The Big Wide Welcome Storybook

Laura Wifler

A phenomenal book on an important topic for adults and kids alike. Trillia's writing paired with Catalina's illustrations hit a home run.

Ray Ortlund

The Big Wide Welcome will help us raise the next generation with smaller biases and bigger hearts, for Jesus' sake. Thank you, Trillia, for equipping our families and our churches to embody the heart of our Lord himself with beautiful clarity!

“Jesus died to be our friend”

Agree with the other posters about reservations in the last few pages. Jesus died to be friends with us? Unnecessarily dumbed down. Love is all that matters apparently. Don't recommend this book unless your child is old enough where you can have some good discussions about where it misses the mark. I've read the publisher response to the other reviewers and still disagree.

“Favorites!”

We love these books. We share these stories with all ages of kids!. They teach wonderful biblical concepts and reinforce how much God loves each and every one of us!

“Super Helpful Customer Service”

I ordered during the summer sale and part of my order bundle was not shipped correctly. I called customer service just to confirm I ordered a different book and he was so helpful and kind! He sent the correct book and because of the confusion, he sent me two additional books for free. I’ve told so many people about you guys since then!

“Timely & Encouraging”

The Big Wide Welcome is the second children’s book by author and Bible teacher, Trillia Newbell. This title is one of many in the wonderful Tales That Tell the Truth series from The Good Book Company. Its content is essentially a kid-friendly adaptation of the book of James. The Big Wide Welcome helps young readers recognize the sin of partiality by explaining what was occurring in James’ church and provides modern examples to help children learn what exclusion looks like and why it is wrong.

Trillia writes in a way that is easy for children to understand and relate to. She uses the idea of favorites to demonstrate that while everyone has favorite things, it is not okay to play favorites when it comes to people. Young readers are reminded that instead of treating some people preferentially, we ought to treat all of them with the same love that God shows for His people in Christ. Although this is a children’s book, my heart was greatly encouraged as Trillia wrote about how churches ought to be the most welcoming places and it made me consider what role I have to play in welcoming others into the church. We really enjoyed The Big Wide Welcome and look forward to reading more books in the Tales That Tell the Truth series.

I received The Big Wide Welcome compliments of The Good Book Company in exchange for my honest review.

“Heaven for All”

This is a beautiful book. Both the illustrations and the words convey truth, joy, wonder and the faithfulness of God. It is delightful, drawing the reader into the story of salvation for all and encouraging each one to personally accept the invitation to the heavenly party and to be welcoming people as we wait. My 6 yr old granddaughter read it again and again, her 8 yre old brother enjoyed it, and I, too, found it moving and encouraging. I highly recommend this book and, in fact, the whole series.

“Excellent Quality, Timeless Truth”

In this new installment in the Tales that Tell the Truth series, Trillia Newbell addresses the issue of favoritism, sharing the message of James 2:1-26 at a child-friendly level. She provides context for the time period, for ways that people show favoritism today, and for James's relationship with Jesus, who loves everyone without partiality. The book ends on a joyful note, emphasizing that we can choose to be like Jesus in our interactions with others because of his love for us.

As usual, Catalina Echeverri's illustrations are colorful, diverse, and inviting, and they help visualize the text. Even without an adult present to read the book aloud, a young child can easily see the story and concepts represented through the art. I am always impressed with the quality of the books in this series, and "The Big Wide Welcome" is no exception. I especially appreciate it in contrast to other books about kindness and diversity, which tend to argue for good behavior because it's nice, or because it makes you feel good about yourself. This book clearly grounds everyone's value in the love of Christ.

Secular picture books about kindness and inclusiveness vary widely in quality, but they tend to be very abstract and can't anchor their positive messages in a higher reality. This book shares concrete, specific, and vivid examples of both favoritism and welcoming love, making it easy for children to understand the message, and the author provides a reasoned explanation for why everyone matters, instead of just making the assertion. This book is a wonderful resource for families, churches, and Christian schools, and I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“good but misses an important mark”

We have had the privilege of reading some of the other books within this series and we thoroughly enjoyed them so we definitely had high expectations of this one as well.

The series is called Tales That Tell the Truth. They have twelve other books in the series - all attempting to depict a biblical truth in a understandable way for little children.

The message of this book is wonderful. God has commanded us to love everyone and he gives us tons of examples that show us how to accomplish this. The book provides many scenarios where children have the opportunity to share the love of Christ. Throughout these scenarios Newbell incorporates the story of Jesus and James. I always love when scripture is the main source in a children's book.

Despite the initial beauty of this book, there is one issue I have as a parent teaching my children about Jesus. It seems as though the book diminishes the seriousness of the Gospel. I understand the purpose is most likely to allow little ones to understand the concepts, but I don't believe we have to diminish the Gospel for children to understand its necessity. The book discusses Jesus wanting to be "friends" with everyone. Jesus did not come to this earth to die on a cross just to be our friend. He died to provide eternal redemption as our Savior. It is essential that this is taught correctly to children and I believe this book misses that mark.

In regards to the illustrations, they are beautifully done with exquisite details.

I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.

“Partially wonderful. Cautious otherwise.”

I want to love this book. On one hand, the message that Jesus is impartial is so important and this shines through. On the other, the story sounds very close to universalism.
We should be inclusive. We should teach our children to be hospitable and not judge others based on their appearances or other characteristics/qualities.

"Jesus loves people so much that he chose to die on the cross so that all people could be friends with him." This sounds nice but it diminishes the gospel. Jesus did die for believers, not to just be friends but to give new life and salvation. We can use these words with children and there's no need to dumb down the gospel. The use of the word "wide" sounds totally opposite of the word narrow in scripture. There's also a page with a cross-shaped doorway that over it says "All are welcome".

The inclusive and kindness message found through pages 1-23 are wonderful. The universalist messages found on pages 24-32 make this a book that we would only read with caution and correction.

I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company. All opinions within this review are my own.

“LOVE this book for children!”

The Big Wide Welcome by Trillia Newbell is a gorgeous book with some great practical teachings woven into the story. "Do you have a favorite food, or toy, or teddy?. . .It's fine to play favorites with things but we should not play favorites with people. I love the message of this book and I think it is well worded. The Big Wide Welcome is aimed at children ages three to six. It is a 32 page book measuring 8.75 by 10.25 inches. The pages are thick and the illustrations are simply gorgeous. The book tells about Jesus and James based on the Bible. I think it is a great book for little ones to learn from both at home and it could be used at church meetings for young ones. I like how both the words and pictures go together to illustrate how Jesus truly loves us all, no matter what our social standing, color, age, size, etc. Then the children are encouraged to treat others the way Jesus would treat them.

I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company. All opinions within this review are my own.