Author Daneen Akers starts this book with one of her favorite scriptures, Job 33:4. The translation she uses — from scholar, professor, and priest Wil Gafney — restores the original feminine grammar of the verse:
The Spirit of God, She has made me,
and the breath of the Nursing God,
She gives me life.
Moved by this image of a nourishing, breath-giving Mama God, Akers offers children a profoundly reassuring and encouraging view of the world. It's a view which evokes gratitude. From the vast — "Thank you for the earth and all living things" — to the minute — "Thank you for seeds that grow into plants," these grateful prayers to Mama God cover the gamut of children's everyday experience. There's even a thank-you for "my stuffies that snuggle with me in bed," charmingly illustrated by Gillian Gamble as a sleeping child holding an awake and vigilant teddy bear while drifting with pillow and blanket through a starry sky.
Expressive and festively colorful, the illustrations feature multi-racial and variously abled characters. The care exchanged between them is palpable, as when a girl and her kitty, together on the floor at eye level, share a glance of mutual affection. At the end, a giant, moonlit tree, bedecked with gently sparkling lights, holds in its branches a baker's dozen children asleep and fully at ease, with the text:
And most especially, Mama God,
thank you for your love that holds me close.
Written for readers ages three to seven, this book could be a devotional for anyone of any age who realizes what a gift life is and who knows that gratefulness for that gift has the power to heal our hearts.
