God Made Boys and Girls helps children understand that their gender is a gift from the God who made them and loves them. The story begins as the girls and boys at Grace Christian School are discussing if boys will always be boys and girls will always be girls.
Their teacher explains that God gives each of us the gift of being male or female before we are born, and that you continue to be a boy or a girl whether you like to climb trees or play house, play tag or color pictures, cause a ruckus or sit quietly.
In a world where there is so much confusion about gender and identity, pastor and best-selling author Marty Machowski shares the simple, clear truth that all of us are made in God’s image as either male or female—and what God made is very good!
Included in the back of the book is a special section just for parents and caregivers that gives biblical guidance and help as they have this important conversation with their children.
AUTHOR
Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for over thirty years. He is the author of The Gospel Story Bible, Long Story Short, Old Story New, the Gospel Story Curriculum, the Prepare Him Room advent devotional and curriculum, Wise Up family devotional and curriculum, Listen Up family devotional and curriculum, Dragon Seed, and The Ology. He and his wife, Lois, have six children and two grandchildren, and they reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
"Are you watching the culture's rapid departure from biblical principles and wondering how to address these sensitive issues with your precious children? Marty Machowski has provided a timely resource to help you in that crucial task, his new book takes a gentle and scriptural look at what God's Word tells us about his design for the two genders. This volume offers parents a terrific way to initiate important discussions with their kids."
Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family
"This helpful book hits all the crucial talking points in an engaging and humorous story that connects with kids (including my own). Since even young children are bombarded with confusing messages, Marty gives needed clarity on the blessing and permanence of gender. He includes vital discussion on rejecting gender stereotypes and loving those with differing world views. In fact, the parents' 'cheat sheet' alone is an invaluable resource for your home."
David White, Director of Discipleship at Harvest USA; pastor; author of Sexual Sanity for Men and God, You, & Sex
"The message that God made boys and girls is much needed in our day. Marty Machowski does an excellent job of communicating that maleness and femaleness isn't about stereotypes but about embracing the design that our Creator has encoded into every cell of our bodies. What a tremendous resource for children!"
Mary A. Kassian, Author of Girls Gone Wise
"In our current day, children can easily become confused about all kinds of issues that are clearly presented in the Scriptures, particularly if their home, church, and school do not provide a consistent biblical foundation. Gender issues rank high on the list of areas that children can become untethered from the Bible's teaching. This beautiful book gently teaches children to cherish their God-given gender and to love their neighbor as themselves, a timely word on a sensitive issue."
Joel R. Beeke, President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan
"In a culture that is increasingly accepting of gender-fluid identities, it's so important to teach our kids that gender is part of their personhood. God Made Boys and Girls is a wonderful tool for that task. It reminds children (and parents!) that being a man or woman is a gift we receive from God."
Jared Kennedy, Pastor of Operations and Families at Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville, KY, Author of The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible
"The sin of Babel was that human beings sought to fashion society and identity on their own terms, in denial of the loving purposes and rule of our Creator God. The current cultural challenges around sex and gender are similar attempts to deny what God has given and his purposes for human flourishing. God Made Boys and Girls: Helping Children Understand the Gift of Gender is a timely resource to equip parents to explain God's good gift of gender to their children, and to prepare children to meet a world that is bent on denying how wonderful it is to be made in the image of God, male and female, boys and girls."
Claire Smith, Author, God's Good Design: What the Bible Really Says about Men and Women
"Clear, careful, and unashamed, God Made Boys and Girls is a great tool to help children learn from their early years the truth of God's design for them, and to help both parents and children celebrate the wonder of that design. Let this book help ground your family in the deep goodness of God's gifts."
Mike Bullmore, Senior Pastor, CrossWay Community Church, Bristol, Wisconsin
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We used this book with our older kiddo teams in VBS. It is written on 3rd grade level. ALL the kiddos thought it was great!! Gave one to each student to take home and have for their very own. Money well spent!!!
I highly recommend this book for anyone involved in children's ministry as a resource to fight the current gender culture. We offer a link to this book to parents and grandparents and share with anyone who is facing this issue. Importantly, we are teaching young children that God's Word is truth.
