I loved the meaning of this story (a retelling of Jesus' parables from the Bible) and the art style. An important message for kids that every one of us counts and are important.

Who Counts is a creative retelling of three of Jesus' most popular parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. I will be honest and admit that I haven't read the bible and although I did study religious education when I was at school this was something we didn't learn so even as an adult I have learnt from this book - 4 stars from me, easy to follow and understand and a good way of teaching these stories.

Jesus loved a good story, and he realized its ability to teach truths to his listeners in a way they could understand. In this book, Jesus' parable about the mustard seed, and what wonderful things we can do with even a tiny bit of faith, comes to life. What does this tiny seed, which grows up to be a marvelous tree, have to teach us about the potential of things? I told you, a good way to have some rich discussion about spiritual things.

Not only have I found a beautifully illustrated companion to three parables, I've seen the beautiful connection between them in this retelling. Not only does this book identify the importance of Jesus' parables (without making a direct reference to God or Jesus) it demonstrates the importance of looking at the parables together and not in isolation.

This is a sweet picture book that, through the retelling of biblical parables (e.g., the prodigal son), can encourage young children to learn how to count, love, and forgive. The easy to read text is clear and the story flows smoothly from the beginning to the end of each of the three parables. Also, the illustrations are colorful and go perfectly with the stories told in this book, which is sure to capture the attention of children.

I recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in preschool through second grade.

This book is a fun re-telling of three parables- the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. It contains both Biblical and educational content. It was fun to count with my 4 year old, and he loved the interaction with the story.
However, I was a little disappointed that the story of the prodigal son has a slightly different ending than the Biblical version. I would have liked this book better if it that part of the story was more accurate to the Biblical parable.
It is not easy to interpret the meaning of the stories and I also would have liked the book better if there was a kid-friendly interpretation at the end to finish the stories. There is a note to parents and teachers at the end, but I would not necessarily consider it helpful.
*I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Creative way to share three parables with kids. Fun and entertaining to read and share with kids. Great illistrations add to the story! Would recommend!

This is a GREAT book. I read this to my daughter, and she loved it. The book contained great artwork, and it was a great story. :)

Can a book repeat the same story 3 times. Yes it can. You count, it doesn’t come out right. Then go looking for the lost thing and throw a party when it’s found. The last story about a man and is two sons is the worst. I know this is a religious parable (because it’s explained at the end), but ughhhhh. No thank you.

By Amy-Jill Levine, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Who Counts? is a series of three biblical parables connected together by people counting, missing “one” and then finding it again. The first parable is about the one lost sheep and the shepherd who goes to look for his sheep, and finds her. The second parable is about the woman who loses one coin and finds it again. The third parable is about the son who leaves his father and returns again. The transitions between each parable are seamless. All three parables are found in Luke 15.
The parables are really adapted and modernized for children so the text is simple and are loosely based on the biblical passages. I found it a bit of a challenge to accept the modernization of the parables myself since I personally don’t like to stray too much from the text of Scripture. I can see though what the authors were trying to do in helping children understand the context of the biblical principle being taught.
The illustrations are beautifully done and it’s fun to look for the clues of where the lost item is (i.e. you see the coin on each page while the woman is looking for it, and the sheep bleats while the man is looking for her).
A note to parents and questions to ask as you read is included on the back page of the book. The note includes various interpretations of the biblical parables and the authors’ intention in retelling the three parables for children.

This title contains three stories that tie together. The first focuses on a man who has lost one sheep but searches for her realizing the importance of each one. The second focuses on a woman who has lost a coin and searches for it realizing that all have value. The third is about a man who overlooks one son who is reliable and works hard while he rewards his younger son who is wasteful.

Based on biblical teachings, I think the first two stories do an adequate job of presenting the lessons we want our children to learn about the importance and value of each individual. The third story seems like a fail to me. Too much time was spent focusing on the younger child and too little time was spent focusing on the lesson.

While the wording is simple for a child to follow, I'm not sure my children would learn the lessons I want them to from reading this title. For that reason it's a pass. I will say that the illustrations were the high point, and I'll add a star for that. They truly are wonderful.

Story - 2 Star
Illustrations - 4 Star

This is really three stories together with one leading into the next. The first story is about a man with 100 hundred and when he counts them one day 1 is missing. He leaves his flock to find the one missing sheep and then throws a party. This leads to story two about a lady who has 10 drachma and one day discovers that 1 is missing. She cleans and tidies her house until the missing coin is found. Story three is about a man with two sons. He divides his fortune evenly between them before 1 son works hard throughout the time while the other spends lavishly and returns penniless. The man then throws the younger son a party but realises the older son is missing.

When I first started reading this one I didn't actually know it was based on biblical teachings but having been raised in a very religious household even I spotted the bible stories. If you are looking for an easy way to retell the stories to your children in an easy to understand way - this book may be your thing - but for me I still even now take issue with what the stories are supposed to teach.

just gives him stuff. To me this story always sent the wrong message - he doesn't earn anything - would he truly have learnt his lesson?

If you look at these from a religious perspective it is highly likely you may interpret the stories very differently from me but I just can't get past the point that this is simply worded - very accessible for children - but what would a child take away from it? To look for what is lost? Or be rewarded for...wandering off or wasting money?