A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 347

Picture Book: Glory

Author: Nancy White

Illustrator: Debra Reid Jenkins 

Summary: Glory be to God! Creation is celebrated as an enormous variety of creatures praise God in this beautiful book. How does a butterfly, frog, fish, turtle, or rooster praise God? God is praised when God’s creatures do what they are created to do whether flying, wriggling, making a joyful noise, singing to God in silence, or in the case of the young costumed girl on these pages, pretending to be another of Earth’s marvelous creatures. Here’s a sample of the verse:

Glory be to God for friendly fur,

For wiggling nose and racing heart,

For twitching ears and throbbing purr,

Tails that stretch and tails that wag,

Tail buttons soft as cotton…

All creatures by their being praise their Creator’s name.

Hanna’s Comments: While reading this book to your audience, pause after each double page spread and encourage them to move their bodies, acting out the motions and voices of favorite animals on the pages. Afterwards, praise God for the abundance and beauty we see in animal life through writing a group poem or pantomime. Talk about how animal characteristics serve their survival and how that is true for humans too. Surely God’s creative love is at work in these creatures and each of your listeners. Ask them for some examples of God's creative love in them - some passions and gifts they treasure or favorite aspects of their glorious bodies. Talk about how God can be praised at church, home, and nature throughout their lives.

Original Publisher & Date of Publication: Eerdman’s Books, 2001

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 5 and up, K and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: None at present

PBT Category: God Book, Post 2K

PBT Topics this Book connects with: abundance/bounty, affirmation, animals, art, authenticity, awe, beauty, creation, creativity/imagination/ingenuity, difference, diversity, Earth/world, the environment/nature, gifts/talents, gratitude/thanksgiving, play, pleasing God, prayer, purpose, response to God, reverence, variety, wonder, worship

Scripture Connections: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due God’s name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness (Psalm 29:2); let everything that has breath praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6); for by God all things were created, in heaven and on Earth (Colossians 1:16)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of children who are learning about God’s creativity, human creativity, or praise.