How Do We Know God Is Really There?

How Do We Know God Is Really There?
Written by Melissa Cain Travis
Illustated by Christopher Voss
Apologia Press
Price: $16.00

Written for younger children, "How Do We Know God Is Really There" is the first in a series of books addressing worldview issues helping to give children the firm foundation they need to stand in a world of shifting sands. Written By Melissa Cain Travis, "How Do We Know God Is Really There" is a story of a father and son who spend time together every evening looking out at the stars and talking about whatever comes up. In this story, the son, Thomas asks his Dad how they know God is really there. As the conversation continues, Thomas' dad asks him some questions and then they talk about some of the science that has been discovered about our universe which leads to some great dialog on the subject. It is hard to give you the nuts and bolts without giving the entire story...so I will stop there...I will end with the last lines of the book...Psalm 19:1..."The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

I have ALWAYS LOVED how Apologia handles the mix of faith and science...they never have said this is just the way it is...believe it and move on...don't think about it, etc. They have a great way in all of the products I have used (MANY Science books, What We Believe worldview series, etc) of really explaining why science does not contradict what the Bible says and bringing the science and faith aspects together. This book continues in that tradition. Through the dialog of the father and son, the son comes to see the truth for himself and, I think, would have a firmer stand in his faith because of that process...

I read this book to my children (11 and 7) and they really enjoyed it...They thought the part that showed a boy racing on Saturn's rings was pretty cool...they wished it could really happen. Reading the book also brought up some questions...what are Saturn's rings made of? What is the Hubble Telescope? Can we get a treehouse...ummm NO...sorry. They also LOVED the part that described a video going backwards...they thought that picture was HYSTERICAL! We had some great conversations each time we read this book.

The illustrations, done by Christopher Voss, are colorful and fun! The book has a great storyline that explains a subject that adults can struggle with. I think it is a great book and would recommend it to families with younger children.