As It Is In Heaven: A Collection of Prayers for All Ages

by Eric Puybaret

Overview

Éric Puybaret’s atmospheric paintings illuminate classic Christian prayers, drawn from over two thousand years of faith. Selections include the Apostles’ Creed, the Magnificat, and the Lord’s Prayer, as well as prayers from St. Francis, St. Augustine, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Each contemplative pairing of text and art invites readers to find new meaning in familiar words. 

This book is an opportunity to introduce—or rediscover—words that have been prayed by people around the world for centuries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802855381
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/10/2020
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	IG820L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

Éric Puybaret has illustrated over twenty books for children, including Suite for Human Nature(Atheneum), Manfish: A Story of Jacques Costeau (Chronicle), and Puff the Magic Dragon (Sterling). He is a graduate of the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris. He lives in France. Visit Eric's website at ericpuybaret.com.

Editorial Reviews

2019-12-08
French illustrator Puybaret brings his lustrous soft-edged artwork to a new book of common prayer.

Opening with the Lord's Prayer (Our Father), the selections chosen include biblical devotions, traditional prayers, and the prayers of saints, all largely in the Roman Catholic tradition. While Protestant audiences will feel the Our Father cuts off abruptly and might bristle at the Hail Mary, there is much to love for the faithful of diverse persuasions. At turns worshipful and introspective, the thoughtful prayers call for mindful compassion, empathetic living, and kindness, generosity, and mercy in the lives of believers. Puybaret, known for his whimsical, dreamlike style, brings that same sense of reverie to the real world in pensive vignettes. Particularly poignant is an illustration featuring a barefoot young man, surrounded by rubble and smoke but enveloped by a soft glow as he reaches out to a young sapling thrusting upward despite the chaos around it, which appears alongside St. Francis' prayer for peace: "Where there is hatred, let me sow love / … / where there is despair, hope." Though the prayers of saints are attributed to their authors, sources for scriptural prayers such as the Our Father and Magnificat are lacking references. Sadly, while there are some people of color depicted, most of the people in the illustrations appear white, even those based on Middle Eastern biblical characters.

Though best appreciated by Catholic audiences, an excellent collection for a wide range of Christian believers. (Picture book/religion. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews