Written and illustrated as if it came from a child's hands, this simple book finds a prayer in each day of the week. Friday keep the ones I love. / Comfort them from up above. / Lift their hearts / and hold them dear. / Help them know that / you are here. Each day gets its own little prayer, hand-printed on a bright background on the left-hand page. On the facing page, Rylant provides her own illustrations of everyday moments in a child's life: a boy and his dog in bed; a child watching birds at a feeder. Although the art style is deliberately naive, sometimes the pictures really seem no better than something a six-or seven-year-old child might produce. What compensates for the ultrasimple shapes and the almost featureless children is the candy colorings that bring each page alive. The author's artistic expertise aside, little ones will respond to the sentiments and hopes expressed here. (Reviewed October 1, 1999)

Rylant's familiar artwork--basic shapes saturated with color, in a style reminiscent of finger painting--illustrates this small book. Double-page spreads featuring vibrantly colored flowers and a single word--the day of the week--alternate with pages that include a simple, sweet prayer and a picture of children and animals doing an everyday activity, such as reading a book or flying a kite. This confection may be too sugary for some readers.

In this small gem, childlike prayers and paintings for each day of the week illuminate an understanding of God as one who nurtures, teaches, protects, comforts and blesses children and their loved ones. The Newbery-winning author fashions simple rhymed verse that young readers may easily commit to memory: """"Monday make me good and kind/ to all creatures that I find./ Help me love God's whole creation./ Make my life a celebration."""" As in other works Rylant has illustrated (Dog Heaven), the paintings here resemble children's artwork. Each is idealized: the girl petting the bunny under the apple tree, the boy flying his kite with his dog. Rylant's poignant renditions, with their warm, crayon-box colors, present a world safe for exploring, for pondering and for praying. Her work offers both a model for how to pray to God, and the assurance that God's love and grace provide the foundation on which all prayers begin. All ages. (Oct.)