Baptized in the Water: Becoming a Member of God’s Family

Written by Glenys Nellist; Illustrated by Anna Kazimi

Nothing brightens up a raw, grey, snowy April day more than the UPS truck rattling down our dusty driveway to drop off a new book from the publisher. My six year old, Celia, and I gleefully snatched up the copy of Baptized by the Water by Glenys Nellist, snuggled up, and had a cozy read-together time with a fabulous new title! By the end of the book, both of our heads were dancing with possibilities for using this book in our lives. 

When I asked Celia what she thought, she responded with:

Wow! I love these endpapers! The front shows day and the back shows evening. I really liked that this book has rhyming passages. The illustrations are so colorful. I like to see what everyone is wearing in this book. I like that some pictures are based in water and some are outside of water. That makes them different, but there are things that are the same because of the water. Maybe I can keep this book in my room? I could use it for some prayers.

Are you looking for a book that fully explains baptism in accessible language? This book delivers. Are you looking for a book that discusses the symbolism of baptism in ways that relate to everyday life? This book is for you. Are you looking for a book that matches text with illustrations so that everyone can find themselves included in and central to the story? Look no further. 

The rhyming passages that are interspersed with the explanatory text add more than emphasis and nuanced details. They draw in even the youngest of readers (my one year old swayed along) and provide readers with opportunities to connect at different levels of development and understanding. Personally, I am hoping that someone will take the passages and set them to a hymn tune so we can sing them at the next baptism I attend. (No pressure, Ms. Nellist and Zondervan, but it would be sublime. Children’s ministers everywhere will be forever in your debt and families will be in happy tears when they hear them sung for their children.)

My experience working with diverse congregations has put me on the hunt to fill our libraries and ministries with books that represent the beautiful variety of God’s people. When I started working in children’s ministries two decades ago, I would see children light up when they could see themselves in illustrations and text. Now, it is glaringly obvious when God’s children are not fully represented. Both author and illustrator of Baptized in the Water teamed to provide us with a book that includes a beautiful representation of the fullness and variety of God’s people. This cohesiveness is important in all topics, but especially baptism.

I can see this book being used as part of introduction to faith classes for both children and adults. This book is perfect for introducing the beautiful variety in baptism practices and the reasons for this sacrament. Faith Start classes would be greatly augmented by this text because it not only provides the information in accessible language, but also provides the readers with the opportunity to create a companion project (e.g. a mural, a video, a simple patchwork blanket from squares that depict the meaning of baptism that are drawn by class members using fabric markers) that further explains baptism to the next people to take the class. It becomes a history to hand down through the generations of the congregation. 

I just ordered two copies of this book; one for a gift for a sweet friend who is to be baptized soon and one for Celia. How can I say no to her keeping a copy in her room to use for prayers?