Book Review: The Creator in You

​Am I allowed to say I have found another favourite Christian children’s book? The Creator in You is a delightful, gently rhyming, picture book that challenges and inspires young people (and their adults) to think outside the box regarding what we ‘do’. 
Now, I know we are supposed to see ourselves as ‘human beings’, not human doings’, but ‘doing’ is also part of what God has called us to. And that’s what this book celebrates. It rejoices in our call to creativity and worthy work.

Am I allowed to say I have found another favourite Christian children’s book? The Creator in You is a delightful, gently rhyming, picture book that challenges and inspires young people (and their adults) to think outside the box regarding what we ‘do’. 
Now, I know we are supposed to see ourselves as ‘human beings’, not human doings’, but ‘doing’ is also part of what God has called us to. And that’s what this book celebrates. It rejoices in our call to creativity and worthy work. Jordan Raynor is the author, and the picture book begins with a breathtaking overview of God’s work in creation. I say breathtaking, because Jonathan David’s illustrations are just that. I wish I had a large scale version of some of these illustrations so I could stare at them for hours. They are magnificent. And Raynor’s text too, invites imaginative wonder. ​

​While the book begins with a description of creation, it moves quickly on to explaining how, just as God created the world and took joy in what he has made, God also created us to be like him. That means, we are to ‘act and work and create with Him’. The child characters (shown in the illustration and never formally names in the text) imagine a vast array of activities and creative ventures. From science to the arts, engineering to law, children are encouraged to dream big: to create and build, explore and try. I loved the permission to wonder this book evokes, and the grounding of that potential in the nature of God.

There were only two points where my more critical mind clicked into action (it always does, I can’t help it). One was in relation to the encouragement to build. While building is good, I felt a comment on caring for the environment while doing may have added depth in terms of responsible living. The other thing I noticed was that some illustrations were US specific. This may limit the visual connection for non-US readers on those pages. However, both of these were minor points and don’t hold me back from recommending this book. 
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If you’ve got young children, and you’re keen to encourage them to dream big as they wonder what good things God has planned for them to do in their lives, this book is for you. It’s a read and re-read type of a book. (And did I mention the illustrations are amazing?)

​All the details you need:
Title: The Creator in You
Written by: Jordan Raynor
Illustrated by: Jonathan David
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
Available from The Wandering Bookseller.