Books for Sponsored Children

With Manna 4 Lempira backpack season in full swing, I wanted to share a complete list of my suggested books to send in backpacks.  To the best of my memory, this list contains every book I've ever given to my sponsored children.  With each one, I have provided a link to purchase, a short description, and age recommendations.  All of the links are for the Spanish versions of these books, but they are all available in English too.  Comment below and let me know your favorite books to send in backpacks!  I plan to continue editing this post as I find more.

A Young Woman After God's Own Heart: A book about Godly living for young girls.  I'd recommend this for ages 10-14.  This author, Elizabeth George, has several different books for girls and women of all ages.  Her books close each chapter with journaling questions and space to write.  So far, I've also purchased A Girl's Guide to Making Really Good Choices, You Have a Friend in Jesus, Live Your Faith, and one other I can no longer find about how to read the bible.  Her husband, Jim George, writes similar books for boys.  You can find all of their books by searching their names along with the word “Spanish” on the Christian book website.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: A storybook that goes through the bible and points all of the stories, both old and new testament, to salvation in Jesus.  So beautiful.  I recommend for ages 10 and under.

Redeeming Love: My absolute favorite fiction book, based on the bible story of Hosea.  I've only given this to my girls 18+, because it deals with the subject of redemption from prostitution (just like the actual bible story.)  No awful details, but still something I wouldn't be comfortable sharing with a child under 18 without parental permission.  My 19 year old girl who graduated from the sponsorship program last year says this is her favorite book too.  She is currently reading it for the 3rd time.

Children of the King: As I was recently re-reading Redeeming Love and obsessing over the beautifully symbolic theme of redemption, I wanted a way to share this with my younger children who aren’t old enough for the mature content of the book.  I found Children of the King, a beautiful story of unconditional love, told through the story of children being adopted by a king, rather than a romance story like Redeeming Love.  I’d recommend this for ages 6-10, maybe even up to age 12.

The Princess and the Kiss: A parable about purity for little girls.  Very much G-rated and adorable.  I recommend this for ages 10 and under.  They also make a boy's version called The Squire and the Scroll, but I haven’t found it in Spanish. 

Jesus Calling and Jesus Calling for Kids: This devotional has a page for each day of the year.  I gave this to my Estefani and bought a copy for myself, so we could read "together" every night from a distance.  The adult and child version coordinate similar themes each day.

His Princess and His Little Princess: A devotional of love letters from God, all about being His daughter.

God's Promises for Little Girls: A book of verses and promises.  They also make one for boys.  Good for ages 10 and under.

What Happens When I Talk to God?: A book about prayer for young children.  I recommend this for ages 10 and under.

My Pretty Pink Purse of Prayer: A cute little book about how you can talk to God anywhere.  Good for ages 6 and under.

The Circle Maker: I am in the process of reading this book right now and have already given it to two of my older girls.  It is about standing strong in the prayers that God has put on your heart and praying them into existence.  I recommend this for ages 15+.

Missionary stories including Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, and Corrie ten Boom.  These are true stories of missionaries and Christian heroes, written for kids.  I recommend these for ages 10-14.

The Answers Book for Kids: A children’s book from the creators of Answers in Genesis and The Creation Museum, answering questions about science and the bible.  Reccomended for ages 8-12.

The Chronicles of Narnia: This is a classic series that children in Honduras have gone crazy over!  I've given this to kids ages 10+ if they can already read well.

Miss Rumphius: A fictional story about kindness.  I'd say this would be good for ages 10 and under.

American Girl books: The two I can find in Spanish right now are Josefina and Luciana.  These books teach about different times in the history of the United States and have dolls you can buy to go with them.  I like teaching my kids about my country in a fun way, while sharing my favorite books from my childhood.  I recommend these for ages 8-14 due to the fact that they have serious historical subject matters, while still being simple enough to be marketed for young girls.  Currently, these are the only two characters I can find in Spanish.  I have previously found Maryellen and Grace, but they don’t seem to be available now.

Charlotte's Web: My favorite teacher in elementary school gave me this book to encourage me in reading; and I'm pretty sure that gesture impacted me more than the book itself did.  Still, it has made me want to share it with my kids when they are around the age I was when I read it.  I give this book to my 10-12 year olds.

Kira-Kira: This book deeply impacted me when I was 12 years old and is still one of my favorites today.  I was shocked to find it in Spanish; especially because it is loosely about Japanese-American culture.  I recently purchased this for my 12 year old, Estefani.  The book does contain one swear word (the English version does anyway; not sure about the Spanish) and deals with the subject matter of sickness and death of a close family member.  If you are looking for a gift for your sponsored child and don't know their family well enough to know if this would offend or upset them, please skip this recommendation.  I sponsor Estefani independently, not through an organization; so I talk to her family constantly and know this is okay for her.

The Nutcracker: This is another fun book and tradition to share with the kids at Christmas time.  They make different versions of the book for different ages.

Eloise at Christmastime: I loved the Eloise books and movies as a child, because they show the magic of Christmas in NYC.  When I found the Christmas book in Spanish, I had to share it with my kids.  I typically recommend this for ages 10 and under, but my 12 year old still says this is her favorite book.  It is currently only available used, but may be worth it if you’re an Eloise fan.  

Engineering Feats & Failures: I am sending some engineering-themed gifts in backpacks this year, and this book went perfectly with my Marcos' gifts.  If you search "Kids' engineering books in Spanish" on Amazon, there are many others like this.  I recommend for ages 10+.

Peter Pan & Wendy: This is a bit of a random suggestion.  I really only chose it because I sponsor a girl named Wendy and thought she would love to see her name in a fairy tale.  I loved Peter Pan when I was younger, so I bet others would like it too.  I haven't read this specific version to know what age range it is good for, but I liked it around ages 9-11.

