An Excellent Tool | God's Paintbrush

Great Teaching Tool - Triggered Lots of Questions | God's Paintbrush | Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

books:


	• God's Paintbrush Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004 - 32 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Beautiful, poetic language

God's Paintbrush, written by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and illustrated by Annette Compton, is a different kind of picture book. It does not have a central character (or characters) and it does not tell a story. It is more a collection of vignettes about everyday situations that children encounter. Each short narrative is followed by a question, or questions, that connects the issue with how God fits into our lives.

One example is that of a young boy talking about his best friend moving away. He says he is sad and he hurts inside. The question is then asked, "What do you think makes God hurt?" Another example is a scene where Mom and Dad are tucking their child into bed, giving him hugs and kisses. The question, "What does God's touch feel like to you?" makes you think about being able to "feel" God's presence. All the concepts help to illustrate how God relates to all aspects of our lives. The questions that go along with each scene are thought-provoking and sometimes unusual. No answers are given to the questions. This allows the reader to think about the ideas and come up with answers on their own.

What I Like: I like the different format for the book, as well as the variety of scenarios and situations presented. The language of the text is also beautiful. It's quite poetic and invokes powerful mental images. One example is: "I think the wind is God's breath moving through the world, making it come alive."

What I Dislike: The watercolor illustrations are colorful, and represent many multicultural issues and cultures, but they are a bit sloppy in appearance. I think they distract from the text rather than add to it.

The title of the book was also somewhat misleading. Because it is called God's Paintbrush, I thought it would be filled with beautiful artwork representing God's wonder and glory in the natural world. However, the only mention of "God's paintbrush" is on the first page: "A sunbeam peeked in my window this morning, and painted a rainbow on my wall. I think the sunbeam is God's paintbrush dipped in a watercolor sea, painting clouds and coloring our world." With the exception of this first page, the title seems to reflect the "painting" of the pictures that illustrate each different concept about God.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: According to the publisher, the book is meant for 9-12-year-olds. This is probably because the reading level is too high and the book too long for younger readers to make it through on their own. However, I think 4-8-year-olds would enjoy the book, if read aloud to them, and broken down into small chunks, as the book is rather lengthy for a picture book.

Christine M. Irvin - Christian Children's Book Review

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An Excellent Tool

I am a Preschool teacher in a Christian school. We have many children of different faith backgrounds that attend our school.
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso has taken the topic of faith and made it possible to discuss with any person of any denomination, religion or culture.
The book is very thought provoking and allows children of all ages to think about God in a personal way; to realize that He has a unique relationship with each one of us.
Each time I read one of her books to my class, the children respond to the messages from the heart.
I recommend this book to any teacher, parent or caregiver.
Rita Colotti

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Great Teaching Tool - Triggered Lots of Questions

I found this book great for triggering discussion with my four-year old and a six-year old friend about the nature of God. It presents a series of scenarios and questions designed to help children explore different aspects of God. From watching clouds, to the changing seasons, to feeling lonely, it uses experiences young children can readily relate to as springboards for spiritual questions. The vision of God that emerges is anthropomorphic in nature, and this may make it more appropriate for those with Judeo-Christian leanings, but it is most definitely non-denominational, and its exploratory nature left room for a non-affiliated believer like myself to feel comfortable.

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Great introduction to the concept of God

This is a wonderful book that opens a child's imagination to what God might be like. Adults, who live in the conditioning they have acquired throughout their lives, would certainly benefit from it as well. Beautiful multicultural illustrations.

Touches the Mind and the Heart

This book engages children of all ages as well as the adults who may be reading to them. Both my 7 year old daughter and my soon-to-be 11 year old son were drawn in by the relevance of the stories as well as the simple yet captivating images - which delighted even my 2 year old. The questions posed stimulated their imaginations and at the same time made God accessible. They were free to wonder about a God who now seemed more like a friend. A great work is one that touches not only our minds but our hearts. This book does just that.

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For preschoolers--a first lesson in finding your place in God's creation. This simple, beautiful book helps parents and children explore spirituality together by inviting children of all faiths and backgrounds to encounter God through everyday experience and the imagination.
Adapted from Sandy Eisenberg Sasso's award-winning God's Paintbrush, playful text and lively illustrations guide very young children in finding faith through colors, song, and dance. Preschoolers will delight in turning the sturdy pages and beginning the journey of finding joy and meaning in their world.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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