A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 329

Picture Book: Hands Say Love 

Author: George Shannon

Illustrator: Taeeun Yoo

Summary: A family with three young children is the context for representing the variety of ways “hands say love”. The pairs of loving hands that carry this family through a day engage in everyday gestures that mean the world to young children and parents. Loving hands feed, make, hold, hug, sooth, and give. Everyday situations are here such as tying a shoe, along with more unusual contexts as when holding a bike steady for a child to learn to ride and playing music at a party.

Hanna’s Comments: Although simple conceptually, this picture book offers a wealth of material for helping children understand the love that often undergirds a family’s actions and ways of tending. Conversation could easily move on to school and friendship situations. Create deeper, more meaningful learning by helping your children understand the Godly source of all this love and the delight that occurs when such love is shared. In the Christian church, we sometimes use the phrase “the hands and feet of Christ” when we are referring to loving acts. Even young children can begin thinking in these terms, realizing that the loving goodness we share is God-ordained and modeled by Jesus. 

Original Publisher & Date of Publication: Little, Brown, & Co., 2014 

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 2 and up, Toddler and up 

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: Tablet

PBT Category: Fresh off the Press

PBT Topics this Book connects with: abundance/bounty, action, affection, babies/children, blessings, body/body of Christ, caring/tending, celebration/party, commitment, communication, dependence/interdependence, encouragement, fathers, God’s nature, God’s presence, God’s will, helping, holiness, image of God, labor/work, love, mothers, parents/parental love, servant/service/serving 

Scripture Connections: A new commandment I give you, that you love one another (John 13:34-35); for the body (of Christ) does not consist of one member but of many (1 Corinthians 12:14); love is patient and kind (1 Corinthians 13:4); let all you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14); above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:14)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this picture book to a group of young children when teaching them about God’s encouragement of our loving interactions.