Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
Carole Boston Weatherford & Kadir Nelson
Hyperion, 2006

This review is a little late for Martin Luther King Jr. Day (which was yesterday), but that doesn’t mean you should wait another year before tracking this wonderful book down. I happened to stumble upon it in the MLK Jr. display at the San Francisco Central Library, and was so delighted that I sat down and read the whole thing right there. And took it home to share with my kids, as well.

Moses is a re-telling of Harriet Tubman’s first flight to freedom, and her eventual resolve to save as many fellow enslaved African Americans as possible. Her story is profoundly moving, and there are a number of good biographies (picture and otherwise) out there. Two things set this marvelous picture book apart, however.

In the first place, Harriet’s entire journey hangs on the frame of an ongoing conversation with God. Harriet speaks to God, and God speaks right back. He gives her His mandate for her freedom (“I set the North Star in the heavens, and I mean for you to be free”) and helps her minutely along the way. Her superhuman courage and conviction are revealed to be just that:

And Harriet heeds God’s call, goes south again and again, keeps her bands of runaways moving – come storms and rough country – clear to Canada: Canaanland. And when free souls sing her praises, she gives glory where it is due. It wasn’t me. It was the Lord. I always trust Him to lead me, and He always does.

My daughter is in kindergarten this year, and this month she is hearing about Dr Martin Luther King, Jr in school. She’s getting her first introduction to the tragic sin of racism that has festered at our nation’s heart since its inception. I’m so grateful to have happened upon a book that testifies to God’s heart at a real moment in history. In the middle of the evil system of human enslavement, God was resolutely on the side of justice and liberation, and his mighty work was channeled through a powerless slave woman. If this is the history of how God acts, what can we say about his heart today towards the millions who are enslaved and trafficked around the world?

The second thing that instantly won me to this book is the artwork by Kadir Nelson. We’ve reviewed another of his books, and the more time I spend with his work, the more I love it. There is so much soul and life and rich emotion in Harriet’s face, and always a soft light shining upon it – or more accurately, from within it. He may not be Rembrandt, but I can’t help thinking he’s learned a bit about the use of light from the Master. Nowhere in the book – except for her first day in Philadelphia – does Harriet look happy, but in every portrait she looks grimly, fiercely committed, alive, and beautiful.

I love that this book’s story is so deeply theological and Incarnational. God acted, and continues to act in history, and his pattern is uncomfortably plain: pouring himself into what is weak and broken in order to act mightily on its behalf. He did it for all of humanity in Jesus, and in a smaller way he did it for a group of cruelly enslaved human beings in the life of Harriet Tubman. As our children grow, and become increasingly able to understand this truth, I hope that books like this will ask them: how does God want to work in you?

Bethlehem

Bethlehem
Fiona French
HarperCollins, 2001

Bethlehem is a classic nativity book in every sense.  Like several others we’ve reviewed, its text is taken straight from the Bible and its illustrations capture the story of Jesus’ birth in fairly traditional ways.  What makes this book unique is the way that Fiona French has managed to capture the beauty of classically designed stained glass.  Turning the pages is like glancing around a great cathedral to see a series of images that are all part of the Story we celebrate every December 25.

If you’re searching for Christmas books that are something other than a straightforward retelling of the birth of Christ, this book is probably not going to be a fast favorite for you.  (Check out The Christmas Troll, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, or The Jesse Tree if originality  is what you desire.)  But if you’re like me and can’t have enough Nativity books scattered around your home at this time of year, please do track it down.  It would be a beautiful addition to any Christmas library!

One Night in Bethlehem

One Night in Bethlehem
Jill Roman Lord & Paige Keiser
Ideals, 2011

Today’s book is a board book and a touch-and-feel book and a theologically meaningful Christmas story.  Triple whammy for the under-3 age group!

One Night in Bethlehem tells the story of a boy who imagines himself present at the first Christmas.  Here’s how the opening page reads:

Each time I see the manger scene
I try with all my might
to dream of what I might have done
if I’d been there that night.

The boy goes on to explore how he would have reacted to the birth of Christ if he was a lamb, cow, angel, shepherd, star, and wise man.  In each of these roles, he can barely contain his excitement!  He speaks of singing the loudest, running the fastest, and offering the most precious gift he can think of.  I absolutely love how the author makes clear the reality of the Christmas story by helping us imagine ourselves being present – the birth of Christ was a historical event, and we could have been there!  This imagining isn’t just an interesting thought exercise, though, because the boy in the story leads by example in creatively and jubilantly praising God.   This isn’t a sit back and relax kind of book, it’s a kind of book that is going to get you and your children truly excited about Jesus’ birth!

