Category: Ages 5–8 (page 2 of 38)

July 29, 2022 / 0 Comments

Read It, See It, Say It, Sing It

“Why?” is a question I hear a lot these days. Sometimes, yes, my girls use it as a stalling tactic. But often my daughters genuinely want to know: why did the caterpillar, lovingly housed in an old sour-cream container and doted on oh-so-much, have to die? Why is the sermon so long? Why did that best friend have to move? Why are there swimming lessons?

I answer a lot of these questions on the fly, with my fingers crossed. In my best moments and for the biggest questions, I send out a desperate plea for wisdom (Why, God, are we having this conversation right now? Oh help!). Or I reach for a book, of which we have many, and for precisely this reason. As a classic overexplainer, I am so grateful for picture books like Read It, See It, Say It, Sing It, that answer some of these big questions simply and cleanly (and, in this case, rhymingly).

Read It, See It, Say It, Sing It looks at the question “Why do we read the Bible?” and helps readers understand that the Bible is not just any book: it is one we take to heart and are transformed by. Hunter Beless’s sweet text invites readers to love God’s word and worship him as we hear it read, read it for ourselves, memorize or discuss it with others, and sing his word with others. Better still, Beless weaves passages of Scripture as well as short references into the book, so we’re encouraged to look to God’s word even as we close her book.

I may not have the answers to all the “Why” questions I’m asked, but I’m grateful for such a solid (and sweetly illustrated) answer to this one.

Read It, See It, Say It, Sing It: Knowing and Loving the Bible
Hunter Beless; Hsulynn Pang (2022)

Disclosure: I did receive a copy of this book for review, but I was not obligated to review it or compensated for my review in any way. I share this book with you because I love it, not because I was paid to do so.

July 15, 2022 / 0 Comments

3 Books About the Church

I haven’t always gone to church. It wasn’t until middle school that I started going at all and not until late high school that I started attending regularly and with gusto. So I can only sympathize in a sort of theoretical way with my daughters as they slide down their seats and stage whisper, “Is the sermon almost doooone?” Their experience with the church is already different from mine, and I know there will be both joy and challenge that comes with that. So I love a good picture book that zooms us out from our weekly routine and reminds us that we’re a part of something bigger on Sunday mornings—something living and wild, complex and beautiful.

This is the Church, by Sarah Raymond Cunningham

Church isn’t about the building—it’s the people. That’s the idea behind this book, which takes the childhood rhyme “This is the church, this is the steeple, open it up and see all the people” and deepens it, reminding us sweetly that the church isn’t just full of people—it is the people. God’s family.

The Celebration Place, by Dorena Williamson

This book also focuses on the people of God (rather than on the place where they meet) and celebrates the many different people that gather under the church roof. The Celebration Place portrays a multi-cultural church that points toward the day that all tribes and nations will worship the Lord together.

God Made Me for Worship, by Jared Kennedy

While the first two focus on the people of the church, God Made Me to Worship explores the rhythms of it. In that way, I suppose, this one isn’t just about the church but about worship: why is the church service structured the way it is? What do the different parts of the service mean? Because of that, this one won’t be directly applicable to all readers, as many church services flow differently from the one portrayed here. But still, it serves as an interesting introduction to the different way church can look.

July 1, 2022 / 0 Comments

God’s Attributes

That first week the schools closed, a friend sent us a care package filled with hand-cut paper petals and centers—red, yellow, orange, and black pieces that, once assembled, would make paper poppies the size of dessert plates. She thought we might need something fun to do, and she was right.

We put those poppies together, and then wrote two attributes of God on each flower—God is infinite; he is accessible; he is our Father, and so on. The girls had been learning these attributes in school but hadn’t made it all the way through the list before school closed, so we got a copy of the full list from one of their teachers and filled our poppies with these truths.

These attributes were a comfort to us during those unpredictable weeks, and they became, in themselves, answers to some of our hardest questions. Would we have what we needed, or would the grocery store shelves be sparse this week? God is faithful. How long would this all go on, and would we all come out safely on the other side? God is sovereign. How could God allow this to happen? God is omniscient—he knows so many things we cannot yet know. He is also wise and patient and merciful.

Jill Nelson’s new book, God’s Attributes, takes a deep and thoughtful look at this list of attributes and offers readings to correspond with each one. God’s Attributes is rich in Scripture and anchored by great discussion questions that encourage kids to imagine and think deeply about the material in each chapter, which makes this a great devotional for families (likes ours) that are reading to kids of all different ages. (The readings may be a little long for the youngest readers, but I think it would work well to—as I plan to—read them over a few different days or even a week and spend longer with each attribute.)

