Books about God
We have sourced five picture books about God that we highly recommend for caregivers and their families. Click the book cover for a downloadable PDF version of each review.
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What is God Like?
by Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner
Illustrated by Ying Hui Tan
Strengths
What Is God Like pulls from Bible metaphors and lived experiences to help children understand the nature of God. The vibrant, colorful illustrations invite readers into creative wonder.
Some of the most notable examples of what God is like include three dancers moving to the same music, a patient and nurturing gardener, and a bright star. The authors and illustrators are mindful as they depict children learning about God with a variety of skin tones, cultural differences, and disability.
Pronouns for God include she, he, and they.
Considerations
What Is God Like is full of vibrant metaphors for God that are designed to help children find God in the world around them. As a result, caregivers who turn to this book should be prepared for MANY ongoing questions and observations about where God is and what God may be like.
Audience
This book is appropriate for young children and will likely be especially treasured by creative kids due to its bright colors, evocative comparisons, and the general sense of wonder it instills.
God's Holy Darkness
by Sharei Green and Beckah Selnick
Illustrated by Nikki Faison
Strengths
God’s Holy Darkness begins by clearly stating that its goal is to “name the beauty and goodness and holiness of darkness and blackness and night.” Its authors provide numerous examples from the Bible of ways God can be found in darkness. From the nighttime rescue of the Israelites in Egypt to the growth that happens in dark, rich soil, God’s Holy Darkness affirms that God is present and working in beautiful darkness.
This story book is special because it dismantles anti-Blackness that can be found when Christians only rely on images of God in light and whiteness.
Considerations
God’s Holy Darkness communicates its messages by referencing several Bible stories and characters. Caregivers with curious kids may benefit from reading this book with a favorite children’s Bible nearby to continue exploring each story.
Audience
This book is suitable for Christian families who want to more thoroughly understand the character and expansiveness of God. Caregivers who value dismantling arbitrary binaries about God will likely appreciate having God’s Holy Darkness as a book to help them do this in the home.
What if I Can't Explain God?
by Jennifer Grant
Illustrated by Hsulynn Pang
Strengths
What If I Can’t Explain God? focuses on a young girl who struggles to understand what God is, no matter how much the grown-ups in her life try to explain. She ends up contemplating other mysteries through which she discovers more about God.
Most notably, some of the protagonist’s greatest confusion comes from the concept of the trinity. As she reflects, she discovers that it makes sense that if God is three-in-one, then it makes sense to refer to God as “They.” God is consistently referred to with they/them pronouns throughout the rest of the story.
Considerations
What If I Can’t Explain God? is designed to help kids embrace God’s mystery while also seeing God in the world around them. The trinity is a major concept to blend this theme together, but may be confusing to children whose faith contexts have not yet introduced them to this idea.
Audience
What If I Can’t Explain God? is a wonderful choice for young grade school children who are figuring out how to explain lessons of faith
in their own words.
Mother God
by Teresa Kim Pecinovsky
Illustrated by Khoa Le
Strengths
The creators of Mother God fill each page with feminine depictions of God that are rooted in scripture. From Sophia Wisdom to a hen caring for her brood there are many ways readers can connect with God as a maternal figure. Khoa Le’s folkloric art style makes each image of God feel cozy and relatable.
Diversity is a priority in Mother God. There are many body sizes, skin tones, cultural touchstones, and disabilities portrayed in a relatively short book. Notable examples include a child with a fidget spinner, Japanese kitsungi pottery on the first page, and a mother with a nearby book on postpartum depression.This emphasis on diversity shows that Mother God is present with all people.
Considerations
Mother God is unique in the way it specifically points to maternal images of God. Caregivers like grandparents and foster parents may want to read this book and find themselves in it before reading it with children in their lives.
Audience
This book is suitable to read with young children, especially in cozy moments like bedtime. It also may be healing for adults whose understanding of God is shifting from a strictly masculine identity.
My Love, God is Everywhere
by Victoria Robb Powers and Cameron Mason Vickrey
Illustrated by Joanna Carillo
Strengths
My Love, God Is Everywhere follows a little girl who asks her mother questions about where to find God. The main characters are Black, and gendered pronouns are not used to describe God.
With each passage, the girl asks if God is “here or there” in so many different ways, and each time the mother’s answer is “both!” My Love, God Is Everywhere teaches children to find God around them through many different avenues. The authors reinforce the message that God does not only belong to one place, people, or state of being.
Considerations
My Love, God Is Everywhere is written in a way that rejects binary thinking about God’s presence among us. However, occasional references to gender binaries exist (God is connecting “with every girl and boy”). Caregivers who read this may choose to emphasize other people
and places outside of binaries where God can be found in discussion
with children.
Audience
My Love, God Is Everywhere is suitable for young children. It may be especially helpful for children who are concerned or confused after exposure to ideas that God only belongs to certain people and places.