A Handful of Children’s Picture Books

I have a slightly different (and more colorful!) review post for you today! I thought I’d take a rabbit trail into children’s picture books and see if I could find any with good Christian messages you could add to your collection or check out from the library. Being an Auntie myself, I’m always bringing a few hardcovers home to read to my nieces and nephews, but it’s difficult sometimes to find any with Biblical messages. Here are a some brief thoughts on what I’ve come across lately!

The Oak Inside the Acorn by Max Lucado

A lovely, thoughtful story about a tiny acorn unsure of it’s purpose and place. As he grows into a tree, he is continually encouraged to “just be the tree God made you to be”. Eventually he becomes a mighty oak and his strong branches support a little girl growing into a woman– who is also unsure of God’s special purpose for her.

The illustrations here are rich, warm, and inviting; probably my favorite part of the story. However, as a whole I found this book a little too long and wordy to be a bed-time favorite.

Thankful by Eileen Spinelli

This charming book celebrates the everyday blessings we find in our lives: comfortable shoes, birds, glitter and glue all find a place in the pages. The artwork is whimsical and reminds me of Roald Dahl (which I think is great!)

I wish this had a stronger Christian message, a stronger link to God being the source of all good things. There was one page that mentioned a pastor’s gratitude for God’s Word, but that was really the only Christian element of the story.

The Boy and the Ocean also by Max Lucado

I see a lot of children’s book artwork at the library where I work, and I have to say this is truly excellent. The paintings for this book are exemplary!

The artist in me just had to gush a little bit about how stunning every page of this book is. The message of God’s love being like the ocean, deep and never-ending, is sweetly sentimental. That said, I feel like there is already a lot of children’s material out there with the message “God loves you”, so I don’t feel like it’s a very unique story.

A Blessing from Above by Patti Henderson

My favorite book on this list, this one actually got me a little teary-eyed. Just the right read-aloud length, this is the story of momma kangaroo who finds and adopts a baby bird who falls from his nest. A good book to open up talking about adoption, “Momma Roo” and “Little One” thank God for all their blessings and “especially for each other.”