Made in His Image The Stories of God (and Kiki), (Hardcover)

“God thinks Kiki is awesome. He loves when Kiki does Kiki things. And because God thinks you're awesome. He loves when you do you things,” Dave Connis writes in his children's book, The Stories of God (and Kiki). ~ What ~ A part of the Made in His Image series, this forty-page hardbound targets three to seven-year-old children who like reading how God is writing our story. With no scary scenes, there are colorful illustrations on all the pages that contain one to two sentences each. In this short tale, Kiki is a young child who is creative and imaginative as she is compared to God and how He made her like Him. Correlating her designing artwork and writing stories to the Almighty, it describes the similarities and differences between them. As she writes the biggest story ever, it reminds us how God is also writing a story of each of us plus making all things new in the future. ~ Why ~ This is a story that contains silly writing ideas of an inventive girl mixed with the awesomeness of God. Not only does it have an otter prince, sea cucumber, and gerblins, but it also mentions in passing the Bible stories of creation, the Garden of Eden, Queen Esther, Jesus's resurrection, God being all-knowing, and a reference toward eternity. ~ Why Not ~ Some children will not like the confusing choppy sentences with the overly-busy artwork, especially if they have issues with visual stimulation. Others may not realize the book is more about feeling special in the way God made you and your God-given talents. With such a title, I expected this book to have Biblical stories in it, so I was disappointed at its minimal reference to Scripture. Often I did not understand what was going on in the writing and illustrations until I reread the book several times. ~ Wish ~ Although I appreciate the book mentioning how we are created in God's image and He brings us joy, it does not give the plan of eternal salvation. Stating that God loves you “when you do you things” may be misconstrued as there is no right or wrong included. ~ Want ~ If your child does not mind a read that has a lot more of a little girl's imagination and creativity than actual stories from the Word of God, this may be perfect for him or her, but I didn't care for it. Thanks to WaterBrook and Multnomah Book Launch Team for this complimentary book that I am under no obligation to review.