What Kind of Fruit Does God Like?

What Kind of Fruit Does God Like?, is written and illustrated by J.Cecil Alexander. It both teaches children to be thankful for the fruit that they eat, and that God likes fruit (the fruit of the Spirit) too!

Joey eats fruit every day, and he knows that it helps him to grow strong and healthy. He remembers to thank God for his fruit, and wants to share it with his friends. As they are munching on their snack, they wonder what kind of fruit God likes?

The names of the fruit of the spirit are woven throughout the rhyming text:

"Maybe he loves sweet, crunchy apples, or do grapes bring Him joy?

Does He smile like I smile when I get my favorite toy?"

The story closes with Galatians 5:22-23. There is also a list of the fruit of the spirit and what each of them means. Following that is a page of "nutritional and fruity facts."

What I Like: This book is colorful and eye catching. I like the combination of learning two things at once: eating healthily, and the fruit of the spirit. This is really an adorable book that we'll enjoy reading over and over.

What I Disliked: As I was reading this to my child, I didn't feel that the fruit of the spirit part of the book was plain enough for a child to understand. It is very clever how the words love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance are placed into the rhyme, but they aren't really explained in the body of the story. Unless you keep flipping to the back page where a description of each fruit is given, there really isn't a tie that will explain to a child that the fruit that God likes is manifested in the heart.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: The publisher doesn't specify, but I'd say 2-6.

Publisher Info: Holy Child Publications, 2009; ISBN:0615277527; Paperback $9.95.

Buy it now at Amazon.com for $9.95!

Special Info: The main character of this book is an African-American boy. His friends are multi-racial.