Faith-Based Picture Books for Fall 2025
By Lindsey Cornett
Englewood Press Managing Editor
What God Says About You
Hosanna Wong (Author), Liz Brizzi (Illustrator)
Hardback: Tommy Nelson, 2025
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Hosanna Wong is a spoken word artist whose poem, “I Have a New Name” went viral on social media in 2023. Her first children’s book, What God Says About You, adapts the ideas of that poem for young readers. The result is a picture book that works as a fantastic read aloud for families with children of all ages; it is the kind of book I plan to read aloud to my youngest while trusting that the older kids are listening in and hearing the message.
The book begins with a warm sentiment, inviting children into the adventure of life with Jesus. “Your life will be a great adventure./ Just imagine the things you will see!/ What fun you’ll have as you discover/ the person God made you to be.” I love and appreciate this entry point for children into a life of discipleship, framing it not as a religious experience or moral choice but as an adventure with a God who is like an intimate companion.
From there, Wong goes on to explore the many competing messages children might hear about their identity, abilities, appearance, and worth, then counters those ideas with truths from scripture. The poem says children are God’s friends, masterpieces, and temples; that they are chosen, greatly loved, and free. Meanwhile, the bright and colorful illustrations depict children who are diverse, playful, and active participants in their worlds. The final pages of the book serve as an appendix of sorts and depict an illustrated bulletin board, onto which are “pinned” the Bible verses that correspond to each “name” covered in the preceding text.
I have one quibble with the book, which is a line early on that reads, “Who gets to name a thing, anyway? Why, of course, the creator who made it!” I’m not sure this squares with the Genesis creation account in which God gives humans the authority to name much of the created world. Preschoolers and other young readers might have difficulty interpreting the more figurative nature of the “names” Wong is referring to; as they are more descriptors of God’s children, something we are “called” rather than something we are named. Perhaps I am mincing words here, but as I read the book I kept imagining the ways my own children (who are inquisitive and also often very literal) would question some of this language. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful picture book, and one that is a great addition to your family bookshelf, perfectly in keeping with other titles like The Book of Belonging and Matthew Paul Turner’s collection of picture books.
Consider the Birds
Jennifer Grant (Author), Julianna Swaney (Illustrator)
Hardback: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025
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In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus admonishes his disciples not to worry by drawing on a lesson from nature. “Consider the ravens,” he says in Luke 12:24, “they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!” Jennifer Grant draws on this verse in her newest picture book, Consider the Birds, perfect for preschoolers.
I love this book because scripture serves as the inspiration, but it is not shoehorned into the story and the narrative does not become pedantic. Instead, Grant has created a counting book with birds at the center. We watch them fly in and out of a tree, taking turns eating from a birdfeeder. “One blue jay dives down from way up high. He screams: ‘Eat! Eat! Eat!’… Two mourning doves scout for seeds on the ground. Friends forever, faithful and true…” The rhyming is subtle and lends a nice rhythm, making this a good read aloud. The watercolor illustrations by Julianna Swaney are beautiful and give the birds personality. (For context, Swaney is also the illustrator of Joanna Gaines’s picture books.) At the same time, the colors are muted and there is lots of white space, which supports the calm and worry-free posture both the book and the scripture that inspired it hope to convey.
Ultimately, Consider the Birds uses a spirit of wonder and awe to remind children of God’s deep love, care, and attention to all of his creation–including them. This book, along with her other titles Maybe God is Like that Too and Finding Calm in Nature, are solidifying Jennifer Grant as one of my favorite authors of spiritual picture books for young readers.
Mary Oliver, Holding on to Wonder
Erin Frankel (Author), Jasu Hu (Illustrator)
Hardback: Calkins Creek, 2025
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This book serves as an introduction to the life of Mary Oliver, but unfortunately, not actually to her poetry. I found myself wishing that the author drew more direct links between what Mary observes and wonders about in the book and the poems she created as a result. Instead, we have constant mention of the poems Oliver was writing, but no quotes or excerpts from them (it’s possible these permissions were not granted by publishers or Oliver’s estate). Adults readers of the book who are familiar with Oliver’s poems will catch passing references to dogs, geese, streams and rocks, but unfortunately those references are so small and underdeveloped, they might not mean much to those who haven’t read her poetry. And because this is a picture book, meant for children, the likelihood is that most, if not all, of them will have not yet experienced Oliver’s poetry for herself.
The book moves from one event in Mary Oliver’s life to another: enjoying nature as a child, reading the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, working for St. Vincent Millay’s estate, meeting Molly Malone Cook, moving to Cape Cod, winning the Pulitzer, teaching, continuing to write until her death. But the tone of the book is very one-note; it fails to convey much emotional range or depth. Granted, Oliver was intensely private and not too many details of her personal life are available to the public. But to my mind, that means the author should have taken a different approach to the text, in order to create a more engaging story for children.
In my experience, for a child to be captivated by a biography of a person who is as-of-yet unknown to them, the story of their life itself must be compelling. I’m not arguing that Mary Oliver did not lead a compelling life, and one that might indeed be interesting to children. But I don’t think it’s conveyed in this book.
A more generous reading is to see how the book focuses on Mary Oliver’s insistence on wonder, joy, and attention. In so doing, children might make the connection that they, too, wonder at the world, and perhaps they might be a poet. But this idea is conveyed primarily through the author’s note and other end matter, and not through the story itself.
I found myself asking, “Who is this book for?” Ultimately, I think it’s written for adults who love Mary Oliver, and might enjoy having a beautifully illustrated account of her life on their shelves. Those adults might want to share the book with the kids in their lives, but I doubt the children will find it particularly interesting.
Lindsey Cornett
Lindsey Cornett is a loud talker, obsessive coffee drinker, and lover of the written word who lives in downtown Indianapolis with her scientist husband, 3 kids, and crazy Bernedoodle. Most days, you’ll find her wrangling the dog, managing snacks, reheating her coffee, and trying to savor as much joy and gratitude as she can in the middle of these very full days. Lindsey writes a monthly-ish email newsletter about the intersections of faith, community, and curiosity at lindseycornett.substack.com.
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