Books for Christian Girls: "Leapin' Leopards" by Bill Myers

About this book:

  “A massive mess, a leopard on the loose, and the arrival of new life--it's just another day in the life of the Mulligans. From bestselling author Bill Myers comes a hilarious, warmhearted, and action-packed adventure starring the Mulligan family.
   Neither Michael nor Traci Mulligan had intended upon a large family, let alone one of such diversity. But God had other plans. After their second child, Lisa, was born blind, they began to see their gift for reaching out, connecting, and laughing with special children with special needs--all while raising their family among the many creatures living at the animal park that they operate.
   Are there trials? You bet. There's no way to keep the boat from rocking with so many children from such diverse backgrounds and in such an incredible environment. But their faith in Christ, commitment to one another, and ability to laugh at themselves keep them digging in to make it work.”

Series: Book #1 in “The Magnificent Mulligans” series.

Spiritual Content- Ephesians 4:32 at the beginning; Scriptures are quoted, read, & discussed (including about a dozen in the Thoughts & Questions section at the end of the book); Talks about God, praying, His plans, & forgiveness; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Some of the kids go to a Christian school & there’s a Bible class (some discussions/class parts are written); Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of the Lord’s Prayer & giving forgiveness to others; A handful of mentions of a wealthy man going to take “matters into his own hands” since “he had a few issues with God—don’t ask how many issues God had with him” (but he starts to pray in a dangerous situation that he’ll give his money away if God gets him out of it, though later goes back and forth how much he’ll give (trying to bargain with God)); A mention of Sunday school; A mention of someone wondering if a dangerous situation would be good to “make sure things were good with God”; A mention of a Christian school;
             *Note: A mention of Santa; A mention of an alien movie.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘birdbrain’ (regarding ostriches as a pun), a very long ‘blah blah blah blah’, four ‘dumbs’, nine ‘stupid’s, and a cut-off insult; Some eye rolling; One of the girls thinks there is a burglar breaking into their home (there is not…of the human variety, that is); Snide comments from a group of mean girls; Some of the siblings bicker, argue, and ignore each other; Nick is known to lie a lot (“if lying was an Olympic event, Nick could win gold, silver, and bronze—all at the same time”); Mentions of the possibility of an animal getting killed, hurt, or attacking someone; Mentions of a team of mean girls (they are rude to Jessica over her shoes and she is very hurt when Janelle doesn’t stand up for her *Spoiler* later, Janelle buys the same shoes so they can match *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of bullying & teasing (Hector, one of the boys, was suspended for making fun of another boy’s teeth); A few mentions of hatred;
A couple mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of urine & poop; A couple mentions of a leopard eating someone’s pet parakeet; A mention of jealousy; A mention of a burp;
             *Note: When it’s brought up about a giraffe giving birth, Hector says the ultrasound of the calf showed that “the thing is deformed” (his mother tries to correct his attitude, but he isn’t a big fan of animals because they’re “just…well, animals.”; He thought they shouldn’t “bother trying to save him—that they should just get rid of him and try for another”, but after seeing the baby giraffe, Hector encourages him); A mayor tells a female reporter that he “wouldn’t expect [her] little girlie head to understand the complex details of running a man’s business”; A man says that if it comes down to saving “some ignorant animal’s life or saving a human”, he’ll pick the human; A few mentions of when Hector was an orphan living on the streets of Bogota and another boy taught him how to hunt for food in dumpsters, gather cardboard to sleep on, and just stay alive in general; A few mentions of a car brand; A couple mentions of Arnold Schwarzenegger; A mention of an animal’s baby not making it; A mention of a brand name (Jell-O); A mention of the Animal Planet channel; A mention of the NBA.

Sexual Content- A ‘chick’; A few mentions of a popular girl swooning over Nick & having a crush on him (she’s rude to the twins because she didn’t believe they were siblings); A mention of a kiss in a movie;
             *Note: Helping a baby giraffe being born (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); A mention of “people on TV always scream when they have kids”; A mention of Nick (a sixteen-year-old boy) being concerned with his looks; Mentions of a man’s skimpy swimsuit (and some people’s horrified reactions to it).

-Winona
                               Most in the 1^st P.O.V. of Winona ( otherwise told in a story telling format)
                                                        140 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I will say that this book felt a little all over the place, but I’m pretty sure that’s on par for this author based on the couple others book I’ve read by him. That said, I can see some enjoying this first book. I’m unsure of those sensitive towards adoption and disabilities will feel about this story, though, as there are some comments made (& corrected) towards people (and animals) with disabilities. I can see some being fine with it and others being rubbed the wrong way, so I really think this book is going to be a case-by-case situation.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!