God Went to Beauty School (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Cynthia Rylant (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)

He got into nails, of course,
because He'd always loved
hands --
hands were some of the best things
He'd ever done.

In God Went to Beauty School Cynthia Rylant imagines a God whose curiosities about the world He created inspire Him to go out and experience human things. But what would God do if He could live in a human world? Would He write a fan letter? Get a dog? Make spaghetti?

God Went to Beauty School celebrates the simple things in life while taking a long, hard look at what it means to be human. Rylant's soft, reflective, and often humorous verse glimpses everyday life through wide and wondering eyes and blends the familiar with the profoundly spiritual.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-A collection of innovative, thought-provoking, and insightful poems. What would happen if God got a desk job? Or bought a couch at Pottery Barn? Or found some fudge in his mailbox? These are just a few of the mundane happenings Rylant places at the deity's feet. Through everyday events (like showers) to athletics (He falls 20 times while Rollerblading) to more shocking revelations (He gets arrested in a bar fight), God finds out what it is like to live like the rest of us. And guess what? He is just like one of us. He wants juice and comic books when He's sick. And through it all, God is surprised by these revelations. These short poems are visceral in their insight, and they shouldn't be considered blasphemous jokes as much as clever "what if?" ponderings. Has God just been "winging it" His whole life? Rylant has a carefully crafted response. Christian or private schools may find this collection inappropriate to their teachings, but read with an open mind and vivid imagination, it should speak to young people. A triumphant achievement.
Sharon Korbeck, Waupaca Area Public Library, WI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-8. A recent hit song asked what if God was one of us? Here, the question is, what if He is just a Guy (or possibly a Girl) who plays poker and watches movies and sometimes catches a cold and needs Mother Teresa to come over and take care of him? Such is the premise of Rylant's slim volume of poems, which is classified as fiction. In the title poem, God goes to beauty school because He likes hands and wants to do nails for a living. (He calls His shop "Nails by Jim" because He worries that if He called it "Nails by God," people would think Him sacrilegious and not tip). From there, God is caught up in all sorts of worldly craziness, from getting arrested to writing a fan letter to a country music singer. The poems aren't particularly meaty, and a few of them may be deemed offensive by some readers. They are frequently funny, however, and they play on Christian tradition without disrespect, ultimately celebrating God's kindness and love. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060094338
• ISBN-13: 978-0060094331
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cynthia Rylant is the author of numerous distinguished novels and picture books for young readers. In addition to her beginning-reader series: Henry and Mudge, Poppleton, and Mr. Putter and Tabby, as well as her Cobble Street Cousins early-chapter series, she is also the author of the Newbery Medal-winning Missing May, the Newbery Honor Book A Fine White Dust, and two Caldecott Honor-winning picture books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The holy and the profane, April 23, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God Went to Beauty School (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) (Hardcover)

The first Cynthia Rylant book I ever read was the picture book, "When I Was Young In the Mountains". The story was not long or drawn out, and the words in the books were simple and pure. You might expect that in a picture book anyway, but there's a difference between saying what you want clearly and directly and simply being brief. Rylant never says any more nor less than she has to. It's a talent that has served her well in the past and made possible the succinct eloquence that is, "God Went to Beauty School".

I don't know if this book is profane or the holiest collection of poems I've ever read. I think maybe it's a little of both. Unabashedly Christian (with nods of the head to Buddhism) the book is a series sweet simple views of how God goes about His day. 23 poems in all, the book shows God getting a dog, ordering a couch from Pottery Barn, seeing a movie, and so on. These are small vignettes that take a what-if stance and enjoy what they conjure up. The great danger of the book, I suppose, was that it might fall into that old, "What If God Was One of Us", trap. Some could argue that this book is unnecessary if you believe that Jesus was already God. Rylant anticipates this point in the final longest poem, "God Died".

The book is simultaneously funny and touching. I have heard that Bible study groups use the poems to study. That groups of people without religion will ponder the poems line by line. The nicest poem in the group is, to my mind, "God Went to India". I have heard that people have read this poem at funerals. That it encompasses something in all of us, touching us deeply, revealing the truth that everything changes from one thing into another. The book is small and it does not impose itself upon you. It invites you to read it and whether you love it or hate it, it will not attempt to convert you one way or another. It is a book to love.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read with an open mind!, October 20, 2003

By 

Lisa Johannes (Carrollton, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God Went to Beauty School (Hardcover)

So what would happen if God came down to earth, took the form of man, and decided to experience, first-hand, so many of the mundane things that humans do on a day-to-day basis? Would he be bored? Would he gain insights? What would happen at beauty school?

Well, according to Cynthia Rylant, God would paint all the nails any color He wanted, then say, "Beautiful," and mean it. He would get a dog, go across the water (in a boat this time), buy a couch from Pottery Barn, take a bath (with his clothes on because he's shy), and even become a girl for a while.

How readers respond to this book of poems depends entirely upon their open-mindedness and creativity. It would be easy to be offended by Rylant's position that God would enjoy trying on these human moments for a while (is that blasphemy?) or one could just as easily appreciate the novelty of the idea and enjoy hearing God's confusion at what he should do in order to better understand man.

Either way, these poems are fresh and unique, and they cause the reader to think about life in ways that were perhaps ignored before. There is a spirituality in this writing, something that causes self-reflection and stir up some interesting discussions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, thought-provoking book!, March 2, 2005

By 

Tamela Mccann "taminator40" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God Went to Beauty School (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at the insistence of our school librarian and I will always be grateful I did. The humor and poignancy within these pages transcend mere religion and get under your skin very quickly. Underneath the humor are so many truths and ideas that this book could be reread many times with new perceptions emerging every time. It's not just a YA book; it's an "everybody" book! Highly, highly recommended.