37. When I Talk To God, I Talk About You. Chrissy Metz and Bradley Collins. Illustrated by Lisa Fields. 2023. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars] [picture book]
First sentence: When I talk to God, goes what I do? It's really quite simple: I talk about you. I prayed for the day that you would arrive. I dreamt of your smile and the color of your eyes. You're sprouting like a weed kissed by the sun. I love hearing your giggles. You're so silly and fun.
Premise/plot: Two things to keep in mind--mostly for me to keep in mind. A) This is generic, non-offensive God. Don't expect more than that. B) This is a picture book that exists to celebrate a parent's love for a child. Don't expect more than that.
There are ANIMAL characters throughout. Readers don't follow *one* set of animals, but many.
The book is written in rhyme.
The 'plot' or 'story' is talking about the many different ways one might 'pray' or 'talk to God' about his/her child through many stages and ages of life. Again animal characters make this slightly weird in places if you're an overthinker.
My thoughts: When compared to other books celebrating parenthood like GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU or LOVE YOU FOREVER, it certainly holds up well. Very similar in tone and theme. Yes, the book mentions God, but, not specifically THE GOD OF THE BIBLE, the trinitarian God, the God that might offend. I had to keep reminding myself of the limited nature of this book. Obviously not meant to be an exhaustive book on what to pray and how to pray.
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