Who am I and why do I matter?

Who Am I and Why Do I Matter? Chris Morphew (Good Book Company, 2022)

If you spend time with nine-to-thirteen-year-olds, you know they are asking big questions. Sure, they may not actually verbalise them—but there is a lot they are thinking about: Am I loved? Do I matter? Who can I trust? Does the world make sense?

Although, let’s be honest, these are questions we all ask. That’s why Chris Morphew’s Who Am I and Why Do I Matter? is so helpful.

Morphew dives right in, acknowledging his readers have valid queries and important things to ponder. While aimed at tweens, this could also be appealing to older teenagers, and helpful for parents and youth group leaders. I certainly appreciated it.

He begins by considering the usual ways people try to answer these questions:

• Perhaps I matter because of what I have, or how I look, or what I do;
• Maybe I just need to be true to myself and do what makes me happy; or
• I should just listen to what others say about me.

Without being remotely condescending, he then clearly exposes the faults in each of these myths. The reader is led to wonder where they might go for answers:

[W]hat we really need is something bigger than ourselves, bigger than people, to lead us and guide us. Which brings us to God. (38)

From here, Morphew winsomely explains the gospel message—God loves us personally:

God doesn’t just say people matter.
He says you matter.

God doesn’t just love people.
He loves you.

God doesn’t just invite people into his incredible, glorious purpose and plan for the world.
He invites you.” (49)

Whether we think we’re pretty good, or we despair at the ways we mess up, Jesus came to die for us: “Without Jesus, everyone is lost. But with Jesus, anyone can be found.” (58)

Morphew explicitly names the challenges young people face today and provides the clear solution in Jesus:

The world is full of voices telling you who you are, and who you should be.
Voices telling you that you don’t measure up.
Voices telling you that you need to prove yourself.
Voices telling you that if you just buy this new thing, or have this new experience, or … maybe then it will all make sense, and you can finally be that happy, fulfilled self that the world keeps promising you.

And it’s exhausting, right?
And, more than that, it’s a lie.

But the incredible news is that Jesus offers you a better way. (65-66)

The remainder of the book considers what it looks like practically to believe in Jesus, to trust him, and to let him shape you. Morphew discusses forming good habits, reading God’s word, and resting. As he does so, Morphew manages to balance honesty with humour, and challenging words with comforting truths. Rather than talking down to his audience, he openly addresses questions, and is frank about some of the challenges of following Jesus. He has a clear desire for his reader to know Jesus—to grasp they have purpose and value because they are loved and precious to him. Readers will sense he actually cares.

Morphew is an Australian author and chaplain, and clearly understands tweens. Perhaps an extra drawcard for younger readers is Morphew authored some of the Zac Power books. It is probably pitched more at the upper end of the nine-to-thirteen-year-old age group, because of the vocabulary and comments about social media. Or maybe it’s just that I hold out hope that under 12s aren’t on social media platforms. Who Am I and Why Do I Matter? is one of four in a “Big Questions” series. I am now keen to read the others.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Review first published on TGCA. 

Radically Different: A Student’s Guide to Community

Radically Different: A Student’s Guide to Community, Champ Thornton

This 13 week program by Champ Thornton is a guide for middle schoolers and young teens as they consider what it means to live as Christians in community and in their relationships.

Helpfully, Thornton starts with the big picture. Week one starts with considering God and who he is. The next three weeks further explain the structure of the rest of the book, looking at creation, the fall and redemption (which he terms, the good, the bad and the new). The following nine weeks look at different topic areas, all applying the lens of good, bad, new to each. These include their relationship with God under the headings of listening to God (in his word), talking to God (prayer), and worshipping God. Then it turns to earthly relationships with parents, friends, family, and church as well as difficult and broken relationships.

It is intended to be discussed as a group with a leader, but to have the youth prepare in advance. There are three short studies provided for the student each week (probably each 10 mins maximum), and there are also leader’s notes for further discussion and how to use the time spent together. As such, it would be a great resource for a Sunday School program for about 10-13 year olds. The diagrams and illustrations are probably a bit young for kids older than 13, but the concepts could be extended to promote in depth discussion across that age range as appropriate. In our Australian context, I’d be thinking a Year 5-8 group would be about the right age range.

It’s not the type of material that our kids have generally used in their programs at church, but I can see the benefit and would recommend it to groups considering options with this age range.

