From Newbery-winning author Cynthia Rylant comes Give Me Grace. This book is short and sweet, perfect for toddlers. It features seven prayers, one for each day of the week. The prayers are told in rhyming verse making them easy to memorize. Also, the book's format emphasizes the names and order of the days making this book a practical teaching tool, as well.
The author is also the illustrator. She fills every page with bold, striking colors. Her illustrations are very folksy, almost child-like in technique.
What I Like: Children often fall into praying the same thing all the time. This book gives them alternatives and teaches them to pray for different things. I love the colors! The illustrations are truly vibrant. I also like the listing of days of the week. My daughter is learning these now; this may prove a valuable help to her efforts.
What I Dislike: I support the ACTS model of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. The prayers in this book seem to focus only on supplication. None of them praise God for who He is or even offer thanks for what He has done and given. One prayer does say "Make me thankful ..." but none of them actually offer thanks. They all are phrased in a "do this, give me this, bless these people ..." way. God encourages us to come to Him with our requests, but asking for things is not the one and only point of prayer. With seven prayers, I would have liked at least one of them to focus on the other important aspects.
Overall Rating: Good.
Age Appeal: Baby-Preschool
The author is also the illustrator. She fills every page with bold, striking colors. Her illustrations are very folksy, almost child-like in technique.
What I Like: Children often fall into praying the same thing all the time. This book gives them alternatives and teaches them to pray for different things. I love the colors! The illustrations are truly vibrant. I also like the listing of days of the week. My daughter is learning these now; this may prove a valuable help to her efforts.
What I Dislike: I support the ACTS model of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. The prayers in this book seem to focus only on supplication. None of them praise God for who He is or even offer thanks for what He has done and given. One prayer does say "Make me thankful ..." but none of them actually offer thanks. They all are phrased in a "do this, give me this, bless these people ..." way. God encourages us to come to Him with our requests, but asking for things is not the one and only point of prayer. With seven prayers, I would have liked at least one of them to focus on the other important aspects.
Overall Rating: Good.
Age Appeal: Baby-Preschool
Publisher Info: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1999; ISBN: 0689822936; Hardback; $12.95
Buy it Now at Amazon for $11.01
Additional Info: This book is also available as a boardbook in English or Spanish.
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