Have you ever thought about how you would draw God? Drawing God by Karen Kiefer (Paraclete Press) is a new picture book that examines that question. Emma is a young girl who goes to a trip to an art museum where she is inspired by the works of Picasso. She wants to draw something spectacular, but what should it be? She decides she is going to draw God.
Emma draws the brightest sun and feels she has drawn God because God is light, but her best friend disagrees. She drew a loaf of bread because it reminds her of God’s grace, but another friend says that bread is not God. Next she draws a huge heart because God is love. Her friends tell her God is not a Valentine. She goes home and prays that somehow she can draw God so that her friends will see Him.
She doesn’t draw any more pictures, but her friends do. Pretty soon, everyone at school was drawing God and every picture was different.
Drawing God is an appealing book featuring illustrations by Kathy De Wit that capture Emma’s enthusiasm. It is hard to think of drawing God. The text and images provide a great jumping off point for discussing how both children and adults might view God. However, the image of the bread could have been much more connected to the Eucharist. While that connection is made in the appendix which features a section aimed at parents, caregivers, and teachers on how to inspire children to draw and think about God, it is clear the opportunity to make that connection in the book itself was missed.
Still, Drawing God offers a unique way to invite children to begin to think about God and how they picture Him. It could be used at home or in a religious education class.
In conjunction with the publication of Drawing God, World Drawing God Day will launch on November 7th as an annual international event to connect children around the world. For more information, visit www.Drawing-God.com.
