Veggie Town Voyage by Cindy Kenney Book Review

Beloved VeggieTales Characters Enrich Young Readers with Their Own Spin on Three Classics in a New Collection

My review:
Veggie Town Voyage is a group of adventure stories with strong Biblical values and lots of humor.  If your kids love Veggie Tales, they will love these 3 stories- Lost in Place, Cool Hand Cuke, and Ben Hurry all told with a little help from a little help from Mr. O'Malley from the the Treasure Trove Bookstore.  Junior Asparagus learns some important lessons about fear (or not to be afraid), hard work, and patience.  Your kids will love the time travel segment and the wacky fun that Junior experiences all rolled up into a 3 stories in one book.  Have fun!

Junior Asparagus, Laura Carrot, and many other VeggieTales characters return with three popular adventure-filled stories by Cindy Kenney packed into one colorful new book, VEGGIETOWN VOYAGE (Zonderkidz; $7.99; February 2013).

With an added emphasis on strong Christian values, the stories recall a classic television show (Lost in Space) and two iconic movies, (Cool Hand Luke and Ben-Hur), with each told in child-friendly text. 

Originally published in 2005, Lost in Place offers a lesson in overcoming fear. Junior wanders into the Treasure Trove Bookstore after being frightened during a game of Hide and Seek. The owner, Mr. O’Malley, eases the youngster’s anxiety by offering a new adventure book. Suddenly, Junior finds himself soaring through space on the Jitterbug 2 with the Rattleson family, who are trying to find their way back home to Earth. While Junior is fearful of being in unfamiliar territory, he learns that he’s never really lost with God on his side.

The 2009 book Cool Hand Cuke teaches children a lesson in hard work. After quitting his job at the House of Peanut Butter, Junior decides that working for a living isn’t making him rich. But, when he visits the book store that evening, Mr. O’Malley suggests a book about farm workers. After seeing how farm hands Hot Hand Tomato and Cool Hand Cuke donate all of their earnings to the local hospital, Junior discovers that friendship, giving to the less fortunate, and a day of meaningful work is worth more than money.

First published in 2006, Ben Hurry contains a lesson for children on the virtues of patience. When traffic spoils their trip to Lobster-Land Theme Park, a disappointed Junior and Laura take yet another trip to their favorite bookstore. This time, their reading lands them on the deck of a ship where they meet a Roman pea named Ben Hurry. Ben’s in a rush to get to the Monster Chariot Show in Rome, but as he shouts at his crew to pick up speed, he puts all of them in danger. When the ship crashes into a line of boats, Junior, Laura, and even Ben, learn that patience is a gift from God.

A perfect grab-and-go book for families, the vibrant cast of lovable characters come to life through playful illustrations offering young readers hours of lessons and fun-filled adventures.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cindy Kenney is an award-winning author, editor, international speaker, and seminar leader. She’s received the 2005 Editor of the Year award from the Christian Writers Association, the 2004 Gold Medallion for The Mess Detectives, and a Gold Medallion nomination for God Loves You Very Much. Cindy's VeggieTales Bible Storybook was selected as one of the top five children's books by the Christian Booksellers Convention in 2006. Cindy resides in the Chicago area with her husband and two sons. www.kenneycreative.com

ABOUT BIG IDEA BOOKS/VEGGIETALES: Big Idea Entertainment is the leading faith-based studio and producer of children's and family programming, characters and brands. Since 1993, Big Idea's bestselling animated series, VeggieTales, has sold 53+ million videos, 13 million books and more than 7 million CDs. VeggieTales and Big Idea's property, 3-2-1 Penguins!, enjoyed four seasons as the top-rated series on NBC Saturday mornings, Telemundo and ION TV via the qubo® children's programming block. The studio's two theatrical releases, Jonah—A VeggieTales Movie (2002) and Universal Pictures' and Big Idea's The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything—A VeggieTales Movie (2008), are distinguished among the top ten most successful faith-based films of all time. Big Idea also maintains an extensive presence in publishing, licensing and live entertainment arenas. veggietales.com

Zonderkidz™, a division of Zondervan, inspires young lives through imagination and innovation. As the leader in Christian children's communications, it produces bestselling and award-winning Bibles, books, board books, graphic novels, audio, video and digital products that awaken the hearts and touch the souls of kids under 16 and the people who love them, from family members to educators. Zonderkidz is the publisher of the NIrV (New International Reader’s Version) Bible translation, the third-grade reading level edition of the NIV that is ideal for children and those who speak English as a second language. Visit Zonderkidz on the Internet at www.zonderkidz.com.