cover image The Mystery of Children: What Our Kids Teach Us about Childlike Faith

The Mystery of Children: What Our Kids Teach Us about Childlike Faith

Mike Mason. Waterbrook Press, $12.99 (272pp) ISBN 978-1-57856-422-4

This is not a book about how to parent; it is a book about how the experience of being a parent can bring a person closer to understanding the grace of God. Mason offers chapters arranged by half-years, roughly chronicling his own spiritual development as his daughter, Heather, morphed from a baby to a toddler to a wise-beyond-her-years school-age child. Mason's writing can be truly revelatory, whether he is exploring the implications of Jesus' command to ""become like little children"" or ruminating on the helplessness that many parents feel as children turn their lives upside down. Some conservative Christians may be put off by Mason's more startling assertions, but this is a truly prophetic book and prophets aren't always popular. Without a doubt, this is one of the best Christian books of the year. (July)