Whimsical and meaningful are two words that come to mind after reading Amy Parker's new book The Plans I Have for You. In a fun, playful take on Jeremiah 29:11, Parker combines adventure prose and rhyme to show children how uniquely created each child is by God and how with His help they can truly become and do anything. This clever book is enhanced by magical illustrations by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. I loved the variety of occupations and ethnicities that are represented. She also did a lovely job of staying away from all gender stereotypes for many occupations. Each page is full of color and wonder. My girls all loved reading this book and played an "i spy" game with the different jobs they saw (which fit in perfectly with my 1st grader's study on community helpers!). Ideally, this book hits the mark for children ages 4-8. My only small complaint would be that God's name is never mentioned and the sentence about "I've left you instructions right here in my book" insinuates the answers are in this adorable book, not God's word, the Bible, as I'm sure is intended. It just required a little explanation to my 5 year old! This adorable book would be a wonderful addition to any home or classroom library!
*I received a free copy from booklookbloggers for my honest review.