Board Book Review – God is Great, God is Good
GOD IS GREAT, GOD IS GOOD
Written by Sanna Anderson Baker
Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
(Abrams Appleseed $8.99; Ages 0-3)
Originally published in 1987 and available now as a board book, God is Great, God is Good simply and beautifully captures the message of the Old Testament’s Book of Job. Author Sanna Anderson Baker’s poetic language combined with Tomie dePaola’s familiar, warm illustrations emphasize the point that, ultimately, God is in control.
In the original story, Job is a righteous man who suffers insurmountable financial, physical, and personal loss. Grieving over the tragedies unfairly cast on him, he saves up many questions to ask God; when Job finally does get his day in court, God asks a series of His own: “Who knows the way to the house of light? And who knows where darkness dwells?” “Who tells Morning, ‘Sweep the stars from the sky’?” God highlights the wonders of the natural world and the orderly passage of time. In God is Great, God is Good, these questions are interrupted three times. Each break gives us the answer in a double page spread: God.
Baker’s lyrical text grounds these profound concepts with words and images familiar to children. Snow rests on the earth as “‘quiet as a cat.’” Whenever “‘Lightning dances’” Thunder “clap[s].” Forces of nature are personified; like people, they too have personality and a unique role in doing what they have been designed to do. While God uses examples from nature to illustrate His power, the last third of the board book focuses on His tender role as “friend,” provider, and protector of the animal world. He feeds, “takes care,” and “knows” His creation.
DePaola’s wonderful illustrations—always in a peaceful palette of colors—contribute to this feeling of comfort and safety. His signature style of outlining the edges of an object accentuates its shape and contains its form, making the object recognizable, like bringing order out of chaos. All three of the double page spreads remind me of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. In dePaola’s depictions, God’s hand is reaching out to the heavens and emanating light from above to earth below.
By the end of the book, we learn, like Job, the restorative power of God’s presence. In the midst of chaos, the cycles and constant rhythms of the natural world satisfy our deep longings for comfort and peace.
A great book for bedtime, quiet time, Easter, or any time the world seems erratic (oh, so true at this very moment), God is Great, God is Good shows us the steady in unsteady times.
- Reviewed by Armineh Manookian