I never thought I’d say that a rhyming touch-and-feel book would lead me into worship, but there you have it.  Needless to say, One Night in Bethlehem is a wonderful choice for the youngest children in your life.  My own son might even find a copy in his stocking this year (shhh!).

Little One, We Knew You’d Come

Little One, We Knew You’d Come
Sally Lloyd-Jones & Jackie Morris
Little, Brown and Company, 2006

It’s a rare thing to find a book about the birth of Christ that’s an Advent book instead of a Christmas book, by which I mean a book that focuses on the joyful expectancy surrounding the Messiah’s birth.   Most Christmas books for kids, even the majority of the theological ones I’ve seen, tend to skip over all of the waiting and land instead right in the middle of Jesus’ birthday party celebration.  There’s obviously nothing wrong with celebrating Christ’s birth!  But the way that we do so with barely a thought given to the centuries of longing endured by God’s people is perhaps not helpful to our spiritual lives.

Sally-Lloyd Jones to the rescue!  (She’s getting good at that!)  Everything about Little One, We Knew You’d Come makes it a perfect choice for Advent reading.  Its poetry makes clear that the world had been longing and praying for this special baby for quite some time.  The refrain “we knew you’d come” speaks volumes about the trust God’s people have in their ever-faithful God.  The evocative images of Mary and Joseph simultaneously capture feelings of somber yearning and deep peace; their eyes and faces are wrought with meaning.  The text on its own doesn’t actually speak of Jesus (on its own it’s pretty close to what every new parent whispers to their newborn), but the illustrations make perfectly clear which Baby we’re talking about: Christ the Savior has come into the world!

I’d love to find more books that capture the traditional themes of Advent – oh, how I would love to have a book about longing for the Second Advent!   While I wait for that (pun intended), I’m grateful that Sally Lloyd-Jones has ensured that there is at least one great Advent book available to us.  If your family distinguishes between Advent and the 12 Days of Christmas, you’re going to want to check this one out.

The Story of Christmas

The Story of Christmas
Jane Ray
Puffin, 1998

Lately my 3-year-old daughter and I have been reading everything our library has to offer by Jane Ray.  The Dollhouse Fairy and The Apple Pip Princess are more than delightful (they’re both on her current wish list) and several others that I haven’t seen yet look equally wonderful.  Her stories are incredibly captivating, and – lucky us! – she has also penned several theological books.  Sarah reviewed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden back in 2011, and today I want to share her version of the nativity story with you.

When you’re talking about Jane Ray, it’s hard to know whether to gush first about her storytelling or her artwork.  The Story of Christmas exclusively uses Scripture (KJV) as its text, though, so I’m afraid she doesn’t get the amazing storytelling credit for this one.  The artwork, however, is simply marvelous.  There’s a luminous quality about the images that somehow make this book (and all of her books, really) seem extra special.  There is so much to look at – and yet nothing detracts from the central storyline of the Messiah’s humble birth.  There is also a beautiful juxtaposition of holy and ordinary in many of the scenes.  Mary, for instance, is clearly someone special, but in nearly every scene after Jesus’ birth she is shown breastfeeding.  This depiction is particularly poignant for me as a nursing mama, and I often find myself wondering at the mystery of God incarnate: God was once a baby who needed his mother’s milk as often as my son needs mine.  Amazing.

One of the things I like best about this particular nativity book is that the story doesn’t stop at the birth of Jesus.  Jane Ray uses selected passages from the books of Matthew and Luke, starts at the Annunciation, and follows the biblical account all the way until Mary, Joseph, and Jesus return to Nazareth after their flight to Egypt.  Sometimes nativity stories have an almost fairy-tale like quality to them, but this book makes it clear that the story of Christ’s birth doesn’t start or stop with a baby in a manger.

The Story of Christmas may very well be my very favorite nativity picture book to date, and I hope you’ll be able to track down a copy to share with your family.  Sadly, it’s out of print and used copies aren’t cheap, so it might be a good one to hunt down at the library.  While you’re there, pick up some of Jane Ray’s other books and you’ll take home a treasure trove!

The Little Drummer Boy

The Little Drummer Boy
Ezra Jack Keats
Puffin, 2000

We’ve been a bit light on book reviews lately, I know, but I’m hoping to make it up to all of you faithful readers with five posts this week!   Yep, that’s right: come back every day through Friday for reviews of my newest favorite Christmas books.  Sound like a deal?  Advent has been busy this year, so it will be a small miracle if I can pull it off, but I’m very eager to share the stack of books sitting next to me right now so I’m going to give it my best shot.