I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Girl Wise

Girl Wise, Sharon Witt

I find myself on the lookout for resources for my kids addressing the various stages they are up to, and so discovered the Girl Wise series by Sharon Witt. She’s an Australian author and speaker who regularly addresses the issues of childhood and adolescence. She has four books for girls aged about 7-12:

• A girl’s guide to friends
• A guide to being YOU!
• A girl’s guide to life
• A guide to taking care of your body

With pretty fonts, illustrations and graphics, they are likely to appeal to numerous girls as they give advice on various topics. They are full of quotes and stories from real girls, and so read very naturally. In fact, the entire look of them means they are more likely to appeal to more ‘girly’ girls, being in pastel colours with twirly fonts. Having read all four, there are two I would prefer to recommend, the one on friends and the one on caring for your body.

It’s worth clarifying that I started these books expecting them to be Christian, as I bought them in a Christian bookstore. They are theistic and mention God at points, there are some bible references, and occasional suggestions to pray to God. But they aren’t really Christian, because Jesus Christ is never mentioned.  In some ways, they echo the mindset of moral therapeutic deism (a term recently used in regard to young adults (see here and here). Once I realised I couldn’t expect them to provide Christian teaching, then I was able to read them in a different frame of mind, with different expectations.

A girl’s guide to friends is a helpful manual for girls navigating the tricky reality of primary school friendships. There is helpful advice on how to make a new friend (smile, make eye contact, ask questions, be yourself). There are definitions of what makes a good friend (friendly, kind, trustworthy, respectful, etc) and tips for keeping friendships healthy. There’s a section on bullying but also about the reality of normal conflict with friends and how to talk through problems with each other. There are tips for things to do together, and ways to care for a friend who is sick, grieving or away for a while. All helpful stuff and it would be very useful for many girls in the Year 2-6 age range.  One thing I would have liked to see was a mention of being friends with boys, and that it’s normal to have boys as friends, and just friends.


A guide to taking care of your body was instructive and informative and probably provides information that they may not have to date. The details about various body systems helps girls to understand the way their bodies work, and why it’s important to keep everything working well. The instructions on eating well, getting enough sleep and taking care of your teeth and hair are all practical, as is the beginning of the discussion on some body changes that will happen. I would have liked to see some encouragement to cleaning your body well (good bathing habits) and perhaps the need to start considering deodorant.

All in all, these books offer helpful advice to younger girls. There is an encouragement to see they are special, and they can be happy to be who they are. Christian parents will want to extend the teaching and point out that yes, it is true that God made you special, you are unique and he loves you; and then temper it with reality that we are also sinful, and our hearts have turned away from God, and we can only live in a way that pleases him because of his grace, not because of who we are or what we do. You are special because you are God's child.

They will suit many girls aged about 7-10, and some older ones as well. Because they are Australian means they read quite naturally for our audience and that is often appealing. They could make good gifts too, particularly if you are looking for a positive message, but one that’s not too faith specific.

The Radical Book for Kids

The Radical Book for Kids, Champ Thornton

Your child has a birthday coming up and you want to give them a Christian book. But what? They’ve got all the good kid’s bibles, or have grown out of them. They’ve read (or aren’t interested in) biographies for their age group. They’ve exhausted the kids’ fiction section (or the ones you think are ok). They’ve dabbled in some church history, and tried some apologetics for kids. What next?

This new offering by Champ Thornton, may just be what you are looking for. The Radical Book for Kids: Exploring the Roots and Shoots of Faith doesn’t fit any clear category – and as such, it hits a whole lot of them. Overall subject themes include:

• knowing God
• history
• faith questions
• living like Jesus
• understanding the bible
• fun facts, info and skills to learn.

All of them are mixed up throughout 67 chapters, so you might read about how to understand the Bible, then details about some names of God, accounts of men or women who gave their lives for Christ, and then how to make your own sling.



I think the fact that there is no clear order will appeal to numerous children. It will keep them interested as to what’s coming next and they can easily flip around to find things that appeal.

• For the historian, there are details about ancient weapons, what church was like for the early Christians, and details of men and women who have faithfully served the Lord.
• For the numbers fan, there are explanations of money in the bible and the length of the journeys in Acts (with a table to figure out how long it took to walk places)
• For the letters fan, there is an explanation of how the epistles travelled, and details of the Greek and Hebrew alphabets and key words in Latin.
• For those asking questions about the bible, and the truth of its claims – there is information about the historicity of the bible, the differences between the gospels, and how to understand different writing in the bible. There are chapters about what God is like, and general & special revelation.
• For those wanting to know how to live for Jesus, chapters address how to make good decisions, how to apply wisdom, what it means to obey your parents as well as acknowledging parents aren’t perfect, and how to read the bible daily and how to pray.
• And then there are random things like information about jewels and animals in the bible, the meaning of the Jewish holidays, how to memorise things, and how to make a catapult.

