Monday, May 25, 2009

Do You Want a Friend?

Noël Piper’s sequel to Most of All, Jesus Loves You! is Do You Want a Friend? Written for kids ages 3-7, it shows that there are potential friends all around us, but leads to the truth that Jesus is the best friend we could ever have.

Gail Schoonmaker--who did the illustration for The Big Picture Story Bible--did the drawings for this book, too.

You can browse the book online for free.

Thabiti Anyabwile recently wrote on a few of the things he appreciated about the book:
1. I appreciated that every aspect of friendship highlighted in the book pointed to the Savior and to a specific passage of Scripture highlighting His character.

2. I appreciated that most of the faces in the book are some shade of brown. You can read this book with every ethnicity or phenotype and the reader can see themselves in it.

3. I appreciated that the main family was an intact brown family. Don't see that enough in children's books.

4. I appreciated that this brown family was socially and economically mobile.

5. I appreciated that people with disabilities are plentifully included--even in the background family photos hanging on the walls.

6. I appreciated that tears and empathy are taught in the book.

7. I appreciated that people of every age play meaningful parts in the book.

8. I appreciate that the book not only points to Jesus as Friend, but to Jesus as the only Savior, Friend of sinners. That it ends with the gospel and doesn't shy away from telling children that sin is dangerous but Jesus is greater.

9. I appreciated the hymn that concludes the book, "One There Is, Above All Others." The book ends in doxology. Praise the Lord!