FOR EVERY LITTLE THING

From morning to night, poems celebrate the everyday joys and wonders to be found in life.

The rising sun, doggy kisses, a parent’s hug, fireflies, butterflies, friends and family, and nighttime dreams are a few of the things given thanks for and highlighted in the poems and blessings collected in this anthology, which combines poems old and new and from several religions and cultures. While God is not addressed or spoken of in every poem, most do show some appreciation of God and/or God’s creation, ask for God’s help or blessings, or acknowledge God’s gifts to humankind. Several have overt social messages (the power of goodness, seeing God in those you meet), some use striking imagery (rain “parachuting from the sky,” snow as “confetti from an angel’s party”), and many use pleasing rhymes and rhythms that will resonate with child readers (“Tuck your covers / snug and tight. / Tuck the good / into the night”). Artwork sets the tone for each poem, sometimes suggesting a theme or setting and other times illustrating the verse itself, whether as a whole or a small piece: Two poems, one mentioning “sandals on my feet,” the other “head to foot” are bookended by eight pairs of feet of diverse skin tones and shod in various sandal styles. A spread with poems talking about being kind and hurting no living thing is filled with realistic-looking life-size bugs of all types.

Thoughtfully selected and prettily illustrated verses for religious households.