their peers, media, and society.
Girls who read Her Story, Her Strength will:
Come to a profound, unshakable understanding of God’s love for them and their value in his eyes
See how they reflect God’s image both innately and through the actions, words, and attitudes they choose each day
Learn about biblical characters and events in a way designed specifically for themIn addition, Her Story, Her Strength:
Features readers’ favorite women of the Bible as well as many less-well-known characters, showing God’s consistent presence in the lives of women throughout Scripture
Is divided into short sections that are both comprehensive and accessible, making it a wonderful tool for school or church lessons as well as family devotions or personal reflection
Emphasizes how each woman reflects the image of her Creator, demonstrating the immense value God places on women and girls and pointing them back to him—all from a position rooted in biblical values
Includes beautiful, full-color illustrations that help bring each woman to life
This book is absolutely wonderful, and it is everything that a biographical anthology about biblical figures should be. Sarah Parker Rubio did an amazing job with the written profiles and illustrations, and I love how she emphasizes God’s character, goodness, and power in each biographical sketch, rather than just honoring the women themselves. The profiles are all about six pages long, and they each include a beautiful illustration and sections entitled “Her Story,” “Her World,” and “Her God.” The author dramatizes a pivotal scene from each woman’s life, taking artistic license to imagine the woman’s thoughts and feelings, and the following section shares historical and contextual details. In the final section, the author reflects on what we can learn about God from that woman’s story.
Her Story, Her Strength covers well-known women from the Bible such as Eve, Ruth, Esther, Elizabeth, and Mary, and it also features lesser-known women, including some who appear in the Bible so briefly that we don’t know their names. This book even includes Zelophehad’s daughters! There are also biographical sketches for symbolic women, such as the Proverbs 31 woman, wisdom personified as a woman, and the woman crowned with stars from Revelation. The book moves through biblical history from Genesis to Revelation, and each profile includes Scripture references at the end so that readers can turn to the source material to read the whole story.
Sarah Parker Rubio clearly did a lot of research for this project, and she shares her findings in a way that is both kid-friendly and deep, clarifying in the “Her World” section what we know for sure about each woman and what various Bible scholars have different views on. She handles ambiguous scenarios with nuance and care, and she never talks down to her readers. Also, when it comes to sexual topics, Rubio refers to them in discreet ways without skipping over important elements of a story or leaving out complicated characters.
Many of these stories present challenging topics, and Rubio deals with them very well. I especially appreciated Rubio’s reflections on how God values women. She writes about the harsh realities that women faced in Bible times, but instead of sharing cheap girl power slogans or snarky political commentary, she emphasizes God’s heart for all people and His love for women, no matter how poor, mistreated, and forgotten they are. This book points back to God and the gospel in everything, and it is beautiful.
Her Story, Her Strength: 50 God-Empowered Women of the Bible is absolutely phenomenal. I cannot say enough good things about this book, and I highly recommend it. This is perfect for the target audience of young girls, but it is so thorough, so deeply biblical, and so insightful that isn’t just for them. This is for anyone interested in biblical history and spiritual encouragement. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the author never speaks to the reader with an assumption of the reader’s gender or age. No one has to filter out irrelevant assumptions. This is for anyone, male or female, young or old, who wants to celebrate the goodness of God and how he has worked through human history.
