cover image Your Core

Your Core

Callie Grant, illus. by Missi Jay. Graham Blanchard (STL, dist.), $8.99 (22p) ISBN 978-0-9854090-5-0

Grant (Little Seed: A Life) undertakes an ambitious task in this board book: teaching very young children about the abstract spiritual idea of a soul. Rhyme and illustration work in tandem to engage readers while explaining something that isn’t concrete, yet has connections to things that are: “The Earth’s core points a compass so/ you know the right way to go./ Your core holds the part of you/ that only God can really know.” Jay’s cartoon scenes of animals, flowers, and children at play—are brightly colored and consistently cheerful. The book might also invite children to ask questions about the soul (“Your core is your soul on your inside”), making it a fine choice for Sunday schools and other adult-child read-together occasions. Up to age 5. (Sept.)