A GIFT FOR A LITTLE CHILD'S BAPTISM

A collection of prayers, some biblical and some original, for little ones.

Following through on its titular intent, prayers embody the nine characteristics (including love, faithfulness and gentleness) attributed to the Holy Ghost. Selections (The Lord's Prayer, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”) depict God’s loving relationship with His people and creation. Poems balance reverence for the Omniscient against the individual’s need for attention. “I’m wild as a tiger / I’m wild as a bear / I’m wilder than a wildebeest / and I don’t even care.” (Though the accompanying illustration suggests a gentler reality as the little girl nuzzles a tiger-striped cat.) Where appropriate, traditional formulations are rephrased (“Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” does not threaten death, for instance). Not all offerings demonstrate the poetic strength of the traditional text: “The Lord is my shepherd / I’m safe in his care / by pools deep and still / in green pastures so fair.” Cheerful symbolic images (butterflies, doves and sheep) grin against minimalist backgrounds. Cuddly, cherub-cheeked youngsters pray and play, each depicted with small, sweet smiles. Characters’ physical representation reveals a conventional European-American view, with fair, blond angels and white, bearded, white-robed Jesus holding the mostly Caucasian children’s hands.

Baby steps for those on their Christian walk of faith.