FROM THE BACK COVER:
When Papa finds Little Cub looking for angels, it gives him a chance to tell his beloved child about those that may be in their midst, even when they can’t be seen. Exploring their exhilarating Arctic world as they talk, Papa lovingly answers all of Little Cub’s questions about angels—and as usual, she has a lot. She wants to know what they do, how they look, how they guard God’s loved ones, and best of all, how they serve the Creator of the world.
“God really created angels to serve him more than us, Little Cub.
They love him and would do anything for him.”
This uplifting tale will encourage young hearts by exploring the glory and design of God’s messengers, while turning toward him with praise.
MY THOUGHTS:
I have enjoyed other books in this series by Lisa Tawn Bergren. I love that the author can explain things in a Biblical Christian perspective so I had high hopes for this book. I wasn't disappointed. The illustrations in God Gave Us Angels are adorable and the text is written in a way that the baby cub is asking questions about Angels to her papa bear; Some of the questions included why the angels have halos, what do angels do all day, why it seems like God does not always give us angels to protect us, etc.
This book is advertised to be appropriate for children 3-7. I read it to my 7 year old and my 5 year old. My 5 year old loved the illustrations and the use of the bears, because polar bears are his favorite. My 7 year old was able to read the text easily and enjoyed reading it to her two younger brothers.
One thing that did catch me off guard about this book is that my 7 year old asked some thought provoking questions as we were reading which led me to two points that I found disappointing in the story. The story is written from a Christian perspective, however, there is a discrepancy in how Papa Bear answers 2 of his little cub's question and how a Catholic would answer. One of the questions Little Cub asks is "Will we get to be angels when we die?" Papa Bear answers no and says that angels were created separately from humans by God and that we will see them in Heaven but will not become them. Well, Rebecca wanted to know then why we call her brother Travis who was stillborn, her and her brothers' guardian angel. I had to explain that we don't always agree with everything that we read, and that in our household we believe that are ancestors are our guardian angels and we believe that God's love allows them to become angels. Our beliefs on that subject are just different from the authors. I also did not agree with Papa Bear's answer to whether we should pray to the angels. Papa Bear answers no, that we should only pray to God. As a Catholic, we are taught that we can and should pray to our Guardian Angel to ask for protection and shelter in times of need. I reminded Rebecca and Jacob of this and also reminded them that just because we don't agree with the author on these two points that the book is still full of useful information of learning about angels. It helped lead me to remind my children that OUR family believes in Catholicism and others may believe in Christ and Christianity, but they have different beliefs in how we worship.
Overall, I was happy with the book in that it is age appropriate and appeals to my children, even if it did not 100% agree with our family's Catholic beliefs.
DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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