When our gratitude overflows, it can take the form of praise: directing our thanks to the Source of all life's gifts. The word praise comes from the Latin pretium, meaning price: It's our grateful response to what we value. In times when flagrant disregard for the earth's beauty and resources has placed us in unprecedented crisis, A World of Praise offers not only uplift but also a needed attitude shift.
Gloriously vibrant illustrations by Helen Cann (see For Every Little Thing) accompany contemporary psalms full of gratitude, peace, hope, love, and trust. From sunrise in India to cherry blossoms in Japan, the coastline in Norway to moonlight in Nepal, this awe-inspiring book covers sixteen locations and scenes. Each scene and prayer nourishes our souls. Take these poetic words of bounty, for instance:
In the call of the condor,
over the peaks of the Andes,
in the whistle of wind,
through the rush of the river,
in the warmth of the soil,
from the seed to a shoot,
your care flows in everything,
and all grows strong and plentiful.
The illustration shows someone in colorful traditional Andean garb kneeling to plant seeds outside a small village amid a vast mountainous landscape.
Deborah Lock draws from the themes in biblical Psalms — such as God's love being far greater than our understanding — while using language which people of any faith can embrace. She writes for children ages four to eight, but we could even imagine this book sitting on the bedside table of a burnt-out adult activist who needs inspiration.
