During my holidays I decided to read a couple of kid’s books for light entertainment. The books were The secret of the desert stone (Word, 1996) by Frank Peretti and The headless monk (Beacon, 1997) by Kel Richards. Both authors are Christian writers and I was particularly interested in seeing how they weave Christian principles into their writing. I enjoyed both stories. They were well written, interesting stories with unpredictable endings.
The secret of the desert stone is number 5 in the Cooper kids adventure series. This story is set in Africa and Peretti has used Daniel 2:31-45 as the inspiration for his story. As such it is very much a Christian story written for Christian kids. Peretti weaves many Christian ideals and thoughts into his story.
The headless monk is a mystery based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. It is an intriguing story with several twists and turns before coming to a satisfying conclusion. It is not obviously Christian until the last page where there is a short discourse on forgiveness.
Overall I enjoyed Richard’s story the most, probably because I do like a good mystery and this had all the ingredients of a good mystery. Peretti’s story was more unusual—more into the realms of fantasy which is not my preference. Nevertheless I did enjoy the Christian themes in his story.