For those first few months, our poppies were simply taped to our kitchen wall. But after a while, we found that we wanted to give them a permanent place right there, in the center of our home. We hung a window salvaged from our home remodel over them like a frame and there they still are today—a reminder of who God is, and how untamable he is. Good and wrathful. Merciful and just. Incomprehensible and—always, ever, whatever happens—love.

God’s Attributes
Jill Nelson (2022)

June 24, 2022 / 0 Comments

His Grace is Enough

If there is one message I want my daughters to take with them when they’re grown, it’s not “Pay your rent on time” or “If some guy tries something fresh, remember ‘Gift of Destruction’ from your karate class and take him out'” (though I hope they remember those, too). But really, the number one thing I want them to remember is that they can always come home. Not just home to us, their parents, but to God: his grace is abundant and free and he will always welcome them back—whatever drew them away, whatever they got wrong while they were in the wilderness. I want them to know that they don’t need to hide their sin or work hard to make up for it, but that they can come to God trusting that he will smile as he looks upon them and that he will cover them with his grace and forgiveness.

That’s it. That’s the one thing I hope all our parenting distills down to.

And so I’m grateful for Melissa Kruger’s book, His Grace is Enough, which distills that truth down further for the youngest readers and lays a gospel foundation for children. The refrain that runs throughout this book reads:

His grace is enough
It’s so big and so free . . .
There’s no need to hide,
And no need to run
Now you can serve him with
Gladness and fun

Now, when I said Kruger has distilled the message of the gospel down for the littlest readers, I didn’t mean only for the littlest readers. I read this book to my daughters over lunch and we all said, in effect, “Aw, that’s sweet,” before moving on with our day. But a few hours later, one daughter was distraught over something she got wrong (intentionally or unintentionally? It wasn’t clear). And this refrain bubbled to the surface: His grace is enough, so big and so free. Those words helped anchor my own thoughts as I gathered her in my arms and said, “Hey, what do we do now? Do you have to work hard so we’ll love you again?”

She nodded. Uh oh.

“Oh, sweetie,” I said. “But you don’t—we love you always, no matter what, even before you say you’re sorry. And God does, too! You don’t have to hide from him or from us—we’ll keep loving you forever, whatever happens, and so will he. Okay?”

Apologies and snuggles ensued.

Clearly, my daughter needed to hear this again. But so did I: reading the gospel written so plainly helped me see that maybe I need to simplify it a bit when I share it with my kids—maybe talk less about substitutionary atonement and more about grace. So, there you have it: a parenting lesson in a picture book! (A brilliantly written, beautifully illustrated picture book.)

His Grace is Enough: How God Makes it Right When We’ve Got it Wrong
Melissa Kruger; Isobel Lundie (2022)

May God Bless You and Keep You, by Sarah Raymond Cunningham | Little Book, Big Story

June 17, 2022 / 0 Comments

May God Bless You & Keep You

For over two years, the only library books we brought home were ones we’d put on hold. We were ridiculous about this, of course, and still managed to bring dozens of books home, one heavy red plastic bin at a time. But still: I missed browsing. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until the first day I took my daughters to the library and wandered up and down the aisles, finding titles I’d never heard of and hadn’t known to look for.

We found books we love but had forgotten about (The World of Little House, for example, or Stephen Biesty’s cross-sections), as well as books that were completely, deliciously new to us (like Phil Bidner’s Martina & Chrissie). Of course, we also encountered the twaddle—lots and lots of it. So much more of it than I remembered. But in between the books we could do without we found plenty of little gems, like Sarah Raymond Cunningham’s sweet picture book, May God Bless You and Keep You.

This book reads like a series of benedictions spoken over the life of a child. Cunningham gives parents the words to bless children through the many joys and trials our children might face, from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, and all of these words point readers back to the Lord. Like a refrain throughout the book, Cunningham writes:

May God bless you.
May God keep you.
May God’s face shine on you today.
May God give you grace
and keep you safe.
May God be with you always.

For so many children who have wondered, over the past two years, where God has been or why he hasn’t answered their prayers the way they’ve wanted, this short picture book is a balm—a reminder that God is with us always, that his face shines upon us. I’m looking forward to many more trips to the library this summer, but I’m glad our first one began with this book. What a sweet start to a new season.

May God Bless You and Keep You
Sarah Raymond Cunningham; Lorian Tu (2018)

Category: Ages 5–8 (page 2 of 38)

Read It, See It, Say It, Sing It

3 Books About the Church

This is the Church, by Sarah Raymond Cunningham

The Celebration Place, by Dorena Williamson

God Made Me for Worship, by Jared Kennedy

God’s Attributes

His Grace is Enough

May God Bless You & Keep You

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