March is my birthday month, so I thought it would be fun to look at picture books for birthdays, especially those with a faith connection. Here are a few to check out!

1. I’m So Glad You Were Born by Ainsley Earhardt (NYT bestselling author and Fox News anchor) is a book suited not just for birthdays but for any day your child needs a reminder about how special and loved they are. Inspired by Scripture and filled with playful illustrations, this book celebrates the dreams that make each child uniquely and wonderfully made. Best of all, a message of love and hope permeates the story. Written in rhyme, the book makes for easy reading.

• Wherever You Go, I Want You to Know… by Melissa B. Kruger is also a rhyming book with fun illustrations and a message about following your dreams. However, this book also points out that no matter where their journey takes them, children can love and follow Jesus. While not geared for birthdays per se, it’s a lovely celebration of life.

• Twirl by Emily Lex celebrates how each of us is “exquisitely designed” by God to show His love in our own special way. Whimsical watercolors illustrated pair with text that follows a young girl on her discovery of this truth. This book is definitely geared for the girls.

• Princess Joy’s Birthday Blessing by Jeanna Young and Jacqueline Kinney Johnson actually has a character celebrating her birthday. However, because it’s based on the Parable of the Great Banquet in Luke 14, this book is more about a lesson of all people being welcome at God’s banquet table in Heaven instead of the special party day. Still, the story has all the gifts and treats you’d expect to see at a birthday party, and I think young girls would enjoy the princess.

• My final selection is a general market book, but it’s such a unusual approach, I picked it. It’s called If You Had Your Birthday on the Moon by Joyce Lapin. I love the format– short text for the story and sidebars with information about space. And the illustrations are fun—kids dressed in astronaut suits while they and all the party decorations float in the zero-gravity rocket. Pre-read this story though so you have answers for some of the questions your child might ask about how the world was created, if aliens exist, and how God fits into it because, although packed with cool facts, the book does not include a religious angle. Still, I think both boys and girls will get a kick out of it. After all, on the moon, your birthday lasts as long as a month on Earth!

Do you have any other books you would add to my list? Put them in the comments below. And happy birthday… YOU! Be sure to sign up to receive updates of each new post on our Christian Children’s Authors blog. Follow us for new book news, free resources, parenting tips, and encouragement! #christianchildrensauthors #christianwriters #birthday #birthdays

Lori Scott