You can see how the appeal could be very broad. It’s marketed at children aged 8-14 and I think many in these age brackets will enjoy it and keep returning to re-read sections. The colourful illustrations, diagrams, maps and charts are all engaging and assist the reader in their understanding. It’s also beautifully produced, with highly quality printing and a great embossed cover.



With all the variety on offer, there are bound to be a few things though you disagree with. Mine included:

• While the explanations of faith, the bible and living for Jesus chapters were mostly excellent, it was the ‘extra’ type stuff that I had most issue with. For example, I could not understand why there was a chapter on how to clean your room. And chapters on things like manners could have been much better applied, rather than reading like a list of rules, it could have been more about how God wants you to live.
• There were times where the bible verses linked were a real stretch. In particular, the chapter on fun and games in bible times was unwisely referenced, including chariot races in Phil 3:13-14, running races in 1 Cor 9:24, and going on walks in Psalm 23. A stretch at best, and inaccurate hermeneutics at worst.
• I would have liked to see some suggestions for responsive prayer in numerous chapters, to help the reader learn how to come to God in praise, thanksgiving, confession or request based on the material covered.

What are its particular strengths?

As you can see from the descriptions above, Thornton presents biblical material and matters of faith in a fun, different and digestible way for kids. The approach is based around topics and questions, so it will helpful both for children who know their bibles well, but may not have linked it together thematically; and it will also appeal to those who want more facts and details about the bible accounts, enabling further explanation and a different angle of understanding.

The explanations of faith and the bible are very good. Kids will be drawn in with language that is appropriate to their lives, but doesn’t dumb things down. The challenges of life are recognised. The questions that we all ask are openly acknowledged. Simplistic answers aren’t given, but the reader is given the truth from the words of God.

Add The Radical Books for Kids to your gift list and the kids in your life will likely learn a lot about the bible, find an explanations for questions they didn’t even know they had, and they might just surprise you with some fun facts along the way too.

Growing Up By the Book

Growing Up By The Book, Patricia Weerakoon

I have previously reviewed Patricia Weerakoon’s The Best Sex for Life, and alluded to her book for teenagers in a series on teaching children about the facts of life.  In that series I talked about 2 books we have read with our kids in the pre-teen stage (What’s the Big Deal? and Facing the Facts).

Now Weerakoon has released a book on puberty available for pre-teen children, Growing Up By the Book, and it is an excellent addition to other resources in this area. I read it in almost one sitting, and found it to be very good, very detailed and very strong on God’s word.

It is divided into 2 parts, the first of which has 4 chapters covering:

• God’s word on sex
• Your body different and special – this provides detailed information on external physical changes that occur in puberty
• Your brain – how it changes and forms over this time
• Knowing who and whose you are – here she looks at what the world will tell you vs what God says.

These are all really helpful.

Part 2 is an A-Z of issues and questions. It’s quite detailed on everything kids this age might ask, and some things they might not have heard about yet. She provides clear, honest, age-appropriate information. I think many parents shy away from being too honest and open in this area, but we all know that kids will ask Google to answer their questions if we don’t, so we need to be pro-active!

The book’s structure is aimed entirely at getting parents and kids talking about these topics. So in every section there is an “Ask Mum or Dad” box, to which they are supposed to come and ask you questions and get your opinion, or talk about your memories, experiences, etc. As such, parents have to read it before they give it to their kids, so they can readily, openly and willingly talk about anything that comes up. She also has clear “Think Spot” sections as well as “Alert” sections to raise issues of potential concern.

While aimed at age 10-14, when you would choose to give it to your children could depend entirely on where they are on the ‘puberty spectrum’. She covers 5 stages of physical signs for both boys and girls, all of which you would want them to be aware of before any changes start, or at least as they are starting. So while all kids 12 and over are probably ready for it, and perhaps should have this information now; some 10 years olds are clearly a little way off any changes starting, while other 10 year olds are getting well under way.

This is a great resource, and while it’s a lot more open and frank than anything my generation was ever given to read on this topic, it meets the needs of today’s youth clearly and helps them to think about how to live as God’s children in the light, while living in the reality of the 21st century world.