I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, I pictured God as a white-haired old man with a beard. To me, God was always male, unapproachable, and a little scary. If only I’d owned a beautiful book like Picturing God! I would have loved to have imagined God as a mother, or living water, as a rock, or the wind, as a door, or as the light.

These marvelous metaphors for God are among many explored in this lovely new picture book by author and illustrator Ruth Goring, whose lyrical words combine beautifully with her use of handcrafted mixed-media collages to create this stunning title. Here’s a peek inside…

Published by Beaming Books and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Picturing God begins in this way…

The lyrical text is lovely, soothing, and thought-provoking:

The Bread of Life makes us strong-

strong enough to share,

strong enough to be kind,

strong enough for pure delight-

and we find new ways

to give God’s love away.

God is a Father who forgives again and again,

who watches for us

and runs to meet us…

God is a Mother

who covers us with her wings.

This picture book, written for little ones aged five-eight, is just a beautiful way to nurture children’s spiritual curiosity and cause them to wonder about our great God.

If you are interested in that topic, whether you are a writer for children, a parent, a librarian, an educator, or someone involved in children’s ministry, I invite you to join me and a host of other children’s authors and publishers as we present at this upcoming virtual, progressive Children’s Christian Book Conference.

Until next time,

Glenys