Give Me Grace: A Child's Daybook of Prayers

In this small gem, childlike prayers and paintings for each day of the week illuminate an understanding of God as one who nurtures, teaches, protects, comforts and blesses children and their loved ones. The Newbery-winning author fashions simple rhymed verse that young readers may easily commit to memory: ""Monday make me good and kind/ to all creatures that I find./ Help me love God's whole creation./ Make my life a celebration."" As in other works Rylant has illustrated (Dog Heaven), the paintings here resemble children's artwork. Each is idealized: the girl petting the bunny under the apple tree, the boy flying his kite with his dog. Rylant's poignant renditions, with their warm, crayon-box colors, present a world safe for exploring, for pondering and for praying. Her work offers both a model for how to pray to God, and the assurance that God's love and grace provide the foundation on which all prayers begin. All ages. (Oct.)