Rain Forest Adventures by Horace Banner
Horace Banner tells the story of the Eva missionary family
in the midst of the Amazon rain forest in his book entitled Rain Forest
Adventures. The short chapters are great
for young children wanting to get a handle on the animals and culture of the
rain forests of the Amazon. In fact, my
five year old daughter loved hearing about the stories about tree frogs,
anacondas, and the blue butterfly. At
the end of each chapter, Horace ties together a particular theme that came out
in his stories about life in the Amazon in relationship to a biblical
theme. Whether its committing oneself to
Christ, understanding the nature of sin and its scars or marveling at God’s
good creation, these stories bring together the truths found in God’s Word that
are reflected also in God’s first book, the book of nature.
In one unique story, a boy named Manuel is fascinated by the
deeper parts of the river. Racing down
the path and splashing in the water, Manuel has no concern for what lies
beneath the deep waters. Horace writes, “Then
one day, when Manuel dived, he came up against something long, smooth and
supple – something alive! And, before he
could come up to the surface, something covered his face and things like knives
cut into his cheeks….Manuel’s cheeks will always bear the marks of the river
serpent’s teeth but he has learned his lesson.
He is taking no more risks” (11-13).
The good thing about this story was that the snake was unable to get
ahold of something solid to anchor itself to in order to crush its prey by
suffocation. Manuel was fortunate by God’s
grace to be alive after this incident.
Horace bears witness to the weights of sin and its scars that are left
upon the human race which are only remedied by the forgiveness in Christ
Jesus.
One other story that was very powerful was the time that
Donna traveled to a leper colony near the mouth of the Amazon. She distributed money, care, and prayed for
the lepers there in the colony. One man
responded with a letter that ‘demanded that you make no further visits and no
further gifts without his permission’ (44).
He also complained that Donna was trying to make a Christian of his wife
by helping her. Horace makes the point
here that whether we take a stand for people by word/actions, we will often be
met with disapproval and anger, but this does not keep us from promoting his
name.
I really enjoyed this book and thought the short chapters
were great for younger children. The
illustrations went along well with the themes of the chapters also.
Thanks to CF4K and Cross Focused Reviews for the copy of
this book in exchange for review.
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