Monday, November 3, 2014

Wizzy Gizmo In His Image Review



I continue to look for Bible study materials for my teenager with autism. Her academic delays and challenges comprehending abstract text get in the way of meaning and  understanding.

We were given a Wizzy Gizmo product to use and review at home. I chose, "In His Image," the second book in the series of Old Testament Bible stories. "In His Image" comes from Genesis 2.

The paperback is small, 58 pages, easy to hold in little hands.

If you work with an older child with special needs, you may be like me - the content of the material is second to another priority. One of my first things I look for is how much text is on a page. My reader with special needs balks at too much text on a page. Too many words too close together equals too difficult in her mind and if there are too many words her anxiety rises and meaning and comprehension plummet along with cooperation.

I am thrilled to report that the layout of the text on the page is just right. The font is large (in my daughter's mind, this means she is able to process it - she is capable of more, but she hasn't made that discovery yet) and the paragraphs have some space between them. The text is inviting. Whew! The first test - passed!

Authors Justin Cummins and Kirsten Del Aguila begins the book by giving readers a list of the characters and a brief description of each of them.  Wizzy Gizmo is an inventor. A creator. And Wizzy Gizmo knows THE Creator. The other characters are four friends, ages 7-9, and Wizzy's dog and duck. Time travel is involved, always a favorite with my kid. She has lots of questions about the past that I sometimes can't answer, but we enjoy imagining what it might have been like. Wizzy delivers in terms of interest and imagination with this piece of the storyline.  My kid is so disappointed to learn that the Garden of Eden is closed. Last year, she told me she'd like to go see all the animals there. Wizzy Gizmo allows her to do that in her imagination.

I like everything I see here. The story is inviting, the writers spotlight questions about who God is, what God made, what the world was like in the beginning. The characters are interesting to my daughter.  Cummins and Del Aguila also spotlight vocabulary words in boldface type for readers and offer an index of vocabulary words and definitions at the back of the book. Readers are given a page and a half of review questions at the back of the book. Wizzy uses scripture as the foundation for concepts and he explains those concepts using current real life context and examples. For a child who finds the past abstract, bringing the concepts into what she experiences now is really helpful. The stories give she and I a common framework that we can discuss, something we don't always have when the concept is abstract.

The book is priced at $12.99. You may order it from the Wizzy Gizmo web site. Check out the other products and the Free Resources tab. Bloggers on this review chose different products; please click through to see what they had to say about other Wizzy Gizmo resources!

I am thrilled with what I've seen for material. The material is special-needs friendly and I will be watching for more to come in the book series. Join me by following Wizzy Gizmo on

I was given a copy of "In His Image" to review for you. I was not paid for this review and I am not obligated to provide a positive review.

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