Customer Reviews

God Loves Me More Than That (Dandilion Rhymes)

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When God Created My Toes by Dandi Daley Mackall is a children's book based off Psalm 139:13-16, which reads, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

It is a light hearted read, with a series of questions set to rhyme. They are cute musings that I could easily imagine my children asking or coming up with on their own. They are sweet inquiries into what God knew when he created each of us. That being said, I couldn't get away from the fact that not a single question is answered with the book. Certainly, they leave room for good discussion between parent and child, but what about the child reading on their own or the child who doesn't have a parent familiar with the truth of scripture. A few questions seem to be thrown in more for rhyming sake than common sense, such as "Did we sing our ABC's when God created my knees?" (what!?) and some are frankly theologically off base, such as "Did we cheer for Angel bands when God created my hands?" It almost reads at times as if the child was created in heaven before being placed in the mother's womb. Quite frankly, it's a bit weird if you don't treat the questions as silly.

The illustrations (by David Hohn) in the book are AMAZING. They are charming and full of joy and wonder. They are filled with color and expression. I couldn't say enough about how lovely they are!

I probably wouldn't recommend this book, nor will I keep it myself. In my opinion, it's one thing for my children to ask silly or innocent questions, it's another to read them to my kids. They put stock and trust in books. I just find it too off based to keep reading to them, though it did lead to a lovely discussion on God's great care in creating them during our initial read. I also am bothered that the book doesn't answer any of the questions posed, but particularly that it ends with a question- a major question "Was he pleased as he could be when God created me?" I personally would have made that a stated fact. "He WAS pleased as he could be when God created me?" Despite my reservations, however, the decision to fore go keeping this book is not easy because of the insanely good illustrations:) For me, I'll pass on this book, but definitely look for more books illustrated by David Hohn.

Another special book from Dandi Daley Mackall. Page one shows a little girl playing in the mud and wondering if God had to hold His nose when He created her toes? And then it moves up to her knees, hips, and so forth. A wonderful way to teach a child that we are a special creation made in God's image. This is a book to read and giggle over and I can't think of a better way to teach a child to enjoy reading that a book filled with the happy, rollicking rhymes of Dandi Daley Mackall, illustrated by David Hohn. Every child should have one.

The cover and idea sold me, however the imagery seemed a bit dark to me and the rhymes did not make sense, Gods love is heavier than an elephant or cheers louder than a football crowd.... God's love is louder than a dark thunderstorm cloud... ??? sad disappointment for me.
The artistry itself was very well done, but like I said dark.

I was excited to open another of Dandi Daley Mackall's rhyming books, this one entitled "When God Created My Toes". From head to toe, the book goes through body parts and asks intriguing questions about what it is like when God creates a child. An example is, "When God created my hip, did I hear him say, 'Hip, hip, hooray!'? Did we do a double flip when God created my hip?" The illustrations are soft, fun, and energetic, and pair well with the quizzical nature of the book. And although I can imagine some children asking questions like are asked in the book, I had a bad feeling as I read along, and came to the conclusion that I do not think the book is completely reverent, but rather detracts from God's greatness, awe, and the fact that His thoughts and purposes are much higher than ours. I am glad that the book points to God as the perfect Creator of every part of our being, but we cannot bring God down to a human level. Plus, the illustrations show one instance of a little girl being naughty with her hands, and that is not at all why God created hands! The book does not even speak of the mind, heart, or soul of a child, which is the most important part! I was very disappointed in this book.

*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

My daughter already has much of this title memorized due to rolling cadences that beg to be read aloud and recited.

How much love does God have for me?
More than the letters between A and Z
More than the bumbles in a bumble bee.
God loves me more than that!

Those are the words that I overheard my eldest `reading' to my 2 year old in the bed tonight.

The quotation above is the first stanza which provides a repeating form for each following section of verse. Each quatrain ends with the line "God loves me - than that!" Fill in the blank with more than, deeper than, softer than, louder than, bigger than and others! God's love for us is immense, far larger than we can conceptualize.

This title reminds me of a bed-time game I play with my girls, familiar to many parents. I call it "I love you more than." We take turns saying how much we love each other; "I love you higher than the tallest tree." I say. "Well, I love you to the moon and back." My daughter replies. Going on for quite some time, the conversation ends with my concluding remark, "But you know who loves you more than even I do?" "Yes, God!" my daughter answers joyfully, she knows the drill. Drawing from this same vein and tradition God Loves Me More Than That makes a perfect addition to family bedtime rituals.

