A simple family picnic becomes an opportunity to care and explore God's world and His Word. I like the flow of the story and how the author puts Scriptures and names of plants, animals and places all over the book. The artwork is well done and you'll feel that you're having that hike too with the family.

BLUF: Absolutely amazing book for conversations about Scripture, good stewardship of the Earth, care while in the back country and more!

Overall: 5🌟
Lesson: 5📍
Illustrations: 5 🖌️

Mom's Review:
I just loved how much was packed into this wonderful story. Great scripture with respect to our planet, animals we didn't know, plants, and so much more. The girls and I had a few great sidebars from the verses listed, animals, named, etc.

The while story reminded me of the lovely summer hikes I used to go in with my grandmother - I'd complain to high heaven that I had to wake up so early but I absolutely CHERISH those memories and lessons learned now.

"A's" Review
Bees and flowers are two of my favorite things! You can't have one within the other so ANY book about nature, plants, animals and God is a book I'm going to love! And I could read it all by myself!

"C's" Review
There were so many animals for me to find! I really liked the way the words "sounded when Mommy and "A" read them" (the author used a ton of beautiful, descriptors for the story!)

Dad's Review
(Pending)

(Full Traveling Book Family reviews to come!)

A genuinely giant thank you to Sandra L. Ritcher, InterVarsity Press Kids, & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful story! We're so grateful and can't wait to re-read it!

All reviews are our own.

A - reading above grade level, enjoys chapter books
C - knows letters, memorized stories very well

This Book is a Must for Ages 4-8 and Young Readers-

This first person account of Abigail, as she and her family hike through the forest every “first Saturday”, is immediately endearing. We go along with them on their journey, traveling to “their” pond and waterfall. Along the way, there are explanations and descriptions of animals with dialogue about God’s intent for His creation. Common names for some of the animals and foliage are included within the pages, along with a couple of definitions of terms.

Some general topics include:
-enjoying and taking care of the earth
-the earth as a gift from God
-Bible verses about creation
All of which build the foundation for the book and what it promotes.

The Author’s Note provides practical ways to care for God’s good earth with a “Did you know” text box of concise information about waterfalls.

The illustrations are beautifully muted and magical with watercolor tones that are perfect for this text about God’s creation.

I received this book from the author/publisher free of charge, with no expectation of a positive review.

PLEASE NOTE: Thank you InterVarsity Press for providing this advanced copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Such a sweet Christian picture book! From the adorable drawings to the sweet story and the important message behind the story, I was completely on-board with this book. The cover alone sold me, but the story inside... ahh, it was just too cute for words! What a wholesome little picture book for Christian families to read and enjoy together!

I loved seeing a healthy little family in this story as they went about on their adventures, discovering the beauty of God's nature, and also realizing their responsibility to care for it. I honestly think that is such an important message to be sharing with younger generations, and I was so pleased to see that in this story.

Another small note-- I loved how we explored the animals who live in God's nature, as well as including their names so kids can research them on their own, if they want to. And the author's note with manageable steps that kids can take to be good stewards of God's creation... it was just so good!

No content at all for this story, so I can recommend it without hesitation for any Christian kid-- but especially any kids who are interested in wildlife or animals, because that was definitely at the front of this story. I think that this story would add a sweet, clean, and hopeful addition to any picture book collection, however.

So, yes. Please check this one out. I was very pleased with what I found within the pages of this adorable book.

EMOJI REVIEW!

🧸 picture book for children
⛪ great faith content
😍 adorable illustrations throughout
🌎 taking care of our Earth
🦋 lots of animals to be discovered!

I don't know if it was my copy of the book but the text was challenging to read in front of the background of the illustrations. The font may have been the problem so I had a challenging time getting into the story and connect with the details of the narrative. This is about getting out into nature, created by God. There were a lot of bible passages interwoven with the story.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Abigail’s favorite day is the first Saturday of each month because she and her family go hiking to their special place then. Their special place is a beautiful river with a waterfall. Along the way there and at the river her parents reach them about different animals and plants and explain why God put them there and why we always need to take care of them so they can remain and be healthy. Great way to raise responsible kids who love and respect God’s gifts to us.

I really enjoyed reading this book to my daughter! It has some great information on taking care of the earth in an easy way for kids to understand. I love the illustrations and added words to tell what different creatures and plants are as you travel with the little girl to and from the waterfall. The scripture references are relevant to the story and text. At the back, there is information on the back to help guide parents and teachers to ways that kids can take care of their place on earth too. I would definitely recommend this book to help teach kids about the earth and how to care for it.

