God Loves You
Last year, Picture The Bible by Stacy Johnson Myers landed on my desk and I was instantly enchanted by it. I have enjoyed it alongside many children, used it as inspiration for projects with families, and have snuggled up with it with my own babes for a bedtime read. When Pilgrim Press released God Loves You, also by Stacy Myers Johnson, I knew I needed it. When a copy arrived from the publisher, I did a little happy dance and hit the couch with my youngest crew. It did not disappoint!
God Loves You is a beautiful board book featuring the same collages from Picture The Bible. It pulls the reader in with flowing, gentle language telling about how God loves each of us when we were born like Jesus, play and climb like Zaccheus, hiding like Miriam, and angry like Jesus with the money lenders in the temple. The words are simple, yet relatable for all ages. My ten year old was as equally engaged as my toddler while we read this. Everyone identifies with the emotions and the illustrations are inclusive of so many of God’s children that readers should be able to identify with at least one collage. The pages are sturdy, the finish is smooth, and the text is well spaced, creating a book that people can turn to again and again because, not only will it last, but the story endures while the detailed collages draw you in, inviting you to find nuances that you missed in prior readings.
This book will be quite useful in your ministry setting. It’s the perfect addition to pew baskets and praygrounds, as well as part of a lending library for families. A copy should be in your early childhood classrooms- children will happily pull it off the shelf/out of the basket to enjoy on their own. Your early childhood teachers will get a lot of mileage out of reading this to their classes, and it is a great addition to a collection of books to use during chapel times with preschools. Need a new baby gift? Here you go! Need something to inspire a multigenerational craft session? This book provides! Choose an emotion, choose a story, grab your paper and glue, and have the generations create together. This would also be a wonderful touchstone for early childhood and elementary teachers to turn to when children need reminders of how they matter, what community looks like, and how God sees each one of us. A gentle reading every so often will help reinforce all of these. I would highly recommend snagging a copy of this versatile resource.