Hohn's illustration takes Mackall's not entirely uncommon imaginings of God's love: deeper than a treasure chest beneath the sea, higher than a space shuttle flying by, etc., and takes them in to the realm of the fantastic. Hohn places the little boy who is reflecting on God's love for him amongst hippo's dancing in the rain, on a bumble bee's back and as a cowboy on horseback on the range to mention only a few. We are clearly immersed in the realm of the imagination, and are treated to a fantastic voyage through this little boy's daydreams.

There are lots of children's books available discussing God's love, but Dandi Daley Mackall's God Loves Me More Than That goes beyond the usual by exploring the idea of how much God loves each of us.

Always using kid-friendly language and examples, Mackall begins her rhyming book by saying God loves "me" more than the distance between letters A and Z. David Hohn's illustrations add depth and whimsy to this by showing giant letters stretched across the hillside, with a little boy standing on the letter A, trying to see all the way to Z.


The author also tells us God loves "me" more than the bumbles in a bumble bee, that his love is higher than the moon or the space shuttle, deeper than a treasure chest in the ocean, wider than a semi truck or the prairies where cowboys ride, louder than a cheering football crowd, softer than a cat's sneeze or a summer's breeze, and more. The book ends:


"Lord, it's great to be loved by you.
Hope you know that I love you, too.
Nice to know that my whole life through.
God loves me more than that!"


What I Like: I am not always a fan of Dandi Daley Mackall's books, but this book shows her at her best. The text flows easily and describes God's love in a fun and meaningful way. David Hohn's illustrations are superb; they add a lot of imagination to the book and make it all that much more interesting to read. For example, when God's love is said to have more bumbles than a bumble bee, Hohn shows a boy riding on the back of a giant bee. Later, when God's love is said to be deeper than a treasure chest in the sea, he shows the boy in an antique diving suit (a la Jules Vern), finding an old ship with treasure. He really ignites the imagination of children.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Kristina Seleshanko
Managing Editor
Christian Children's Book Review
[...]

I decided to take a break from the genre I had been reading and switch to a children's book for review! Usually a fan of children's books, this particular title did not win me over. From the beginning, I was confused because it is written as if the child was present and fully cognizant at her creation. I felt that the rhymes, while at times are cute, were a bit of a stretch. The illustrations, while well done, reveal a child who seems to be- how can I say this nicely- a bit challenging! And although it goes against my nature to be anything but encouraging, I have to be honest that I was a bit bothered by these points as well as the theology presented here... because God knows everything. He created us and knows every detail about us...and praise God that He does! I am sorry I cannot give a more positive review of this book, especially because I received it for free for review from Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishing Group!

"When God Created My Toes"

written by Dandi Daley Mackall

illustrated by David Hohn

I recently had a chance to review the children's book When God Created my Toes, which was written by Dandi Daley Mackall and illustrated by David Hohn. While the storyline originally sounded very cute to me, there are definitely some things in the book that I do not like.

I like the idea of showing a little girl going about her daily activities and showing how God created the different parts of her body related to those activities. This story has some really cute pictures illustrating this concept. For example, I love when the mom and daughter are doing Eskimo kisses. I also love the picture of when the little girl is in dress-up clothes.

However, I wish that all of the pages had shown cute activities and pictures that were like the ones I mentioned above.

The little girl in the story does several bad things. Examples of this are when she surprises her dad (making him spill his coffee) and when she gets painted handprints all over everything. My six year old's son take on the book was, "The girl does bad things." My three year old daughter added, "AND has attitudes." I didn't TELL my children these things; they picked up on them by themselves. So, truthfully, I couldn't in good conscience let my children read this book.

The words themselves do not indicate that the girl is mischievous; any orneriness is shown through the illustrations. That such a shame because I think the text has great potential...if only all of the pictures backed it up.

I would not recommend buying this book.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

I chose this book simply because the illustrations looked beautiful and the message looked wholesome. Upon arrival we read it immediately. I read it again with my 3 year old a few times. He really likes the kitten part and the wishing well. Yesterday was a rough day for my 9 year old. I handed him the book and he said, "That made me feel so much better. Thank you." Then he went to do his chores happily. I loved the book. The illustrations ARE fabulous. I loved the hippos puddle hopping. It made me smile and it really was a feel good book. Definitely recommended to anyone, especially those with young children or grandchildren or children they see regularly.

I have fallen in love with the Dandilion Rhymes books that Mackall and Hohn create together. The stories are creative and fun, the illustrations are beautiful, and their latest book When God created My Toes is darling. It is told from the imaginative wondering of a girl thinking about what it might have been like when God first designed her.

The curious thoughts of how God created her, from toes to nose, rings true of my own children's thought processes. At 5 and 3, my boys will love this story of exploring how God formed every part of their person. And I will love how creativity and imagination paint vivid pictures in their young minds of how unique and lovingly they have been designed by their Heavenly Father. This book is a wonderful addition to our library and will be to yours as well.