Abigail and the Big Start Over: Switch Schools. Make Friends. Fix All the Mess!

by Bethany McIlrath, Katie Saunders (Illustrator)

Overview

New house. New school. New problems!

Like many kids, adventurous and creative 9-year-old Abigail experiences lots of ups and downs when it comes to school life, making friends and getting on with parents and siblings. Through both the humorous and serious challenges that arise, Abigail finds herself in one new mess after another. But as she learns all about how Jesus forgave Peter when he messed up again and again, she sees how Jesus can forgive her too.

Readers will explore the Bible alongside Abigail and learn that God’s love for us and his grace to us never run out. So we can start over again and again!

This fun, exciting novel for kids aged 7+ features short chapters with illustrations that really bring the story to life. It explains grace in a kid-friendly way that is relevant to their lives, and it provides a great way for kids to engage with the Bible.

This is the first book in the Abigail series, a fictional series for readers aged 7 and up that follows the adventures of 9-year-old Abigail as she figures out what faith means for her everyday life. Young readers will be inspired to read the Bible, talk to God and apply what they believe to their own lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784988982
Publisher:	The Good Book Company
Publication date:	06/01/2024
Series:	Abigail
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	119,513
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.71(d)
Age Range:	7 - 11 Years

About the Author

Bethany McIlrath loves to get lost in a book and to help others discover their next read in her marketing role at The Good Book Company. When she's not reading stories, she's usually writing them or dreaming about them as she comes up with real-life creative adventures for friends, her husband, and a doorbell-like dog named Indy. Serving in children's ministry is also one of her greatest joys.

Katie Saunders is an illustrator who lives in Kent, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Hurry Up, Headband
2. Mrs. Hennig
3. Don't Forget the Fishing Pole
4. Brown, Slimy Sludge
5. Uh Oh!
6. Flora Flores
7. Big Mouths
8. A Very Good Friend
9. Kids' Club
10. Peter's Big Adventure
11. Fisher of Men
12. Nana and Grandpa's
13. Sticky-Duct-Aids
14. Walking on Water
15. Greg Again
16. We Need to Talk
17. Adventure Central
18. A Good Grace Story
19. Fantastic Flora
20. Not Such a Mess
21. Adventuring
22. Second Chances

A Note from the Author

Book Club Questions

Editorial Reviews

Delightful. Relatable. Entertaining. Accessible. True. Meeting Abigail in these pages felt like discovering a friend for the fifth-grade ‘new girl’ inside of me, who was desperately lonely and felt like she was blowing it at every turn. I am so eager to introduce Abigail and the Big Start Over to all of my elementary-aged friends so that they too can adventure with her, identify with her, and discover the incredibly beautiful and immensely applicable power of the gospel in their own very real lives, right alongside her. These stories about Abigail will doubtless impact the stories of their readers in a powerful way.

Abbey Wedgeworth (Author

In the Abigail books, Bethany McIlrath demonstrates how a family’s commitment to their shared faith can help a nine-year-old girl navigate the everyday problems that children face. Each book not only tells a clever, funny story about Abigail but also successfully unpacks the biblical truths that Abigail discovers along the way.

Bob Hartman (Author

Bethany McIlrath has written a fabulous book that somehow entertains while it teaches truth!

Dannah Gresh (Author

Bethany has created a delightful series that helps young readers connect their faith with their everyday life. Abigail’s adventures are fun and relatable, delivering valuable lessons for all kids and making this series a great one to add to your bookshelf.

Laura Wifler (Cofounder

While plenty of books for kids this age have ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys,’ Bethany McIlrath has crafted real-world characters in real-life settings who exhibit both vice and virtue and desperately need God’s grace for a fresh start. Honestly, that was my favorite trait of this book—how all the characters demonstrate their need for grace, from Abigail to her new friend Flora, to their irritating classmate Greg, to Abigail’s mom. This engaging book will help kids honor others, seek to understand others, extend grace to others, and grow in grace themselves.

Caroline Saunders (Author

Starting over is hard! But it’s a lesson nine-year-old Abigail is learning as she begins fourth grade at her new school. She’s also going to learn about grace—the kind we extend to others and the grace God offers his children. Fun, relatable, grounded in Scripture, and full of bold illustrations, Abigail and the Big Start Over by Bethany McIlrath is a story kids will love.

Amanda Cleary Eastep (Author