The first book in line this week is Ezra Jack Keats’ The Little Drummer Boy, which became a favorite of mine over a year ago when I discovered it on our library’s shelves.  It fits perfectly alongside our other Advent and Christmas books because of its artwork as well as its thematic content.

If you’re familiar with Keats’ more famous books like The Snowy Day or Whistle for Willie you already know the appeal of his artwork and how his characters easily engage young children.  Paired with the Christ-honoring lyrics to “The Little Drummer Boy” it’s a winning combination!  In between lots of rum-pa-pum-pums there’s a powerful message awaiting young readers (and singers):

I have no gift to bring
That’s fit to give the King…
I played my drum for him
I played my best for him
Then he smiled at me, me and my drum

This carol really has it all:  Baby Jesus is the King and he deserves our worship.  We ought to joyfully offer him the very best of what we have, even if it seems like a small token, and he is greatly pleased when we do so.  When I read this book  to my daughter I find myself drawn into the little boy’s story.  I feel his momentary sadness when he thinks he has nothing to give and then I share his delight when he realizes he does have something to give the Christ child.  As I turn the last page I always find myself thinking about the nature of worship and about what I have that I can offer to Christ.  The Little Drummer Boy is definitely a book I want my children to know and love, and I bet you’ll feel the same way.

Don’t forget to drop by tomorrow for a review of another beautiful and theologically rich Christmas book!

Smack Dab in the Middle of God’s Love

Smack Dab in the Middle of God’s Love
Brennan Manning, John Blase, & Nicole Tadgell
Tommy Nelson, 2011

When I saw that Brennan Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel and other devotional books, had recently written a book for children my interest was piqued.  Forgive me, C.S. Lewis, but I’m usually skeptical of authors who suddenly decide to write for children after exclusively writing for adults for most of their career.  Sometimes I’m wrong, but often it seems that many authors don’t quite get it right when they try to genre-switch.  Anyone else feel that way?

Brennan Manning, I’m happy to report, has done a wonderful job in his first book for children.  Smack Dab in the Middle of God’s Love has earned a permanent spot in our home library and each time I read it to my daughter I find myself appreciating it more.  It offers us a glimpse into the lives of Willie Juan and Ana and a pack of neighborhood children who flock to their home in Hopi, Mexico every evening.  The children gather there to share in the bounty of Ana’s fresh sopapillas and to ask questions about everything from hummingbirds to God.  I’ve grown to love this book because it so beautifully captures both human and divine love… and, I’ll admit it, also because after I read it I was struck with an irrepressible desire to make sopapillas and found this recipe which I plan to make as soon as I can possibly manage.

The main conversation captured in this book stems from a question that Willie Juan asked the children: “Someday, when you are in heaven, what do you think Abba will ask you?”  As the children respond, a number of themes emerge but they all have to do with God’s love.  God is pleased when we care for others, but we will never do so perfectly – and his love never fails even when ours does.  God loves even the least of these.  Every good thing we have flows from God’s love and he desires for us to enjoy those gifts with a joyful, grateful heart.

Where some theological books for kids are weak on narrative, Smack Dab gives us authentic characters and a real story.  Where some are overhanded or dry in their approach to communicating theological truth, Smack Dab tells us of God’s love naturally and memorably.  It’s not a complete theological treatise (hint: no children’s books are) and it’s not a “here’s the core message of the gospel” book, but I love it for what it is: a reminder of the depth of God’s love for us, and a nudge to see that love in the small gifts we receive from his hand each day.  It’s a wonderful read any time of year, but it’s a particularly fitting choice for November as we get our families ready for Thanksgiving.

Thanks a Million

Thanks a Million
Nikki Grimes and Cozbi Cabrera
Greenwillow, 2006

One of my favorite poems is “Messenger,” by Mary Oliver (found in her collection, Thirst). In it, she writes:

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished…
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

Gratitude. I would love to say that it’s the fundamental posture of my life. At this point, let’s just say that it’s my highest aspiration. It’s a habit to be cultivated. And as I’m working on it myself, I’m trying to help my kids along the way too. So I was thrilled – grateful even! – to stumble across Thanks a Million at our local library branch last week.

Thanks a Million is a collection of poems about gratitude. What I love is how Grimes’ poems take seriously the whole range of children’s thanks: there are poems about weekends, ball games with dad, and a new friend in the lunchroom. Those simple moments are treated with as much respect as the thanks given by children who have lost parents, been embarrassed in front of classmates, or are sleeping in a homeless shelter. On setting the book down, the reader walks away with the sense that there is blessing everywhere, if only we know how to look.