The biblical truths in this volume set the foundation for seeing individuals as "Boys" and "Girls" based on God's good gift of gender. Emphasis to accept individuals who don't like to conform to cultural norms of activities identified as "boy things to do" and "girl things to do" - in a straightforward way. I'm aiming this towards the 4s & 5s age group Resource room ... and putting one on my office shelf too as a future reference. This is currently my "Go To" resource to help parents talk through Gender issues from a biblical viewpoint - and have scriptures passages right at hand for further discussion.
This is the best children's book on this issue of Gender from a biblical perspective. Marty Machowski uses a story to relate how God made girls and boys distinctly different, not just in surface issues but in fact via gender code in the body, beginning with Creation. Well crafted and finishes by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I especially appreciated "Truths About Gender" on the last pages of the book when he answers the hard questions about gender that are being asked today. Thank Marty for a great book we can share with our children and grandchildren without reservation!
This book was recommended to me.
God Made Boys and Girls is the latest book by pastor and author Marty Machowski. Machowski's books are always encouraging and truth-filled and God Made Boys and Girls is no exception. This book begins with Maya, a young girl who enjoys things like football and climbing trees. Some boys at school make fun of her for this so their teacher, Mr. Ramirez, gives them a biblical lesson on gender. He tells his students, ". . . gender is the word we use to describe God's good gift of creating each of us either male or female." The book goes on to explain that God gifted each individual with the genetic makeup that they have. I like that the characters in the book don't fit traditional gender stereotypes. Machowski wrote, ". . . it is not what we do or like or think that makes us a boy or a girl. God gave us our gender as a special gift, and God never makes mistakes. His ways are perfect." Machowski presents the idea of gender as a gift from God. I had thought of gender as good since it was God's idea but I had never considered it a gift. Although God Made Boys and Girls is a book meant for children, I found myself learning new things about God as I read it with my oldest daughter. Machowski included a gospel presentation in the book that is simple to understand yet theologically rich. Reading it greatly encouraged my heart. He wrote, "Jesus lived a perfect life and never sinned so that he could take our sin upon himself. The world hated Jesus and nailed him to a cross to die. While he hung nailed to the cross, God the Father punished Jesus for our sin. Today anyone who turns from their sins and trusts in Jesus can be saved and forgiven. God puts his Holy Spirit into the heart of everyone who believes in Jesus to remind them of God's ways and God's plan and to help them live for God and be the person God made them to be." Machowski uses the gospel as the catalyst for why Christians ought to love others - even if they prefer activities that might not be traditionally enjoyed by their gender (for example, the book illustrates a female scientist and a male dancer). As a side note, I have to add that I LOVE that the gospel presentation includes all persons of the Trinity. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Machowski isn't blind to the growing cultural confusion about gender. The book ends with one character stating, "Jesus said that we should love our neighbors and even those who disagree with us. So we should show love to people who might be confused about their gender and about how God made them." Overall, Machowski did a first-rate job of tackling a tough subject in a way that is God-honoring and understandable for individuals of all ages. My daughter and I really enjoyed God Made Boys and Girls and I am pleased to recommend it. I received God Made Boys and Girls compliments of New Growth Press in exchange for my honest review.
God Made Boys and Girls: Helping Children Understand the Gift of Gender by Marty Machowski is a gift of a book for boys and girls to hear about the beautiful and wonderful design that God has created them as their biological gender all according to His plan. This gift of a book extends to others as children are equipped to show love and kindness to those who may disagree with them on these very points or may be confused about their own gender. Parents will want to have this resource on their bookshelf to read to their preschool and young elementary children, especially as the need arises (and the need is certainly there)!
