#VeggieTales | finchnwren

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My family has ALWAYS been a fan of VeggieTales! And now, FrontGate Media has introduced us to Phil Vischer’s newest creations: the Minno Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids and the Minno Kids streaming service. If you picture both of these as being awesome, hilarious, and amazing, you’d be right. And if you purchase this Bible for your kiddos (via the link below) by April 30, 2022, you’ll receive a free 2 months’ subscription to Minno Kids! Let me tell you more!

About the Minno Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids by Phil Vischer

I’ve had a lot of beloved Bibles for kids over the years. But I think Phil Vischer’s newest one is my favorite! It is a story Bible; in fact, it’s subtitled “The Gospel in 52 Five-Minute Bible Stories.” It’s written in classic Vischer style (subtle humor for kids that is simultaneously hilarious for adults) which also plainly sets out the truths of the Bible in clear, understandable language. The artwork is colorfully-drawn (and beautiful) cartoons.

Best of all, Vischer takes the Bible and, in 52 short yet pithy stories, tells kids the overall focus and content of God’s Word; from Genesis to Revelation. Each story ends with verses, conversation topics, and prayers for families. The stories include:

The Garden of Eden, creation, and the Fall–and Noah
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
Moses, the Children of Israel, their deliverance from Egypt and their 40-year wandering
Kings of Israel
Prophets of Israel
and then, of course, the Messiah! The annunciation, Jesus’ birth, and His temptation
the disciples and Jesus’ ministry, concluding in His crucifixion, death, and resurrection
Paul, the epistles, and even Revelation

There are also excellent infographics that cover the fruit of the Spirit, the generations from Adam to Jesus, the travels of the Israelites, important women of the Bible, and more. These are both fun and fascinating, and help even more to unlock for readers the scope and content of the Bible. It’s geared for ages 4-8, but I guarantee everyone in your family will love it!

About Minno Kids

We’re all rather used to streaming services these days, aren’t we? But I know that, with those streaming services, comes the very vivid understanding for parents that much content is not at all appropriate for children. Minno Kids is here to change all that! Virtually all the content is kid-friendly and either faith-encouraging or neutral in content, and organized for preschoolers, elementary kids, and tweens. On Minno Kids, you’ll find:

BibleMan, VeggieTales, the Buck Denver shows, and 3-2-1 Penguins!
Bethel Music’s “Come Alive” Dance Tutorials and eKidz Worship, plus lots of other kid-friendly worship
Minno Church at Home
“The Finders,” a sort of “The Librarians” kind of show for preteens
Bible stories and Devotionals
Specially-curated collections for Easter, Good Friday, and Palm Sunday
and more!

It is truly family-friendly and -focused. There is so much to love! Check out the service by clicking on this Go Minno link.

My thoughts and opinions about the Minno products

Fun fact: the word “Minno” comes from the Greek word which means “to abide.” Minno has connected that meaning to the Bible verse John 15:4, where Jesus says, “Abide in Me and I will abide in you.” So their products, the Minno Kids streaming service and the Minno Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids, are designed to help kids and family connect to God. Pretty awesome company goal, right?

So first, my thoughts on the Bible. This is a product I’d happily recommend to all my friends or family who are looking for an excellent and winsome story Bible. I love the Genesis-to-Revelation content and explanation. When I was a new (and quite young) Christian, I understood very little about the Bible. I knew Bible verses I’d memorized at camp. But I didn’t know that God’s love story for humans began at creation, unfolded through the Old and New Testaments, (predicting and introducing us to the Messiah, Jesus) and ended victoriously at Revelation. What an incredible resource for kids and family this is! It is fun (sometimes hilarious) to read. Yet it’s full of Bible truths and will teach children (or even parents!) the story of the entire Bible. It is truly wonderful.

And I also highly recommend Minno Kids. Prices are quite reasonable ($6.99 monthly, $69.99 annually). And, there is a ton of content (120 shows of great variety, plus 50+ episodes of VeggieTales) that’s continually being added to. Shows are downloadable or streamable, and can be watched on phones, tablets, and computers. And it also includes articles and podcasts for parents, as well as devotionals. I loved (of course) the VeggieTales content. I loved the variety of video content for kids. And, I was moved and blessed by the worship content, curated especially for kids! Perhaps that was especially meaningful after Covid restricted our opportunities to worship together in congregations. But how wonderful to remind everyone that worship can also occur at home.

Overall, the best things about the Minno Bible and Go Minno are the hope and joy they provide. Viewers and readers will feel and believe those themselves. God is a God of hope; and His plan for us is amazing and happening every day!

And, Minno has a special offer for you!

Through April 30, 2022, Minno is giving a free 2-month subscription to Minno Kids Streaming Service for anyone who purchases the Minno Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids through the link below. The Bible includes a coupon with a special code families can use to start this subscription.

Purchase Minno Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids here!

Enjoy! –Wren

Disclaimer: I received a copy of these products from the authors. All opinions are honest and my own.

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**Congratulations to Laura R!**

Hi there!