And oh, the illustrations. They are vibrant, sensitive, and beautiful. The interplay between images and language is wonderfully done. Both my literate five-year old and her wiggly two-year-old brother were happy to sit and take in the poetry, and they were arrested by the illustrations. As we’re approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, this is a wonderful volume to spend some time with, and to spur us on towards becoming people whose work is gratitude.

The Bible Story Handbook

The Bible Story Handbook
John & Kim Walton
Crossway, 2010

Sarah and I have written repeatedly about the importance of beauty in theological books for kids, but our blog tagline is “beautiful and true theological books for children.”  We are, to be sure, equally as concerned with the issue of truth.  If we believe the Bible to be God’s special revelation to us (and we do), children’s theological books that don’t accurately reflect Scripture are a big problem.

Today’s review isn’t of a theological book for kids but rather a book that will help us grown-ups do a better job in selecting and thinking critically about theological books for kids.  And who wouldn’t want that?  The Bible Story Handbook is an excellent resource that I think all families and churches, or anyone who reads or tells Bible stories to children, should have on their shelves.

Think of The Bible Story Handbook as a mini Bible commentary that’s written specifically for parents and children’s ministers.  John Walton is a Bible professor at Wheaton College and he and his wife bring academic expertise and practical church experience to this project – it’s a winning combination.  Most of the book is divided into 2-3 page long entries; the authors cover 175 of the most commonly told Bible stories from both Testaments.  For each Bible story, the Waltons follow the same outline: Lesson Focus, Lesson Application, Biblical Context, Interpretational Issues, Background Information, and (my personal favorite) Mistakes to Avoid.

There are a number of ways this book would be useful, but here’s one scenario.  Say your child was recently given a Bible storybook about Daniel and something about it strikes you as not exactly right, but you can’t quite put your finger on the exact problem even after reading the original biblical account.  Flip to the corresponding chapter in this book and you’ll find a brief, highly accessible discussion on how to tell the story faithfully and common pitfalls to avoid.  Most of the content is not altogether different from what you’d find in a commentary written for adults, but it offers some distinct advantages: namely, that it’s written with great awareness for how Bible stories are typically presented (for better or worse) in children’s storybooks and in contemporary children’s ministries.

As much as I love the reference sections of this book, the best part may actually be the introductory chapter, only 15 pages in length.  There the Waltons lay out their heart for children being told Bible stories in a way that preserves Scriptural authority, encourages belief response, avoids educational of behavioral agendas, and doesn’t extrapolate with details or themes that simply aren’t found in the original text.  It alone is worth the price of the entire book!  Here’s a sample of the wisdom they offer us:

Is there a “wrong way” to teach a Bible story?  Indeed there is.  If we set our own agenda above that of the text, we are teaching the story wrongly… It is not important to the author of John 6 (the feeding of five thousand) that the boy shared his lunch.  If we teach these things, we are telling the story wrongly because we are substituting what we want to teach at the expense of the biblical author’s message. A story is told rightly when we can confidently claim that it represents the intention of the author and the authority of the text… If we present something as God’s Word when it is not, we are misusing God’s name.

Sobering, but I couldn’t agree more.  You can be sure that this book is going to be used in my evaluation of books we’re considering reviewing here on the blog, and I commend it to you as well.

The Genesis of It All

The Genesis of It All
Luci Shaw, Sr. Huai-Kuang Miao & Sr. Mary Lane
Paraclete, 2006

Luci Shaw is a contemporary poet whose work is rich, highly regarded, and deeply spiritual. She writes for and serves on the board of Image (which I love); has published volumes of poetry, essays, and spiritual memoir; and co-authored a few books with the late great Madeleine L’Engle. In other words, she’s really cool. And she has written a beautiful children’s book about creation, The Genesis of It All.

I love books about creation, generally. Once we can imagine that this world was crafted by God, with love and care, the most mundane things are suffused with wonder and mystery. I love this book, in particular, because of its emphasis on God’s delight in what he creates, and its attentiveness to the creative process. God thinks, ponders, and imagines – and these thoughts become the reality we inhabit. God is “exhilarated” and “excited” as he thinks and speaks the world into existence. And throughout, this marvelous refrain is repeated: “It wasn’t easy, but God did it. It was a mystery, so we don’t know how it happened. We weren’t there to see.”

As they read The Genesis of It All, children can see a continuity with their own budding creative processes. Our ability to imagine and create comes from our Creator, and we mirror his image whenever we make. But there is a clear emphasis on the originality and power of God’s creation, and a welcome acceptance of the mystery of it all. It’s okay that we don’t know how this all came about. We can explore it scientifically, but we’ll never be able to prove anything about the origins of life. We weren’t there to see. But we’re here now, to rejoice in the glory of it all, and to marvel at the wonder.