God Speaks in Whispers

Summary: This is a great book for a follower of Christ who loves social justice and diversity as well as helping their child know that God is near, God is good, and God is fun... But the gospel is so watered down that you don't even have to be a Christian to agree with the messages in this book... you just have to be a theist of sorts. I would 100% recommend adding this to your collection and I would DEFINITELY buy for my own kids. Just don't expect this book to be the one to introduce a child to the gospel of Christ.Longer review:When I received an email announcing Dr. Mark Batterson's release of a children's book, I immediately purchased as a gift for a friend's baby shower. Here are the pros and cons:Pros:-The message is loud and clear: "God loves you as you are and he can be so fun and so near. He can be trusted with all of who you are (whether you're happy, angry, etc) and wants to be your friend. He won't reject you." This is such a timely and important message when so many people are growing up feeling shamed and degraded in the church for being themselves (which can lead to them leaving the faith altogether).-The language is fun and comprehensible by children of any age!-Love the typography and the creative liberties taken with it (e.g., making certain words bigger, smaller, wavy, more spaced out, etc..)-Great job normalizing the presence of diversity even when the topic had to do with hearing God's voice! I love that there are brown children, black children, rich children, poor children, disabled children, etc.. all in the same book and that THE BOOK WASN'T ABOUT THAT!-This book exposes children to diversity even when their homes are filled with families that may not necessarily choose to buy books that explicitly address the topic of diversity (but who WOULD choose to buy books about God).-Stunning and *engaging* illustrationsCons:-I felt that it painted a weaker picture of the gospel than I would have liked for it to paint. I felt that it would have been so easy to weave in more of the gospel... there approx. 4 pages in there that address random content like jumping in puddles and looking up at the stars... these pages could have been focused on simple messages about the character of Jesus and how he creatively guides us, or how the Bible as his word encourages, empowers, leads us etc. Don't get me wrong, I love fun and games and all, but I think that there is already so much fun and engagement in this book that Batterson didn't need to use up pages talking about non-faith-based content... he wouldn't have lost readers or purchasers because the book was already so beautiful.-I strongly dislike the fact that the entire climax of the story was a page with something along the lines of, "but above all else, know this to be True: that God wants you to know that you can be you." I read the first part of that line and was waiting for a solid serving of Gospel... so to know that the entire climax of a Christian book that is explicitly marketed to be about God was "you can be you" was a letdown... is *that* really the main thing that God wants all of us to know? I would have loved the climax to be something like, "but above all else, know this to be True: God stops at nothing to get nearer to you" or "...that Jesus delights in talking with you" or "...that Jesus delights in listening to you" or SOMETHING about capital T truth that draws people to the love of Christ.Overall, 4/5 stars. Book is marketed toward the very specific segment of the Christian market that embraces diversity but maybe not so much the gospel.

I loved the story line - God Speaks!A great book for introducing a child to the idea - they can hear from God.I recommend this book for all children especially those between ages 3 through 7 years.

Mark Batterson has written another winner. And the artwork is fantastic. I can't wait to share this with my grandchildren and share my fav author's story about God's whisper.

What a wonderful children's book. Illustrations are beautiful and add to the storyline. What a wonderful way to introduce your child to what God is all about, who He is, and just how much He loves your child. Highly recommended!

Great little book, just love the concept it's teaching.y 5 yr old grddtr doesn't usually listen for more than a page or two, but this book kept her interest. I was thrilled.

Makes a great baby shower gift! My daughter and I keep one on hand for gift giving!!

This is a great book that I look forward to reading to my grandchildren. What a great way to introduce children to how God speaks to us all. Another great book from Mark B.

Loved this book for children. What a great way to introduce them to a God who can speak to them in Whispers through all He has made.

I bought this as a Christmas present for two young relatives. 6 yrs old and 3 yrs old. They enjoyed it so much and their Mum was so impressed with it, she wanted to know if the author has written any other books for children.

A beautiful book to gift to the children in the family.

I chose this rating of 5 because the story was very short.I would recommend it as bedtime story for anyone with little children.

Content is so powerful. Thanks to the team