Book Review (and a Giveaway!): God’s Beloved Community by Michelle T. Sanchez

GOD’S BELOVED COMMUNITY by Michelle T. Sanchez
GENRE: Inspirational Children’s Picture Book (ages 3-7)
PUBLISHER: WaterBrook
RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2022
PAGES: 41

This children’s book from the author of Color-Courageous Discipleship makes the God-inspired dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., accessible to all, helping kids and parents answer God’s call to move from being color-blind to color-brave.

God created a world filled with vibrant variety—and called it good! From flamingos and crows to shooting stars and rainbows—to all our different shades of hair, eyes, and skin—God declared it all very good. Now God calls us to resist racism and proclaim with him how precious all people really are.

With lively rhyming text, this book takes young readers on a biblical and historical journey to discover more about beloved community. Drawing on the biblical vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it explores how we can create communities filled with God’s love as we delight in our differences, stand up to bullying and unfair rules, and declare with our lives and our love that everyone matters to God.

God’s Beloved Community is a sweet way to talk with children about being ‘color brave’, not color blind. The author explains what she means by this concept by tying Dr. King’s dream into a presentation of the gospel story from creation through the cross. God’s dream, she says, is for us to love one another in beloved community, and the enemy still uses the same old tricks to steal, kill, and destroy our love for one another. She then encourages children to love others as Jesus loved us and gives practical examples of how to do this – by seeing how precious all colors are, learning about & appreciating our differences, including those who are left out, speaking out against bullying and unfair rules, and declaring that everyone matters to God.

One of my favorite stanzas in the book is this one:

You see, Pastor King believed in God,
a God made completely of love,
who’s writing a story more colorful
than anything we could think of.

I don’t know about you, but I always love thinking about how God is writing THE Story, the best story ever (it starts with ‘once upon a time’ in Gen 1:1 and ends with the greatest happily ever after there is – Rev 21:4). And I am passionate about books & stories that reflect this Bigger Story, especially when they focus on how colorful & diverse God’s Story is. I really appreciated the message of this book, and I think it’s an important topic to talk through with children.

Bottom Line: God’s Beloved Community by Michelle T. Sanchez creatively addresses the concepts of her Color-Courageous Discipleship books (for adults & teens) in a way that is accessible and fun for children. She frames it against the message of Dr. Martin Luther King and (most importantly) the redemption story that God has been telling through Jesus since creation, reminding all of us that we are called to love one another as Jesus loved us. The text has rhyme & meter (though the meter felt awkward to me when reading aloud), and the illustrations are gorgeous – warm & full of color! The world needs more people who are color-brave, and I’m glad that Sanchez is on a mission to spiritually disciple all ages to be those kind of people.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 stars / enjoyed it!

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Michelle T. Sanchez, MDiv, ThM, is the senior discipleship and evangelism leader of the Evangelical Covenant Church, a vibrant multiethnic denomination of more than 875 congregations. Michelle completed seminary degrees at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and spiritual direction training at Boston College. She is a conference speaker and a columnist with Outreach magazine. Michelle has enjoyed engaging with colorful cultures in over thirty countries and territories around the world. She and her husband, Mickey, live with their children in the Chicago area.

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Other Books by Michelle T. Sanchez

WaterBrook is offering a print copy of God’s Beloved Community by Michelle T. Sanchez to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read God’s Beloved Community by Michelle T. Sanchez with a child in your life?