Dr. Gene A. Getz. Author of over 50 books including The Measure of a Man, President of the Center for Church Renewal

Simply put, author Dan Cooley’s BIZARRE Bible Stories and BIZARRE Bible Stories 2 utilize a vernacular, contemporary writing style intended to reach an audience of children and youth with solid Christian doctrine and practical application. The discussion questions interspersed throughout the text are thoughtfully designed to promote interaction between parents and their children on numerous topics of interest. Cooley’s books reflect his passion for providing spiritual food to children in a manner they can easily digest. His attention to detail is evident from cover to cover.”

 Melody Carlson, award-winning author of The Gold & Honey Bible and 200 other bible storybooks and books for children, with over 5 million sold

“God is infinitely creative, and Dan Cooley is obviously paying attention. These freshly told tales will get your kids hooked on the Bible!”

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Chad Barrett author of Journey to Freedom: The Pursuit of Authentic Fellowship Among Men, Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Houston area

“Finally, a book that illuminates some of the coolest, oddest, and fantastical true stories of the Bible that, when read, young people can say, ‘Wow! God really wants me to be THAT radical? THAT powerful? THAT bold?’ Dan Cooley does this in the simplest and most profound way…he inspires students to read the stories in the Bible for themselves. Study it. Glean from it. And then go into the real world and live it.

Barnes & Noble Editorial Review

Carlee Hallman – Children’s LiteratureTwenty-six little known Bible stories comprise this collection. “The Disease That Jumps” is the title for the story of the cure of Naaman’s leprosy and his servant Gehazi, who because of his greed becomes a leper. The reader is asked, “What is greed?” and “Why is it bad?” A note to parents says that the word translated leprosy could be any skin disease. Clever chapter titles pique interest. The stories are in the language of young people, use humorous quips, and ask questions to hold interest. Special information for parents appears in brackets. There is a bibliography and an index of Bible references. The author is conservative theologically in his literal understanding: he presents each story as factual truth. The author discovers a moral in each tale which he supports with Bible Whether it’s kids with their parents at night, youth groups or Sunday School classes, young people are going to beg for ‘just one more story’ when they get into this book. These little known Bible stories flow with excitement in contemporary language, with inserts of questions to ponder. They are fun but also provide great lessons for adults and children alike. When’s the sequel?

 Daryl Busby, PhD. Dean of Canadian Baptist Seminary, Director of DMN Program, ACTS Seminaries, TWU

“Paul urged Timothy: ‘you know those from whom you learned…’ These captivating biographies and stories will equip and encourage parents, youth pastors and others who want to ensure the enduring faith of youth in the church.”

Susan Weagant. Author of Essentials of the Heart

“WOW! As a mother of two boys, I certainly see the need to ground our children spiritually. Dan’s book is tool to help us as parents ground our children in the Word. Dan pulls you into the Scripture and gives you a glimpse of what it was like. He encourages you to dig in God’s Word and pull out God’s personal message to you. There is no greater blessing than bringing God’s Word to life for our children!”

Linden Christian School

Dear Mr. Cooley,

We are a grade three class from Linden Christian School in Winnipeg. We are writing to you (with help form our teacher) to ask please, please, please, consider writing another book on bible stories. Our teacher has read us your Bizarre Bible Stories, and we loved it! We were so sad when the book ended because we loved it so much. She told us that she has read this book to her class every year for the last five years and she loves it too.
We learned that you lived in Winnipeg and wondered if you still lived here or if you ever get to visit? If so would you ever consider coming for a class visit. We would love to hear you tell us one of your stories.  Thank you for writing this book, we love it so much.

p.s. Each student has written their own personal letter to you.

 round table reviews

“If you have a picky reader and you are looking for a fun way to introduce biblical stories, BIZARRE BIBLE STORIES is the perfect choice. I remember as a child receiving a children’s version of the bible that was so easy for me to understand, I never thought I’d find something better. Dan Cooley’s book truly has greater appeal. Why? It’s simple, he focuses on some of the more unusual tales and breaks them down for children to easily understand, and the bizarre nature of the stories keeps them engrossed! Parents are involved as well Bracketed text goes deeper into the story giving parents something to discuss with their child.“I can’t feature all of the stories in this review, but I do want to mention my daughter’s favorite – ‘The Grave Robber.’ The story talks about the meaning of Easter and what happened when Jesus rose from the dead. My daughter loved this story and asked me to read it again and again. The creepy thought of dead people coming back to life truly appealed to her. Also included are stories on flying pigs, walking bones, a hand with no body, and underwater city, and much more! BIZARRE BIBLE STORIES is a great addition for your fussy reader’s shelf.”
Anonymous: Here’s a great book for parents and kids to explore, have fun and learn important lessons together. Youth groups and Sunday School classes could also have a stimulating time with the stories. Dan Cooley has an insightful and contemporary way of telling little known Bible stories and encouraging the readers along the way, to consider their own applications. Everything flows so naturally, that you look forward to the next story. Enjoy!

bookbyte

Bookbyte.com – Ratings and Info Reviewer: sac752000 This was a fantastic book to read as a parent of 2. It really makes you think of the importance of how even the smallest of things shape our childrens lives , and very frequently unbeknownst to us! Jan 13, 2006

zposters.com

Wonderful book for the whole family: This is a terrific book for the family to read together and explore the less well-known stories of the Bible. The author writes in an easy to read manner and gives suggestions for different ways to go through the book depending on your family style, time available, age of children, etc. A wonderful fresh way to do family devotions!

Dallas Morning News (www.dallasnews.com)

This book does its best to convince young Christians that the Good Book really is a good book, filled with fascinating tales of talking donkeys, invisible armies, wicked kings and clever queens. For the most part, it succeeds.
It’s more than a collection of scriptural oddities. Each chapter has a moral lesson spelled out: Don’t lie to God, friendship is worth the risk, that sort of thing. The biblical citation for each weird tale is given (You can look it up!) and each chapter ends with suggestions for further Scripture reading.Young readers will be comfortable with the conversational tone. (“Absalom’s army was having a rotten day.”) There are bracketed notes for parents, including tips on using the stories as teaching tools.A caution: There’s lots of violence, albeit highly sanitized. Assassinations, bloody battles, the wrath of an angry God … Hey, it’s the Bible! In a couple of spots the author, pastor of a Bible church in Winnipeg, Canada, takes theological license, rather awkwardly introducing Jesus into explanations of Old Testament tales.All in all, though, kids will find this book much more engaging than most of what they hear in Sunday sermons.Reviewer’s Choice: Bizarre Bible Stories
By BRUCE TOMASO / The Dallas Morning New