I was given a copy of Allia Zobel Nolan’s book When God Turned on the Light to review; and the more I read it, the more I fell in love with it. Not only do I see it as a wonderful book for children, but it has inspired me to write about the Bible in a delightfully new way. What a glowing example of good writing!
This is a book about creation. It isn’t exactly Genesis, but it is. It takes the theme of the light and weaves it playfully through most of the days in the Genesis account of creation. By focusing on the things young children understand instead of forcing a day by day accounting, this book will captivate children from cover to cover.
The rhyme in this story flows smoothly enough throughout the book. But it isn’t just the rhymes that make the book poetic, the words are rich with word pictures and beautiful descriptions. For example: “Caterpillars munched leaves, which the light made see-through. When they took off their fuzzy coats, butterflies flew.” Allia’s creative lines coupled with the delightful illustrations by Linda Clearwater will stretch every child’s imagination.
Pages come with surprises like the zebra’s discovering their reflections “staring them right in the eyes.” Fun pops out of page after page as the light seems to dance its way through the story bringing everything to life. And as the child nears the end of the book, a much deeper concept is beautifully introduced. “Yes, God lit the world with another light too. He was Jesus, the Lord, who saved me and saved you.” Wow!
And on the last page is a scripture verse, Psalm 18:28. “You have turned on my light! The Lord God has made my darkness turn to light.”
This book takes my breath away. I know it will touch young hearts in a powerful way.
I was given a copy of this book from Harvest House Pulishers for an honest review, but was in no way obligated to give a positive review. I simply love the book and plan to use it as a model in my own future writing.
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