Who Am I and Why Do I Matter?

Adam Ramsey

Growing up toward young adulthood can be jarring as we try to figure out who we are and what our place in this world is. Chris Morphew answers those questions in a refreshing, age-appropriate way that is sure to speak to the heart of every young reader. With short, punchy chapters, this book is easy to read and soaked with the gospel. I will be sharing it with each of my own kids and highly recommend it to yours!

Champ Thornton

Chris Morphew is like Tim Keller for teens. In the Big Questions series, he tackles some of today’s tough questions with Scripture, wisdom and clarity—and just the right amount of fun to keep young readers turning the page. I cannot wait to put these books into the hands of my three children.”

“Engaging and compelling. Perfect for 9-16 year olds”

Finding good Christian books for 9-13 year olds that answer the questions that are really going through their minds is difficult, but Chris Morphew has succeeded wonderfully.

“Kick @$$ book”

My 9 year old son absolutely loved. He finished and then read it to me again. Wish I could have read it thirty years ago.

“Best book for teens on identity out there”

Everyone I have given this book to has loved it. So so good

“Helpful for All Ages”

Who Am I and Why Do I Matter? is the latest title by author and teacher Christopher Morphew. In just under 100 pages, Morphew helps young readers understand their identity from a biblical perspective. Although the target audience for this book is young children, I found myself greatly encouraged by it. I enjoyed Morphew's use of logic as he peeled back the layers on how the world defines identity versus how God defines it. One aspect of this book that really blessed me was the reminder of God's love for me as an image bearer and as His child.

I enjoyed how Morphew employed his teaching skills in his simple and straightforward gospel presentation on pages 55-56. It was also interesting to see how he used various illustrations to express how looking for our identity in anything except God will always leave us feeling dissatisfied. Morphew helpfully examines common beliefs about the source of our identity and demonstrates how they fall short.

On an aesthetic note, I love the book's cover and accompanying hand drawn illustrations. Although the famous adage discourages judging a book by its cover, the cover of the book as well as the others in the series lends itself to positive judgment for a job well done. If you are looking for a resource that will help children and young teens understand their identity from a biblical perspective and clearly articulate the gospel, look no further.

I received Who Am I and Why Do I Matter? compliments of The Good Book Company in exchange for my honest review.

“Engaging and Compassionate”

This is the fourth book in Chris Morphew's Big Questions series, in which he answers kids' common questions about life and Christianity. "Who Am I and Why Do I Matter?" addresses a deeply universal issue, and Morphew writes about it in an engaging, conversational style, explaining why it isn't enough for us to pursue a sense of self-worth through our friends' opinions, our appearance or abilities, or our own sense of being true to ourselves. He shows why our efforts at creating a secure sense of self-worth and identity fail, and points us to Christ.

This book is highly readable and perfect for its target audience, covering a lot of important issues in about eighty pages. Morphew addresses complex ideas in clear, often humorous ways, and his explanation of why individualism fails is particularly helpful, pushing back against cultural dogma that surrounds kids. In addition to this, he shares illustrative stories from his own life and expresses compassion for kids who struggle to fit in or feel particularly disappointed with themselves. Overall, this book is very honest and helpful, and I know that I would have appreciated it when I was the target age for it.

"Who Am I and Why Do I Matter?" is an excellent resource for families, Christian schools, and church groups. The publisher is marketing this book for kids from ages nine to thirteen, but the age range is flexible. Older teenagers who are reluctant readers will find this book's brevity and conversational style appealing, and the book's content and examples are appropriate for younger kids as well. The wide age range suitability would make this book an excellent choice for a family read-aloud, and its gospel encouragement can be a blessing to adults as well.

“Perfect for today's tweens and teens”

Do you remember being a teenager? Do you remember any feelings of not being good enough to be with the popular people, or maybe you felt like you weren’t good at anything? I know I did. Being a teenager is even harder today.

Social media posts and images, the numbers of likes and followers to your profiles, these now add to the pressures of our kids today.

The pressures in school, sports and other extracurricular activities continue to increase, also, with bullies, gender identity issues, homosexuality, school and community safety.

Kids show blatant disrespect for teachers, parents and rules, causing our own kids to question, doubt, and even hate themselves.
Mr. Morphew does an excellent job of relating to teenagers with his conversational, easy-to-read style. He proposes a lot of good questions that teens ask today, and he answers these questions with a simple plan.

The gospel is clearly explained and emphasized throughout the book, and Mr. Morphew continually uses God’s Word to back up his answers to the kids’ questions.

As kids read, learn, and implement the advice in “Who am I and Why Do I Matter?”, they will know:
What does not give us self-worth
Who to look to for love and freedom
How God has proven that He loves each of us individually
How to live each day with Jesus

I would highly recommend “Who am I and Why Do I Matter?” to any teenager, parent of a teenager, pastor, youth pastor, and/or teen Sunday school class.

A big thank you to The Good Book Company for the complimentary copy of this book. This is my honest review.

“Great Addition to the Series”

I've got a number of the books in Chris' series and I've found them to be really readable for the teenage market, but also with a depth that doesn't treat young people like they can't handle big subjects.

In this new book, he ponders our identity and why we matter. It's a big topic that he handles with real skill, and refreshes us with the knowledge that God values each and every one of us as his children. His writing is biblical and accessible, packed with great stories and application of what the big ideas look like in the real world.

If you haven't read this yet, buy it! And if you don't have the rest of the series, buy those too! It's a great foundation for our young people to be reading

“Book for teens”

I bought this book for a troubled 10 year old. It covered a lot of issues that concern young people of faith but I feel that for a younger person of questionable faith, it could raise more problems than it solves.

“great resource”

I am always on the look out for great biblically based books for my pre-teen child. When I saw this, I was excited to check it out. The Good Book Company has come out with an Apologetics series called Big Questions, developed specifically for kids ages 9-13. They have several other books currently in the series:

- How do we Know that Christianity is Really True?

- Why Does God let Bad things Happen?

- What Happens When we Die?

The newest addition to this series takes a deep dive in the identity of the child. This is such a timely book given the current "trend" within our culture to allow anyone and everyone to identify as anything they feel at the moment.

Although I did not read through this with my 9 year old, I was extremely impressed with it's truth telling in a way that seems to capture a young heart and mind and force them to question what they are hearing all around them every day through out the world.

With ten chapters, the book is short, a quick enough read for pre-teens that they will maintain focus and interest without getting bored. The chapters include the following:

- Searching for the real you

- How do I know I matter?

- Why can't I just be true to myself?

- Why can't I just listen to my friends?

- How can I find real freedom?

- Who does God say I am?

- What about all the ways I mess up?

- What difference does God make?

- Following the way of Jesus

- Resting in the Love of Jesus

Every chapter presented a very real question that every child and even adult questions at some point. These books seem to be a wonderful way for a child to deeply ponder the things of God outside of their parents' walk with Christ.

I absolutely loved this book and will definitely be getting the rest of the series.

I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.