Every Child Everywhere!

Every Child Everywhere! was written and illustrated by prolific children's author Debby Anderson with cooperation from Compassion International. The book highlights the diversity of children around the world while emphasizing how God loves all of us the same.

God's love reaches to cold climates and hot, to children who play and sing and take care of their pets, whatever those pets may be: dogs, kittens, lambs, chickens or camels! He cares for people who are tall, short, light, dark, quiet, loud, fast or slow. The author emphasizes that everyone is special. "But being special doesn't mean we are perfect. We get into all sorts of troubles ... Even then God loves us and helps us ..." Scripture references are plentiful throughout, supporting each point. The book concludes with a picture of Jesus embracing children of many ethinicities and nationalities.

Fans of Debby Anderson will be delighted to find her signature illustrations, colorful and happy as always. This volume, however, also incorporates photographs of children throughout the world who are sponsored by Compassion, International. Every photo and illustration is labeled with the country it represents: Zimbabwe, Peru, Jordan, etc.

What I Like: My kids love the photographs. We spend more time talking about the different kids and cultures than we do reading the text. I like that Bible references are sprinkled liberally. The text is encouraging with a solid biblical foundation.

What I Dislike: One line states "No one else thinks and feels just like you." Perhaps this is nit-picky on my part, but I don't believe that is true. This statement seems more isolating than unifying. I understand the author means no one else is exactly like anyone else, but we do share common thoughts and feelings, even if we look and act differently and even disagree.

Also, I wish this book included the salvation message. It talks all about how much God loves us and how He helps us, but it doesn't mention the sin that interrupts our relationship with this loving God. It doesn't include anything about Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the world -- all the children throughout the world -- so that we can live eternally with God. It seems an obvious and woeful omission.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: 4-8

Publisher Info: Crossway Books, 2008; ISBN: 1581348622; Hardback; $9.99

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Special Info: A portion of this book's royalties will provide sponsorship for another Compassion child. Learn more about this ministry at Compassion.com. Also, see our reviews of other books by this author.