Diamond Books

General information

The ‘Diamond Books’ project has been birthed by various professional people wanting to see children reading good, realistic, and truthful books that are carefully graded and structured (but not stilted) for various age groups of young children.

In 1984, at a Christian Education Conference in Sussex, England, Dr. Paul Hawkins stated,”If only we could teach children to read using the Bible.” Carole Leah, one of the delegates, heard these words and was fired with a desire to see this come about. After this, Carole was asked by Mary Miller (Headmistress at the Shepherd’s School, Brockley, London) to write a Biblically based reading series. Further encouragement came from the late Arthur Adams, who had already attempted writing Biblically based reading material for children, but knew that his life’s work would not be completed. He passed on to Carole a great deal of his expertise and encouraged her to go for the goal of seeing the series of books published.

After considerable prayer, Carole realised that God was calling her to take on this project. In a prayer meeting, God showed that the books were like diamonds – precious stones that He wanted to set in the hearts of children. Work began on the books in November 1985, in London. Full-time work continued for most of the next 4 years and then a 3 year break took place. By this time, the whole structure of ‘Diamond Books’ had emerged. Many books had been drafted in rough so that a great deal of the foundation work was complete.

It was at this stage that a group of teachers from the Christian Fellowship School in Liverpool asked Carole to work within their team setting, providing accountability and support for the work.

The writing of ‘Diamond Books’ has continued until the present day. Altogether 100 books have been planned. Sets A-C lay foundations for children’s lives not only for their reading development but also for their understanding of God and his plans. ‘The next 8 sets (D-K) cover the Bible chronologically, providing good role models and practical teaching on the ways of God. The final Set L covers the history and development of Israel from beginning to end through the Bible.

The next 8 sets (D-K) cover the Bible chronologically, providing good role models and practical teaching on the ways of God. The final Set L covers the history and development of Israel from beginning to end through the Bible.