Thank You, God, for Blessing Me

If you want to teach your toddler how to have an attitude of gratefulness, you may enjoy Max Lucado’s book Thank You, God, for Blessing Me. In the story, Hermie the caterpillar thanks God for all his blessings: the beauty of nature, his family and friends, and for providing food and shelter. Hermie also asks God to help him be kind and obey… because that’s another way Hermie thanks God.
The book is written in rhyming text. Each page turn is a two-page spread, making the actual “story” only 5 pages long. The illustrations, done by Frank Endersby, hold enough detail to keep the attention of young readers. Endersby fills each background with either bright warm colors or soothing cool colors.
What I Like: The illustrations are sweet and appealing. The message is simple and easy to remember. The brevity of the story and sturdiness of the board book format makes it a great bedtime read for the infant to age 3 audiences. Kids who are already familiar with the Hermie character will likely enjoy reading it the most. It would serve as a great springboard to talk to your kids about prayer.
What I Dislike: Hermie thanks God for his eight little buggy feet. It’s good to thank God for this, but a true caterpillar would not have 8 feet. It would have 6 true legs at the front end of its body and five sets of prolegs at the back end of its body. If I were reading it to my little one, I’d probably pause to point that out. (It’s the teacher in me!) In addition, the meter of the poetry wasn’t quite consistent, which, at times, made it awkward to read aloud.
Overall Rating: Very good for kids infant through age 3. Good for children older than 3.
Age Appeal: Baby-preschool
Publisher Info: Thomas Nelson, 2011; ISBN:978-1400318032; Boardbook, 10 PGS., $6.99
Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $5.99
OR Buy it at Amazon.com for $6.99
OR Buy the kindle version for $5.59.
Special Info: Read CCBR reviews of other books by Max Lucado.