What Are the Books of Ezra & Nehemiah?

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are the Bible's great rebuilding story. But how do you teach them to your kids?Tucked between the drama of the exile and the silence before the New Testament, Ezra and Nehemiah are the books most families have never read — too unfamiliar, too full of lists, too far removed from the stories kids learn in Sunday school. There are no miracles here. No parting seas. No lions or furnaces. Just rubble, opposition, and a people trying to start over.But this overlooked story turns out to be essential. It's the account of how God brought his people home after seventy years of exile, rebuilt their temple and their city walls against relentless opposition, and exposed the one problem no leader or law could fix — the human heart. And it's the story that makes the need for Jesus unmistakably clear.What Are the Books of Ezra & Nehemiah? makes these often-skipped books accessible for today's young readers. Written in a warm, conversational style that doesn't dodge the hard questions or talk down to kids, this guide walks through all twenty-three chapters of Ezra and Nehemiah with:Engaging illustrations from pop culture — from Alice in Wonderland to The Secret Garden to Snow White — that connect biblical themes to stories kids already know and loveHonest engagement with difficult content — handling opposition, political intrigue, the intermarriage crisis, and moral complexity in age-appropriate ways that spark real conversationsReal-life application — helping kids see how themes of rebuilding, identity, perseverance, and keeping commitments speak directly to their own livesWhether your child is learning what it means to start over after failure, discovering that God works through ordinary people in extraordinary ways, or ready to explore a corner of the Bible they've never encountered, What Are the Books of Ezra & Nehemiah? will show them that the God who rebuilt Jerusalem's walls is still in the business of rebuilding broken things today.Perfect for family reading, church classes, or independent study.