The Littlest One by Elspeth Campbell Murphy

The Littlest One
By
Elspeth Campbell Murphy
Illustrated by: Anne Kennedy
Series: Brenda Learns about God
Published by: Chariot Books
Copyrighted: 1984
Number of pages: 24 pages
Type of Book: Christian fiction
Age group: I-3 years
Physical Nature of Book: hardback, small for kids’ hands
Extras: List of the rest of the book in series
About the Book: Brenda is the youngest member of her family and she has a hard time adjusting to being little. She is able to spend sometime with a baby and she realizes she is little but she is not a baby. Her mother and father say that they are grateful God gave her to them and Brenda is growing up well, the illustrations are realistic and good for ages I-3.
About the Author: Elspeth Campbell Murphy has written more than 100 books the past years. She is a graduate of Trinity College and Mood Bible Institute. She currently lives in Chicago and received a Gold Medallion award for Do You See Me, God?
What my children thought: Both of my children enjoyed this book, there was nothing they disliked. My five-year-old son liked Tiny, dog, and that the book was about God. My three-year-old daughter liked Brenda. Both of my children think that Children their age would like this book. What I liked: I liked everything about this book. This book shows what it can be like for the youngest members in the family and how God helps them grownup.
What I Disliked: Nothing.
Would I recommend: Yes, I would recommend this book. I would read it to younger family members up to the age of five, because many may feel as Brenda did.

The Mystery of the Wrong Dog

The Mystery of the Wrong Dog
By
Elspeth Campbell Murphy
Series: Three Cousins Detective Club #3
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Copyright: 1994
Number of pages: 59 pages
Age Group: first chapter book (ages7-10)
Type of Book: Christian fiction
Physical Description: Paperback, 5x7 inches
About the book: Titus McKay has been taking care of Kingsley, a cranky dog, for his neighbors while they are at odds with each other. Titus and his two cousins decide to go to the bakery with Kingsley. They leave him outside and when they come back outside there is a totally different (attitude) dog waiting for them. Titus decides Kingsley has been switched with another dog. He confronts one of the owners and learns he switched dogs. Titus is able to get the dogs owners to consent to living with each other again. Titus is able to keep the other dog. Titus, his cousins and Kingsley’s owners learned about peace through each other and the story of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was a peacemaker between a wild wolf and a village.
About Author: Elspeth Campbell Murphy has written more than 100 books the past years. She is a graduate of Trinity College and Mood Bible Institute. She currently lives in Chicago and received a Gold Medallion award for Do You See Me, God?
What did I like best: I liked how Titus was a peacemaker between his neighbors like St. Francis was. It shows us, the reader, that everybody be a peacemaker.
What did I dislike: There was nothing in this book I disliked.
Would I recommend: Yes, I would recommend this book. If we all tried to consistently be peacemakers more this world would be better.

Happy Easter God

By
Elspeth Campbell Murphy
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Copyrighted: 2001
Number of pages: 29 pages
Age group: 2-6 years of age
Type of book: Holiday Christian fiction
Physical Description: hardback, square, shiny pages.
About the book: This book begins with a letter to parents discussing the setup of the book. Each group of pages includes a prayer-poem for the child and a Bible verse for the parents to meditate on. The prayer-poems have a variety of topics from chocolate Easter bunnies to the angel outside the empty tomb.
The illustrations were realistically drawn and fun to look at. Everybody has a big smile and we get to know the children by reading their nametags.
About the author: Elspeth Campbell Murphy has written more than 100 books the past years. She is a graduate of Trinity College and Mood Bible Institute. She currently lives in Chicago and received a Gold Medallion award for Do You See Me, God?
What my children thought: My five-year-old son thoroughly enjoyed this book; there was nothing he disliked. I read the Bible verses as well as the prayer-poems to the children and those were his favorite parts, because they were from the Bible. He also liked the pictures because they were shiny. My son thought the funniest picture was of the bunny on a girl’s lap. He highly recommended this book to kids his age. My daughter who is three enjoyed this book as well. There were many things she enjoyed: like the bunny, the children singing, and the Easter egg hunt. Her favorite child was Caroline. The only illustration my daughter didn't like was of the angel. She thought children her age would enjoy the book,
What I liked: I liked the entire book. I enjoyed the addition of the Bible verses for adult readers. I also enjoyed how my son appreciated the Bible verses. I felt invigorated after I read this book. I thought next time I would have my son help me read this book.
What I disliked: There is nothing I disliked.
Do I recommend: Yes, I do. Happy Easter God is a very enjoyable book for both children and adults.

The Mystery of the White Elephant by Elspeth Campbell Murphy

Book one of the Three Cousins Detective Club is called The Mystery of the White Elephant and was written by Elspeth Campbell Murphy and illustrated by Joe Nordstrom. It was copyrighted in 1994 and published by Bethany House Publishers. This Christian mystery is 64 pages long and is for children ages 7-10.

Ten-year-old cousins, Timothy, Sarah-Jane and Titus need to solve the mystery of the missing cookie jar, a white elephant, before the church auction begins. The children solve the mystery by finding the missing bag. The kids begin their adventure by learning that a “white elephant” is something somebody has, but does not want or need. They need to find their “white elephant” to take to the church auction. They find that Mrs. Foster has taken a white elephant cookie jar, which they all would like to have. The cookie jar disappears after they see a lady wearing a rain poncho, sun hat and carrying a bag. They talk to Pastor Parry and they decide to search for it. They find the clothes in the lost-and-found. Timothy remembers the bag has a red maple leaf on it. The kids think it might belong to Mrs. Foster’s friend from Canada. After they children find the bag, they go tell Pastor Parry all they know and give him the bag. Pastor Parry is able to fix the problem. Mrs. Foster’s friend and Timothy, Sarah-Jane and Titus learn that God has no “white elephants.” He loves everybody and the church can love everybody, like Mrs. Foster’s friend too.

Elspeth Campbell Murphy has written more than 100 books the past years. She is a graduate of Trinity College and Moody, Bible Institute. She currently lives in Chicago and received a Gold Medallion award for Do You See Me, God?

The theme for this book is love. We must treat everyone with love, and never like “white elephants.” There was nothing to dislike in this book. I enjoyed reading all of it. I especially liked the part where everybody at church was so kind to Mrs. Foster’s friend, even though she took the cookie jar.

I would recommend this book to all to read. It is fun to with its white pages, large letters, and fun black and white illustrations.