I have the coolest and the most unique opportunity and giveaway to share with you today! If your family is at all like ours, you spent years watching and loving the animated kids’ series, “Veggie Tales.” Well, one of the creators of “Veggie Tales” and the voice of Larry the Cucumber himself, Mike Nawrocki, has penned a fantastic series of children’s books about some brand-new heroes of his own creation: “The Dead Sea Squirrels!” And not only is there a book series…but a Kickstarter campaign which will enable the book series to be turned into a video series, starting today!

Mike Nawrocki, producer Steve Taylor, and Disney animator Tom Bancroft (who all teach in the film/arts department at Lipscomb College) are banding together to bring this fun and family-friendly book series to life in video.

THE DEAD SEA SQUIRRELS tells the story of Merle and Pearl, 2,000-year-old squirrels from Israel who were petrified in sea salt in the caves of the Dead Sea, where 12-year-old Michael discovers them 2000 years later and sneaks them into his backpack to bring them home. The zany adventures of this salty couple and their new friend are full of adventure, humor and character-building lessons. And just as with VeggieTales, Nawrocki once again uses high quality animation to teach biblical principles that families can trust.

About the books

Authored by Mike Nawrocki (you remember, the creator of Silly Songs, the voice of Larry the Cucumber and Veggie Tales co-creator), The Dead Sea Squirrels Book Set is a chapter book series for kids in grades 1-5 (ages 6-10). Each book is approximately 128 pages long, making the book series perfect either for family read-alouds or for children reading on their own. Merle and Pearl are a pair of Dead Sea Squirrels (yes, THAT Dead Sea) from Israel, that Michael found on a trip there. They were petrified, so he thought they’d make a fantastic souvenir. Turns out when they were exposed to rain back in the U.S., they un-petrified and came to life!

The pair of squirrels lived during the life of Christ, and had the privilege of seeing many of His miracles and teachings, which they are able to relate to Michael. Because of course, all those lessons from the Bible really do help us today with our own struggles, issues, and relationships. Here’s a short list of the book titles:

Book One: Squirreled Away
Book Two: Boy Meets Squirrels
Book Three: Nutty Study Buddies
Book Four: Squirrelnapped!
Book Five: Tree-mendous Trouble
Book Six: Whirly Squirrelies

Each book is written by Mike Nawrocki and accompanied by Luke Séguin-Magee’s marvelous and colorful illustrations. Mike’s quirky and hilarious humor is evident, as he take issues kids face, turns them into fiction, and adds words of wisdom from the Bible (and Dead Sea Squirrels!). These would be a fantastic addition to any family library, and you can easily see why they’d make such an exceptional video series!

The Dead Sea Squirrels Book Series on Amazon will show you more!

About the Kickstarter & how you can be involved

The team has already completed the pilot video episode of The Dead Sea Squirrels. Now, they’re using crowdfunding to raise money to create and produce the rest of the season! If you’ve seen Veggie Tales (ever or at all), you know Mike Nawrocki’s history. Together with Tom Bancroft from Disney, and producer Steve Taylor (who worked on Blue Like Jazz and with band Sixpence None the Richer), the team is creating Christ-focused, hilarious, God-honoring great animated stories featuring Merle and Pearl the Dead Sea Squirrels as they look on the life of Jesus and His ministry. (That’s all after they’re encased in Dead Sea salt, discovered by Michael and tucked into his backpack on a trip to Israel, and flown back to the U.S. Where, they get caught in a rainstorm and come back to life to share adventures with Michael and his family and friends!)

Starting February 16, 2021, the Dead Sea Squirrels Kickstarter campaign begins! Just click on the Kickstarter link below for more information. There is a ton of very cool and fun swag for donors! You can make history as a Founding Backer, helping to bring The Dead Sea Squirrels to life. If 8,000 people each give $25, that would pay for an entire episode of the new video series. (Although you could certainly donate more, or less.) Their goal is to raise just over $1 million, which will enable them to create an entire first season. What would that cover? Animation, production, audio, direction, staff creators…and so much more. All the way to the finished product!

Visit the The Dead Sea Squirrels Kickstarter campaign here

You can also follow The Dead Sea Squirrels on social media! Mike Nawrocki will have huge announcements to make about The Dead Sea Squirrels there. And, please share the links! If you loved Veggie Tales, I know you can certainly see the potential in this video series.

And, watch this entertaining video with Mike Nawrocki, Disney producer Tom Bancroft, and producer Steve Taylor all about the DS Squirrels and the Kickstarter campaign!

The Dead Sea Squirrels Promo Video on Vimeo

This all sounds amazing! But, a caveat: like all Kickstarter campaigns, The Dead Sea Squirrels campaign is open for a limited time only. Here’s the note from Kickstarter: All or nothing. This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Thu, April 1 2021 10:59 PM MDT. So, if you’d love to see an amazing new video series with the quality, joy, and Christ-honoring stories, consider joining the campaign and helping bring The Dead Sea Squirrels to life!

And, how to enter the book set giveaway!

To enter the giveaway to win the book set of The Dead Sea Squirrels, simply click on the “Enter here!” link below. That will take you to a Giveaway Tools entry form, where you’ll be able to enter in a variety of ways. Giveaway ends 2/23/21. One winner will win the book set. Best wishes!

Enter here!

Enjoy…and don’t forget to check out the Kickstarter campaign! –Wren

DISCLOSURE: Disclosure: Many thanks to Momentum Influencers for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.