The Clown of God

The Clown of God Tomie dePaola Harcourt Brace, 1978 I’ve loved The Clown of God for a long, long time. I remember checking it out from the library over and over as a child. Before I had kids – and thus, before I had any sense about what a new mom might need – I [...]

Glory

Glory Nancy White Carlstrom and Debra Reid Jenkins Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2001 “Glory be to God for dappled things,” wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins in “Pied Beauty,” a paean to the unchanging God who is nevertheless author of “all things original, counter, spare, strange”. Creation, in its dazzling multiplicity, calls us to praise in [...]

Passover: Celebrating Now, Remembering Then

Passover: Celebrating Now, Remembering Then Harriet Ziefert and Karla Gudeon Blue Apple Books, 2010 I feel like I should start this review with a disclaimer: I may not be the best person to write about today’s book!  It’s written from a Jewish perspective and includes many details about the traditional Passover Seder… and I’m neither [...]

Just the Way You Are

Just the Way You Are Max Lucado and Sergio Martinez Crossway, 1999 Good news!  I’ve found another book by Max Lucado (in addition to You Are Special) that I think is well worth reading, especially during the present season of Lent.   Just the Way You Are is the tale of five orphans who find out that [...]

The Jesus Storybook Bible

The Jesus Storybook Bible Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago Zonderkidz, 2007 I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to write this review. We’ve had a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible since my (now 5-year-old) daughter was two, and she and I have read it from cover to cover at least twice. I guess I’m [...]

Shoebox Sam

Shoebox Sam Mary Brigid Barrett & Frank Morrison Zonderkidz, 2011 Let’s get to straight to the point: I love this book.  Really, really love it.  It has everything that Sarah and I look for in great theological children’s literature and is easily in my top 10 favorite books that we’ve reviewed here on the blog. [...]

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise Tomie DePaola Putnam Juvenile, 2011 This Christmas my daughter was given a copy of one of Tomie DePaola’s most recent books, called Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise, and after a single reading I knew I wanted to review it here.  It’s a wonder that we haven’t reviewed more [...]

We Three Kings

We Three Kings Gennady Spirin Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007 As Sarah wrote last week, Epiphany is the season between Christmas and Lent in which Christians through the ages have traditionally pondered Christ’s identity and mission.  So, while I did intend to review this particular book two weeks ago (oops), I gave myself permission to go [...]

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Brother Sun, Sister Moon Katherine Paterson and Pamela Dalton Handprint Books, 2011 According to tradition, Francis of Assisi composed The Canticle of the Sun (or Laudes Creaturarum, “praise of the creatures”) toward the end of his life, around 1224. Written in the Umbrian dialect – rather than church Latin – it is a beautiful song praise [...]

The Nativity

The Nativity Julie Vivas Gulliver Books, 1988 I’ve been thumbing through a handful of nativity story books for the past few weeks, agonizing over which one to review first.  It’s a tough decision (they really are all quite good), but I finally decided on Julie Vivas’ excellent book, The Nativity. Many nativity books seem to use [...]