Manna 4 Lempira Backpacks 2018

Sponsoring a child with Manna 4 Lempira means not only sending letters and financial support to be a tangible reminder of the love of God in a child's life, but also getting the chance to send a backpack filled with school supplies and gifts every year to encourage their God-given potential through education and the simple joys of childhood.  I love watching my sponsored children learn of the possibilities that they have as children of the King.

I intended to make a full backpack packing guide showing every single item for each of my 11 backpacks like last year.  I really did.  The lighting in my house wasn't cooperating, I kept changing my mind about which items went to who; and honestly, my heart was just more excited about choosing and praying over the gifts than I was about photographing them this time around.  More than anything, I want to glorify God.  So, I followed this prompting.  I did still want to share my excitement and share ideas with others who are packing; so I took a few pictures of my favorite items grouped together and wrote out the best tips that I've learned over the past year.  Feel free to contact me if you would like to know where to purchase anything in this post.

For starters, each of my backpacks contain the required items: 8 one-subject notebooks (I did 2 composition and 6 spiral; but any combination is allowed), 20 pencils, 10 pens (only required for older children), 2 packs of crayons or colored pencils, 1 sharpener, 1 ruler, 1 pair of scissors, 2 glue sticks, extra erasers, 2 tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, a wash cloth, a hair brush or comb, and deodorant (only required for older children.)  I also chose to include knee socks and under shirts for their school uniforms, photos from our last visit, and a bible marking kit in each backpack.  You can view the contents of the bible marking kits here.

Aside from the items that go in every bag, my goal was to be sure each child got at least one toy, one craft, and one book or learn-to-read activity.  Most of them ended up with more than this.

Out of all of the gifts in my backpacks this year, I was most excited about the bibles.  Two of my 12 year old girls, Wendy and Estefani, recently expressed desires to have their own bibles.  Estefani has been borrowing one from a friend and loves to read it with her family.  Wendy shares a bible with her sister and often uses it to preach in the children's services at church.  I am sending them each a pretty pink leather bound bible, as well as a bible for Estefani's brother, Marcio.  Manna 4 Lempira does provide each child with a paperback bible.  However, Wendy joined the program after the most recent distribution.  Estefani and Marcio are not part of the program.  I previously sponsored Estefani through another organization that shut down; and we now keep in touch independently.  The Manna 4 Lempira team lives close enough to deliver things to her.

Aside from the bibles, the books I chose were primarily engineering themed.  I love to get the kids excited about different career opportunities for the future and show them all the things they can do.  For this reason, most of my older girls are getting the new American Girl book about a little girl who dreams of being an astronaut.  My boys, Marcio and Marcos, are getting books about the history of engineering and technology.  I'm also sending some career and futuristic themed gifts- including an engineering Lego set, a plane building kit, plastic glow stars to hang in their bedrooms, and lip balm shaped like robots.

The other books I'm sending are A Young Woman After God's Own Heart for some of my teen girls (which has journaling questions at the end of each chapter), A Young Woman's Guide to Discovering Her Bible for my girls who are getting new bibles, The Jesus Storybook Bible for 8 year old Amy, and What Happens When I Talk to God? for 10 year old Ashley.  Amy is also getting some bilingual puzzles and a word search of her favorite cartoon character.  During our recent visit, Amy asked me to teach her English words.  The word search is in English- and I wrote the Spanish words below.  The few children who cannot read are getting Spanish flash cards.  I also highly recommend this Spanish picture dictionary that teaches how each letter sounds by showing words that start with that letter.  I sent these last year.  The few other books shown here (Kira-Kira and Peter Pan) didn't make it in due to space and will be saved for next year.

For toys, my newest girls, Wendy and Ashley, will be receiving their very first dolls.  I found this Hearts 4 Hearts doll on clearance at Target for Wendy, and it is the perfect size for a backpack.  Ashley's doll isn't shown here because I sponsored her after taking the picture, but it is the same size.  Amy, who has already received a bigger doll, is getting a plush mermaid doll that matches her backpack.  All of my other children, ranging from ages 8-16, have already gotten dolls and stuffed animals in previous years.  This year, they will be getting outdoor toys such as jump ropes, jacks, soccer balls, and footballs.  For crafts, I chose coloring books for most of the kids.  You can find regular coloring books at most dollar stores.  I also found some more challenging Lisa Frank coloring books for my older girls, and fashion design books for a few.  This one even matches Ashley's doll.  I added some scented markers and gel pens for my Carmen, who loves to decorate her letters.  The kids who are getting smaller toys are getting bigger craft kits- beads, nail design sets, and Fashion Plates.  My hope is that these gifts will both keep them entertained long term and teach them new skills.

Some necessities I packed as needed include water bottles, cups, utensils, solar lanterns, clothing, and shoes.   The water bottle and lantern were important for me to pack for my Carmen after seeing the crazy long hike to her house, which seems like it would be near impossible in the dark.  Cups and utensils were also something she listed as a need in her household.  Plastic shoes like Crocs or jelly shoes are helpful for wet weather and crossing streams.  And clothing just seems like a constant need.  My 14 year old told me that her favorite gift in last year's backpack was a dress.  The tennis shoes shown here didn't end up making it into the bag due to space, so they were donated to be used for a child who doesn't have a sponsor.  I have had a few children tell me they need tennis shoes to be able to play with their soccer balls.

My favorite part by far was praying over each item and how it would impact each specific child as I packed.  I still plan to add some charm bracelets and hair accessories that I pick up at the beach this summer; but everything else is complete.  Comment below and share what you are packing!