"Did you know if you are a boy, then boy is in your blood? And if you are a girl, that girl is in your blood too? This question is found in God Made Boys and Girls and it is the perfect way to begin a conversation with children about gender and God's role in choosing whether a person is male or female. Author Marty Machowski has written a book that targets children ages 3-5 and he uses Bible scripture to support his theory that gender is 'God's good gift'. This 32 page book is filled with bright, colorful illustrations and easy-to-understand language and best of all, a wonderful explanation of how gender is determined. As he explains how chromosomes determine our gender, he mentions the gender code. An attention-grabber for sure because what child doesn't like codes and coding? He also points out that God gives each of us different interests and talents and it's okay for a girl to be good in sports or for a boy to like to cook or do ballet. These talents and interests have no effect on the gender that God chose for us! As I read this book, I was once again reminded of the changes in our society and the constant blast from social media to promote the trans-gender movement. This is very confusing to children and we need books like this to help explain what is Biblical truth. I especially liked that at the end, Machowski offers a special section titled "Truths About Gender to Share with Children" and he shares more information about people who have genetic disorders. He also encourages us all to pray for those who are confused or have willingly rejected God's truth. We must be willing to share God's Word with them but to do so in a kind and loving way. I have a young granddaughter in Kindergarten and I know that she will soon hear comments from her classmates that will confuse her and I am thrilled that this book will be available to share with her. This is an excellent, No!, it is an exceptional book that every parent and every teacher should have! I was given a complimentary copy of this book from New Growth Press but there was no obligation to post a positive review. These are my own thoughts.
God Made Boys and Girls: Helping Children Understand the Gift of Gender by Marty Machowski aims to help parents discuss gender with young children. With its simple and colorful illustrations, plus a school room setting, I think the book will interest my daughters. The basis of the book comes straight out of Genesis. It recalls the creation story to emphasize that God created each person with a specific gender. It also manages to work in the salvation message of Jesus coming as a baby and later dying to atone for our sins. What I liked: It speaks against false stereotypes, affirming a child’s unique interests and abilities. It advocates for showing kindness to anyone who may be confused about gender or have a chromosomal disorder that affects sex organs. What I didn’t like: The girls being “double XX, extra special” felt repetitive. It predisposes girls to the complementarian marriage role ideology when it presents Eve as a helper for Adam. I was raised on the type of ideologies in this book, but I’m not totally on board with its message. If God doesn’t make mistakes and gives the gift of gender, then why do people have genetic disorders? I won’t take up space writing out my questions and thoughts here, I’m just going to leave it at: I don’t buy into everything presented in the book. I will likely use God Made Boys and Girls by Marty Machowski as a supplement to our homeschool curriculum. It’s not a book I’d leave laying around for them to read at will as I had mixed feelings about it. Christian parents with conservative ideals will like this book the most as it makes strong statements that gender does not change and should be embraced as a gift from God. Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.
When I first heard of God Made Boys and Girls, I was a bit concerned about the fact that it’s about gender. You see, we live in a society that is trying to change what we believe about gender, so it makes my heart sad to realize that we need more books like these for our children. In fact, I highly recommend using this with your children whether your a parent, teacher, counselor or someone who works with kids in any way. The author uses real-life examples to begin the conversation about gender. She explains to her readers that God created boys and girls. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. -Genesis 1:27” Marty Machowski explains to children that gender is a special gift from God. She also uses the XX and XY chromosome to explain that no matter how you change your gender, you can’t change your blood. This was a kid-friendly and simple way to explain. The author takes it even further by using Adam and Eve to explain sin and how God’s way is better. This book is very gospel-centered as the author explains how Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again for our sins. Children will learn about forgiveness. Children will also learn that it is okay for boys to like baking and playing with dolls and for girls to like football and other boyish stuff. The main point with this is that it isn’t about what we think makes us a boy or a girl. God never makes mistakes when it comes to gender. Something else that I thought was intriguing was that the author also teaches children the importance of loving others. Since we live in a society full of sin, they will come across other kids who want to change their gender and may possibly even will. However, it is still important that they show Jesus’ love. This isn’t part of the Good News For Little Hearts series, but like those books, you can find talking points to take the discussion further. One of the neat discussions is how a child might have medical reasons, for example having been born with both genitals. Basically, the book covers all its bases. Highly recommended! Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.