Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends #14 : Antonio Meets His Match

Its About Being a Good Neighbor

DVD

A rude foreigner moves into the garden, testing Antonio’s patience.

Antonio should probably be called Ã¢â‚¬Å“Brave AntÃ¢â‚¬Â, for the heroic way he leads his Army Ants in defending the garden from, say, Big Bully Croaker. Ã‚Â But when some foreign ants move into the garden, their strange ways challenge Antonio to use something other than physical strength and military experience to solve a problem. Featuring Tim Conway as Hermie and special guest-star Fred Willard (Ã¢â‚¬Å“Wall-EÃ¢â‚¬Â, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Kim PossibleÃ¢â‚¬Â, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Chicken LittleÃ¢â‚¬Â, etc) and includes the original song Ã¢â‚¬Å“How Could Anyone Not Love MeÃ¢â‚¬Â and the cartoon short “Caterpilla” (a spoof of Cinderella). Lesson is based on Luke 10:27 Ã‚Â ”Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

As Taken from the Thomas Nelson Site

We had a mishap with this DVD and it almost didn’t get reviewed! Toddlers! *said with exasperated smile* However, Thomas Nelson was kind andÃ‚Â sent me another video so I could view it and review it.

I’m glad they did. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did my daycare kids and daughter. In fact, they have been asking for it since viewing it for the first time. That’s a pretty big deal around here. Videos either get thumbs up or thumbs down by the viewing gallery.

The video isn’t actually about Hermie, the caterpillar hero of the series, but instead, about his friend Antonio the Ant. Antonio is pretty tough stuff. After all, he is the one who defends the garden from Big Bully Croaker and is the all time winner in the bug Olympics. He’s used to people thinking he’s all that and more. But then, some Irish Ants move into the garden and begin beating Antonio up with their golf balls and horrendous music. Determined to tell them they need to leave. Antonio is stopped by God and told instead to love his new neighbors.

He tries to, but it proves pretty difficult, especially when it results in Antonio’s eviction. But in the end, Antonio lives out true love for his enemies, a story that will capture children while entertaining them, and hopefully, impact them as well.

This was my first time viewing a Hermie video and I loved it so much, I want to add more to my library. It teaches spiritual lessons to children through the use of creative and bright animation, fun voices, and great story lines. As a Mama, anything that does this, is worth buying – - even if it is bugs helping instill spiritual truths into my child.

Hermie activity sheets are available for download at the Thomas Nelson Site.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this DVD from Thomas Nelson for Review Purposes

The Tallest of Smalls By Max Lucado

*This book was given as a complimentary copy to Mama Buzz and reviewers, for blog tour purposes.*

The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado

Ages 4-7

Retails for $16.99

Melissa J’s Thoughts:

For my devotions with my daughter and daycare kids, the other day, I used The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado. Although at 2, 2, and 3 1/2, they probably didn’t grasp the powerful truth of this modern day parable, they sat through the entire story. I attribute that to the sing-song rhythm of the book.

The drawings are awesome and had me as captivated as the kids. This is a book that you could easily spend time exploring all the different details on each page. It is a unique kind of artwork and yet, very attractive to the eyes, especially little ones.

Although the children could not comprehend the message of the book, I did. And honestly? as a 34 year old adult woman, who longs to be known and important, during these stay-at-home days, it touched my heart profoundly. How often do I try to be someone I’m not, by placing myself on stilts that are high and wobbly?Ã‚Â And how often do I come crashing down, only to find yet another layer of acceptance in who I am?

To be sure, as my birthdays pass by, I find myself more willing to stay firmly planted on the very realistic earth instead of longing for stilts. . . but still, I have my days. The message within this book is for more than children – it is for each one of us adults too. The message that

“I may not be much-
the smallest of smalls-
but since Jesus loves me,
I’m the tallest of talls.”

Though $16.99 might seem kind of steep for a children’s book, the message is priceless, and for that reason, I highly recommend the book!

Mel’s Thoughts:
Yesterday, before we started school, we sat down and read The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado.Ã‚Â It was a little different than other books I’ve read by Max, but it was still very good.Ã‚Â The message throughout the book was clear: thatÃ‚Â even thoughÃ‚Â Ollie felt like noone could see him because he was so short, he still mattered.Ã‚Â He was made exactly as he was supposed to be made, for when he got what he wanted, it wasn’t as great as he thought it would be.Ã‚Â In fact, it was disastrous.

The book is in rhyme form, which at times, was a little harder to follow, but itÃ‚Â still kept our attention.Ã‚Â Beautifully illustrated by Maria Monescillo, it hasÃ‚Â colorful, full-pageÃ‚Â picturesÃ‚Â that your child can follow along with.Ã‚Â Jaden actually sat through this book without getting up, which was another really positive thing for me….just to be able to sit and hold him and read to him.

The ending of the story was my favorite.Ã‚Â Even though Ollie’sÃ‚Â turn with the stilts was disastrous, Jesus was right there to pick him up and lift him up.Ã‚Â Ã‚Â I really thought that was a great lesson for my boys, that even though they might fall, He is right there to pick them up, and He loves them no matter what; after all, God made them the way they are.

You can get The Tallest of Smalls for $16.99 from Thomas Nelson.Ã‚Â Ã‚Â This is a little pricey, in my opinion, but it is still a wonderfulÃ‚Â book.Ã‚Â It is a hardcover edition with a really attractive dust jacket.Ã‚Â It’s another book that I’mÃ‚Â happy to add to our bookshelf.

(Disclosure: We were provided with this free book by Tommy Nelson, in association with MamaBuzz.)