Birds of the Air by S.E.M. Ishida

God’s Son is going to be baptized and the birds are all atwitter. Which one of them will be chosen to represent the Holy Spirit. Will it be:

*The canary who can express the delight of God in a lovely song?

*The eagle who is strong and can represent God’s might?

*The parrot who is smart and can remind people of God’s wisdom?

*The peacock who might symbolize the beauty of God?

Because God’s ways are different than ours, He chooses an ordinary, small bird — the dove. He wants people to know that His Son came for everyone, especially the poor and humble.

This would be an excellent book to read aloud and discuss with young school age children. Through a beginning statement, the author clearly states that this is an imaginary story, but one that can point us to Biblical truths — just like the parables that Jesus Himself used.

The illustrations are bright and lovely (kudos to illustrator Wendy Tan. The Biblical account of the baptism of Jesus from the book of Matthew is included at the end, along with a verse to memorize, and some questions for further discussion.

VERDICT: 5 STARS. Both Biblical and engaging. Children and their parents will enjoy it.

For more books for children see these posts:

The Gift That I Can Give For Little Ones by Kathie Lee Gifford–Book Review

Because I Love You by Max Lucado–Book Review

God is Hope by Amy Parker–Book Review