Strong

Toddler-K–Lloyd-Jones’s book doesn’t waste any time on an intro: ‘By a stream is a good place for a little tree to be.’ Jago, in a pastoral scene, shows a balding older white man with a fringe of gray hair with a shovel, a dark brown-skinned woman with brown hair in a bun, using a cane, and two slightly lighter brown-skinned children with black hair busily panting a birch with its telltale black-and-white bark. The next spread takes onlookers of the left page to a beach where a Black girl with a black bob and a blond boy with tan skin swing from a palm tree leaning over the water, while on the right is a stand of bamboo and three more children, with just as varying skin tones and hairstyles. The landscapes change, but the tree or ‘trees’ live by water, deciduous or baobab, winter, spring, summer, or fall, and now we come to Psalm 1, where readers are the tree, and the water is God. VERDICT For those who observe, this is a simple and powerful metaphor for the presence of an omniscient and benevolent force, and one that will make children feel safe and loved. Librarians should purchase as needed. * School Library Journal *

Sally Lloyd-Jones is a leading writer of inspirational books for children. She is the author of three bestselling children’s Bibles, including the Moonbeam Award winner and ALA notable The Jesus Storybook Bible, as well as Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing, winner of the ECPA Inspirational Book award. She has written many picture books for children, such as the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller How to Be a Baby: By Me, the Big Sister and Song of the Stars. Sally was born and raised in Africa, was schooled in England, and now lives in New York City.

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