Book Review: Girls Who Choose God by McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding

Title: Girls Who Choose God: Stories of Courageous Women from the Bible
Authors: McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding
Enjoyment Rating: *****
Source: Hardcover Copy

Daniel and the lions' den. Noah's ark. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace. Nephi and the broken bow. What do these stories (and hundreds more like them) have in common? Well, for one thing, they all feature men who are faced with a moral dilemma. Children in Primary and Sunday School classes learn to emulate them. But as the mother of three young daughters, I often wish we knew the stories of women in the scriptures as well as we do the stories of their male counterparts.

Girls Who Choose God, a new picture book written by McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding, illustrated by Kathleen Peterson, and published by Deseret Book, goes a long way to filling the gap. The picture book, which features a dozen women from the Bible, including Eve, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the prophet Deborah, and other, lesser-known women, follows a particularly effective format. On the first page spread, each woman's story is introduced, including the moral dilemma she faces. For example, we learn that "Esther had a choice to make. She could keep her luxurious like as the queen, or she could try to save her people by telling the king she was also a Jew." On the second page spread, Krishna and Spalding recount the choices the women make, then they ask readers to apply the story to their own lives. The Esther story concludes with the question, "When have you made a choice to stand up for others?" This allows readers to see that each woman faced a choice, and that it's possible to make courages choices like they did.

The book is also beautifully illustrated. Peterson's drawings brought me to tears at times-- I particularly loved the Mary Magdalene and Eve drawings. The Miriam story features an Egyptian-style border that's incredibly beautiful. Peterson's work is currently featured in the "Practicing Charity" exhibit at the Church History Museum, and the illustrations are a real asset to the book.

I can envision myself using this book in family scripture study, for Family Home Evening lessons and for Sharing Time lessons. It would have appeal to non-LDS Christians too, since the source material is from the Bible. My third-grade daughter made off with it the night we got our copy, and read the whole thing from cover to cover before bedtime. It's a book our sons and our daughters should read, because all readers, regardless of gender will benefit from the stories of these women.

As an added bonus, all proceeds from the book will benefit Interweave Solutions, a nonprofit dedicated to support educational and employment opportunities for LDS women around the world.

(This review was originally published at Segullah).