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 of DePaola’s books, actually: he’s written dozens of great books in both theological and non-theological genres.

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise is a simple, Scripture-inspired book that calls for all of creation, from the sun and moon to people everywhere, to praise the Lord.  Thematically, we’ve already reviewed quite a few books that are similar.  What strikes me about DePaola’s version, though, is how well it would work with a very young child.   The words and illustrations are both simple (though profoundly meaningful) and when you turn the last page you can hardly keep from following the book’s advice and bursting into praise.  In fact, I think that perhaps the ideal reading of this book would be as a final bedtime story for a 2-3 year old, followed by the Doxology or a favorite hymn.

I can’t imagine that most of you aren’t already well acquainted with DePaola’s works of kidlit fiction and theology, but if you’re not – oh my!  Head straight to the nearest library and do yourself a favor by checking out whatever they have, including this one.

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