This is a cute little book about apprecating nature while hiking. With a Christian foundation, this book focuses on gratitude and enjoyment of nature and thanking God for it. Beautiful pictures. A sweet message.

This book was so sweet, and I loved it! Abigail and her family have an adventure day in their favorite place. She and her brother learn about the animals and plants and how to take care of the world God has created for us to enjoy and care for. I loved the labels on the animals they saw along with the Bible verses on the bottom every few pages. I highly recommend this one! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

This picture book is about a little girl who loves to go on hikes. The story follows her throughout her day as she experiences nature with her family and learns new things. The book includes Bible verses and Christian messages about God's care for the earth, and about how we should respect and care for the earth, too. The illustrations are very nice. There isn't much of a story here, and the book is very didactic, but it will appeal to Christian families who want to teach their kids about environmental concerns from a biblical perspective.

Abigail and the Waterfall is an adorable story about a family's monthly hike that includes lessons on the responsibility of being a good steward of God's beautiful world and how to care for and protect our environment. I found the illustrations beautiful and realistic and enjoyed the identification of the insects and critters on the pages! The tips in the end of the book about how to become a more earth-friendly family were also a nice touch.

A beautiful book with a simple story and lovely illustrations. It teaches children about the beauty of creation, the lovely trees, animals, waterfalls, and how to keep them the way they are meant to be.

Thanks to NetGalley and InterVarsity Press for the ARC of this one. Although I am not religious, I did enjoy how this was one written. The pictures were done beautifully.

A story about a girl and her family's hike to the waterfall, this religiously oriented book includes lots of scriptural references and is illustrated with visual contrasts that help to tell their story. The illustrations take unique perspectives on the scene, as if seen from a child's-eye view, and include labels of different animals shown in the pictures.

This book encourages respect for nature and animals, as all are God's creations, and captures the joy that can be had spending time as a family for the day out in nature, examining what there is to find, and noticing all the small and interesting there is to be found on hikes or nature walk. It's an excellent book for nature-loving families with young children to have in their home library.

Every First Saturday Will Never Be the Same!

Abigail and the Waterfall is a stunning and soul-stirring celebration of God’s creation 🌎 and our responsibility to care for it 🌱. Every first Saturday of the month, I’ll remember this book—it’s that impactful 💚. Sandra L. Richter beautifully captures the essence of stewardship, family, and faith in a way that speaks to both adults and children alike 🙌🏽👨‍👩‍👧‍👦.

Each page is a visual delight 🎨, with vibrant illustrations that bring the natural world to life 🐛🦋🌳. I especially loved the inclusion of scripture 📜 and the names of bugs and creatures 🐜🦎—it made the experience interactive and educational for me and my kiddos 🧠💡.

This book also gently reinforces the importance of family ❤️ and the sacred duty parents have in raising their children to honor God, others, and the Earth 🙏🏽. The closing note from Sandra is powerful and practical—a meaningful call to action 🔄 for parents to lead by example and nurture a healthy rhythm of stewardship in the next generation 🌟.

Abigail and the Waterfall is more than a story—it’s an invitation to love God’s good Earth, together 🌺🌄.

Thank you NetGalley and InterVarsity Press for making this book available for review…can’t wait to add to our library 🥰

A very good book that blends smoothly environmental and religious themes. The language is easy to understand and not pretentious, the way God is mentioned fits perfectly in this whole protect and respect nature theme that is always going on in the book. It has a lot of beautiful messages for kids like how everything is reminder of God, importance of family and bonding time, environmental protection, explained in a very kid friendly way.

The illustrations are beautiful, with beautiful colors and a lot of details.

Sweet picture book about caring for creation. Very simple concepts, cute illustrations and scripture woven throughout. We loved how the names of the different creatures were listed on each page!

What a stunning and informative story book, I loved it. The author spoke through Abigail; she made it simple enough for children to understand, but not too simple that it made you feel stupid. The book makes you mindful about what you're doing/how you do things when you're out and about, with scripture woven through it. The illustrations are stunning! Would highly recommend this book.

This book combined to of my loves God and hiking. Abigail and the Waterfall was a nice and easy read with various subtle messages about stewardship of the land and God. I wish it had been a little longer. I enjoyed that most of the animals listed are not ones commonly found in children's book, thus exposing children to the importance of alllll sorts of animals and critters. The illustrations matched up nicely with the story. I received an eARC from InterVarsity Press through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

THIS IS SO GREAT! I love the graphics, and I ADORE the sweet message. Combining the ideas of family time, environmental responsibility, nature, hiking, and God’s creation is the perfect blend! I would LOVE to see more of these. So, so good!