When God Gave Us Words

by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, Darcy Day Zoells (Illustrator)

Overview

Words. There are long words and short words, nice words and mean words. There are silly words, scary words, and hard-to-spell words. There are so many words in our world! But where did they all come from?

Award-winning childrens book author Sandy Eisenberg Sasso tells a creative tale about the origin of words, and the power of language, in When God Gave Us Words. Inside this innovative childrens book, God gives the power of words to humankind. At first, God and the angels are pleased with how people use words, but over time they start to use words to make curses, lies, and threats. The angels beg God to take back the gift of language, and just as God is about to take it back, new, beautiful words begin to fill the air. When God Gave Us Words features imaginative illustrations by Darcy Day Zoells.

When God Gave Us Words is a 2018 Spirituality & Practice Award Winner!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947888012
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	09/18/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sandy Eisenberg Sasso is the author of many popular books for children and adults, the Director of Religion, Spirituality and the Arts Initiative at Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) Arts and Humanities Institute, and Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck. Her children's books include The Story of AND, When God Gave Us Words, and, co-written with Amy-Jill Levine, A Very Big Problem, Who Is My Neighbor?, The Marvelous Mustard Seed, and Who Counts? For more information, visit www.allaboutand.com.

Darcy Day Zoells is a graduate of Northwestern University and a member of the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators.

Editorial Reviews

The gift of language becomes relevant and real in this original tale.” —Kirkus Reviews

“An imaginative tale about God's desire to give people language.” —Spirituality & Practice

“A creative way of explaining how words came to be.” —Kids' BookBuzz

“Inspiring without being overly sentimental, this book is a nondenominational meditation on the beauty and power of shared expression.” —Booklist

“Beautifully illustrated . . . [a] recommended addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library collections.” —Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

2018-06-11
When God gives language to people, the angels strongly object, convinced "people will not know what to do with words."Angels believe words belong exclusively to them, but God hopes people will use words to "make something beautiful." God fills sacks with words (including "long, difficult words," "silly words," and hard-to-spell words) and sends the angels to "put words into the mouths of all the people." When angels complain some words are too difficult to understand or spell, God creates dictionaries and spelling lists. People begin using words, combining them into sentences. However, as people turn words into lies, curses, and gossip, God worries the angels may have been right. Then God hears people using words to create songs, poetry, jokes, prayers, and stories that even the angels love. Conveyed in a tone reminiscent of the Genesis Creation story, Sasso's intangible ideas take root in Zoells' delicate pencil lines and soft watercolors rendered with artful naiveté. God appears as the sun, luminous in red, orange, yellow, and blue concentric circles, while angels are represented as smaller, multicolored, spiky orbs. After God's gift of words, light and energy infuse the previously dull landscape with colorful scenes of people of many races laughing, singing, telling stories, dancing, and praying.The gift of language becomes relevant and real in this original tale. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews