School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-A young girl asks her parents questions about God's clothes, speech, feelings, and actions. They reply, incorporating paraphrases from the book of Psalms. For example, she asks, ``Does God like to paint, Papa?'' Her father replies with a verse about Him painting sunrise and sunset, and she comments that she bets God likes painting rainbows as much as she does. The questions raised are typical of those posed by young children, and the result is a book that presents the concepts in an understandable, concrete way. A list of Biblical citations is included. The illustrations are painted with bright, intense colors in an impressionistic but realistic style to show the child in various situations. They make good use of varying perspectives and viewpoints. While there are many illustrated Bible stories available, there is nothing else that attempts to explain God to this age group.-Jane Gardner Connor, South Carolina State Library, Columbia

Horn Book

With answers paraphrased from Psalms, a young girl's parents respond to her childlike questions about God; scripture references taken from the New International Version of the Bible are listed at the end. The oil paintings that illustrate the girl enjoying nature leave no white space for the text, which makes it difficult to read. The exclusive use of male pronouns for God will lessen the appeal for some readers.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A conversation between Katrina and her parents about the nature of God deftly juxtaposes an adult metaphysical sensibility (replete with allusions to the book of Psalms) against a child's hands-on approach to spirituality. For instance, in answer to her daughter's question whether God has any pets, Mama replies: The animals and birds of the forest are his and every cow on a thousand hills,'' whereas Katrina's more pragmatic response is:Maybe God would like us to get a a puppy!'' Each turn of the page introduces a new question--what God wears, whether He talks, if He cries or sings--and another vista featuring McElrath-Eslick's bold brush strokes and her perhaps overexcited palette. The approach is nondenominational beyond its Judeo-Christian foundations, and could easily provide a springboard for family or one-on-one discussions. All of the Psalms alluded to are included in their entirety at the end of the book. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

ALA Booklist

In this lovely picture book, a small child questions her parents about the nature of God with a reassuring simplicity. She asks what He wears, how He talks, and whether or not He has pets, cries, and feels the cold. In most cases, but not all, a correlating Scripture passage follows, with an additional comment by either parent or child rounding out the short text on each page. Illustrated with paintings in bright hues, each double-page spread forms a thoughtful composition. Although in the last lines on each page the speaker is not identified, a potentially confusing element for wee ones, this is a graceful, quiet book to share on a lap or with a small group. List of Scripture references appended. (Reviewed Dec. 1, 1993)