Review of Forensic Faith for Kids

For the last several weeks my son has been learning how to investigate God’s word with Forensic Faith for Kids and the Case Makers Academy from David C Cook. 

At the present time there are three books in this series. The first book in this series is Cold-Case Christianity for Kids. God's Crime Scene for Kids is the second book which then is followed by Forensic Faith for Kids (third book in this series.)  All the books stand alone and can be read separately without the other books. Last August I read God’s Crime Scene for Kids with my son. It was a huge hit in my home. 

One of the authors J. Warner Wallace was a real-life detective. He is passionate to show kids how to investigate the Bible and to instill a lifelong passion to investigate the facts for yourself. He has some solid advice and tips to help kids dig into the word. Susie Wallace edits and co-authors the book.

The book says it’s intended for kids ages 8 to 12 but, honestly I feel that older kids will glean much in the books and will enjoy the content.

Forensic Faith for Kids Book:

This is a chapter book with 144 pages. J. Warner Wallace gives you a brief testimony of how he came to be a Christian and then after that there are 8 chapters, and a conclusion that ties the story all together. There are black and white illustrations throughout the book. 

Within the pages of the book there are gray boxes that have additional information. This is just an overview of the boxes as they are filled with lots of gems. Of course they are paraphrased in the eyes of my son and I and what we took out of them.

Detective Definitions- This is where the cadets learn how important it is to take notes. But those notes need to have a strategy to them. You will learn some skill sets for you to do your research. We just can sit inside but it takes action to go out into the world to learn something and to share something.

CSI Assignment-This has some additional scriptures for you to look up and fill in the blank for yourself.

Dig Deeper-This is a reminder to go to the Online Academy to watch the video and to do the notebook and activities. 

A “Tool” for Your Detective Bag!- Another treasure to encourage and give you some additional information with your walk with Jesus.

The story centers on a group of older kids in a cadet program, “Special Investigations Academy”.  The main characters are Daniel, Jason, and Hannah. They bring two separate mysteries to class to help solve the case.

 The cadets along with Alan Jeffries a detective begins an investigation into the sudden appearance of a Corgi puppy who seemed to come out of nowhere while at a car wash fundraiser event. The puppy has a collar with the name of “Baily” but, that is all they can determine or so it seems. Daniel and Jason have a lot of clues to search for with the help of their fellow cadets and the instructor.

The next mystery Hannah comes across while at church. Her friend Tiana has a friend from school, Marco. Marco had done a lot of reading and even in the Gospels and doesn’t once see Jesus saying that He is God. Hannah’s long time friend Tiana is starting to question Christianity and if it’s even true! She is questioning if Jesus is really who He says He is. Hannah doesn’t know how she can prove that “God exist” and not only that but, how to show someone that Jesus is God when they don’t believe that He is? She brings the case to the cadets to help her solve her dilemma. 

Daniel, Jason, and Hannah along with the other cadets begin their search for answers to their dilemma. They find other people around their community to put the puzzles together.

Case Makers Academy:

In conjunction with the book there is a companion website the Case Makers Academy. There are videos for each chapter of the books. There is also an introduction and a final conclusion of the book video. Each of the videos is no longer than six minutes. 

J. Warner Wallace builds upon the information in the book. He is very engaging while speaking. My son liked the setting as you could see all of his badges, hats, and other items that he used in his trade as a police officer/detective in the background. 

You will find your downloadable PDFs below each video. There are three sections to download and print. I would love to see a link to download the three separate components rather than in each video section downloading a page.   It would have been easier with one download than having to go to each video to get it all ready to print.

Training Activity Sheets- is fun activities to do like word searches, crossword puzzles, connect the dots, and other fun puzzles to do.

Academy Notebook Sheets-is a comprehensive notebook to fill in the blank on questions about the story and information you have learned to be a good detective. 

Adult Leader Guide-is a teacher’s guide and gives you a heads up with what will be covered in the chapter. There are adult versions to each of the books which if you’re working on this with your child it would make a nice companion.  The PDFs tell you what to read in the adult companion and what your student is reading. There is a set of questions to ask about each section to create some open dialogue. 

How did I use Forensic Faith for Kids and the Case Makers Academy in my homeschool?

Since I was already familiar with the Case Makers Academy I printed it out before we began to read Forensic Faith for Kids. My almost 13 year old son and I read the book back and forth to each other. We used this like a devotional during the weekdays. We did our regular Bible reading together as a family and afterwards my son and I would read a chapter of Forensic Faith for Kids throughout the week. It would have been easy to read a chapter a day but we took our time through it. My son would look up the scriptures and fill out the Academy Notebook Sheets while reading the book. I always had the Adult Leader Guide out while we were reading. We had a lot of heartfelt discussions afterwards. 

My son did some of the Training Activity Sheets. Some of them didn’t interest him that much and sometimes it was just because he had a full school schedule that day and he wanted to get started on school. After each chapter we watched the video segment together.

This is an easy and interesting read and we had no problem finishing the book.

This is a unique book approach. I love how the author uses his background as a detective in  a forensic/investigation to approach our Christian faith. I really like that while reading through this book your are learning how to develop skills needed to investigate God’s word, with some useful skills to do so. You are also learning some logical-thinking skills while investigating. Those skills are useful when studying the Bible and everyday life skills.

The book along with the Case Makers Academy is great for all types of learners from visual to hands on learners. I was extremely impressed with the other books and still just as impressed with Forensic Faith for Kids. I think this is an amazing book to really dig deep into God’s word and teach your kids some skills while studying God’s word. The authors do a great job making comparisons in the story and relating it to use as a lifelong skill with studying God’s word. 

The book is easy to comprehend and will be at a level that kids can really glean the treasures throughout at their level. I appreciate that the book doesn’t water down the truth of the Bible!  

Our kids need to learn how to study God’s word and to investigate for them-selves in today’s world. Other Homeschool Review Crew has been reviewing Forensic Faith for Kids and the Case Makers Academy from David C Cook. Click on the banner to read other reviews.

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