The Pirate and the Firefly: A Review of a Children's Book About Choosing to Follow God, Not Friends With Bad Ideas

Children are often faced with the choice between doing what they know is right with God and following friends with bad ideas. It can be a difficult choice. The Pirate and the Firefly by Tara McClary Reeves and Amanda Jenkins can be a great discussion starter for talking with young kids about making the right choices.

I had the opportunity to review The Pirate and the Firefly, a hardback book designed for children ages 4-8. It’s the second book in this series designed to teach kids lessons from the book of Psalms.

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Oliver is the hero of our story. He’s a little boy who, along with his friends, is a pirate wanna be. But when his friends start doing things Oliver knows are wrong- like stealing and bullying- Oliver has to make a choice to follow what he knows God wants him to do or going along with his friends. Oliver has a firefly friend- Phineas- who shows Oliver from Psalm 1 what it means to follow God, not the way of the wicked. And Phineas helps Oliver to plot a course for following God, even when it’s hard.

I loved this sweet children’s story with cute illustrations and a great lesson to be learned.

• It’s written so that younger children can easily understand it read with a parent, or children a little older can read it independently.
• The story is simple enough for little children, but it doesn’t talk down to them.
• Oliver’s friend, Phineas, shows Oliver that the place to go for answers is God’s Word, and Scripture is quoted as he talks to Oliver about what to do.
• At the end of the book is a great little study that parents can do with kids with some additional Scripture, some questions for discussion, and a family activity.

The Pirate and the Firefly is a great way to talk to your kids about friends and making the right choices. It’s one I can read with my younger girls- ages 9 and 10- even though they are above the target age range because the topic is one that kids will face again and again as they grow up.

You can find The Pirate and the Firefly on Amazon as a hardback book or Kindle read. 

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own, and I was not compensated in any other way.