Book Review: Wow God! Thank you. Sorry. Please.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this Kid's Guidebook before its release, and I can thoroughly recommend it. Simon Camilleri is an Aussie children’s author based in Melbourne. He’s a poet, a reader of Scripture and has a heart for equipping kids and families with resources to make them think and grow in faith. 
Wow God! Thank you. Sorry. Please is, as its title describes, a kid’s guidebook to prayer. The book opens with a short note to parents and then launches into a rhyming, lesson style story about prayer. ​

​‘See, when I talk to God each day, there are four things I like to say. Wow God! Thank you. Sorry. Please. I pray about each one of these.’
Accompanying this rhyming text, Dominic On has illustrated a beautiful story about a young girl and her father going on an adventure together. The pictures are warm and inviting and made me wonder whether it was deliberate to have the text talking about prayer and the illustrations showing a relationship between child and father. Because isn’t that what prayer really is? (The Sorry page is particularly poignant when viewing the book this way, as the response to confession is an all encompassing, protective embrace from the father. Oh, my heart!)

After the  story part of the text, and a white page to change the tone, the book moves on to a teaching format. Here Camilleri breaks down the four types of prayer into more detail, explaining how children (and their families) can use this model to build their own prayers. There are Bible verses to support each part, some questions for discussion and reflection, and a short explanation of why we pray in Jesus name. There is also a page with the Lord’s Prayer and a prompt to find the Wow God! Thank you. Sorry and Please aspects of prayer within Jesus’ prayer. 

​Wow God! Thank you, Sorry, Please is more than just a guidebook about prayer for kids. Camilleri and On invite kids and their families to consider the wonder of prayer and offer practical tools to help along the way. There are even links for free downloadable resources kids/families and groups can use. Well recommended.

And an extra rave to finish the review: Can I say how much I loved the magpie? She’s there in every illustration, adding another level of narrative and metaphor along the way. So good!

​You can view a sample of the book here, or just order your copy from The Wandering Bookseller!
Thank you to 10Publishing for sending me a review copy of this lovely book.

All the details you need:
Title: Wow God! Thank you, Sorry, Please: a kid's guide to prayer.
Written by: Simon Camilleri 
Illustrated by: Dominic On
Publisher: 10 Publishing
Available from The Wandering Bookseller.