Angels Among Us
Name of Book: Angels Among Us
Author: Leena Lane
Illustrator: Elena Baboni
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5321-9
Audience: Ages 6 and up
Summary: Angels act as God’s messengers and helpers throughout Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament. In this picture book, the stories of angels interacting with people are told simply and true to the biblical text. Each verse is noted in the twelve stories compiled from Genesis to Acts.
Literary elements at work in the story: The bible story is translated to the level of a first or second grade reader and follows scriptural elements. The illustrations are double page and colorful with the angels’ resplendence not “cutestied up”. Interestingly, when I showed the book separately to several kindergarteners they repeatedly reached out to touch and trace the outline of the angels. One child noted, “The people don’t look happy to see the angels.” A discussion about how often angels said “Do not be afraid” followed. I would consider this a good addition to a family or church’s collection of bible story books.
(How) does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? The faces of angels and people are depicted in a variety of hues.
Theological conversation partners: The verbs in each story’s title describe the action of the angels in their encounter with people, such as, Delivering a Promise, Providing Food and Water and Filling the Sky with Praise. As agents of God, angels give insight into God’s acting in the world and our response.
Faith Talk Questions:
- Which story did you like the most? Why?
- Did any story puzzle you? How?
- Why do you think angels appear so often in Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament?
- What do angels tell us about God?
- When angels appear, people are usually astonished and afraid. Why do you think we try to make angels look cute? (Show some pictures of Hallmark and Precious Moment angels)
- Has there ever been a time when you would have liked to have God send a message to you?
This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Robin Crawford.
Angels Among Us by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
