Review of Reins of Love by Laurie Salisbury

As a Christian parent, I want nothing more than my kids to follow Jesus. I want him to reign in their heart. I want them to listen to him and do what he says. I hope to teach and model following Christ.

I read to my kids every day. I want them to develop a love for reading. I also want to use the books they read as a teaching tool. Not all books will teach values I want them to learn. When they don’t I want to discuss the values with them so that they think about what is being presented. When they do teach good values, I also want to discuss the lessons with them.

Reins of Love by Laurie Salisbury does teach values I want my kids to learn. It teaches showing kindness to people even if you don’t like them at first. It teaches patience when you don’t get what you want. It teaches listening to God and doing what he asks. I applaud these lessons and books like this that teach them.

Reins of Love is a simple and cute story. It is about the lessons to twins learn after the family moves out of the city to the country. The girl, Beth, receives a horse as a gift and her twin brother, Ben, receives a pony. Beth must learn to deal with a trainer she doesn’t like. Ben must learn to accept not getting what he wants. Both learn to listen to God and be examples of love to others. The gospel is presented in the story.

Reading it, I found myself laughing and smiling at times. It had its warm and touching moments. Children may find it a bit preaching at times, but the twins do provide good models of behavior. The twins make sincere efforts to change attitudes and behavior through prayer and relying on God.

I would recommend reading the book with your child and discussing it as you do. It could be a wonderful springboard to discussion how the whole family could better follow Jesus.