The hardest questions I ever get about the Trinity are from kids. From “where is Jesus and why can’t we see him?” to “are God and Jesus the same person?”, I have learned to fear the kid questions more than anything the graduate students can muster.
So I’m grateful for any help I can get from books and music. Groggy at bedtime and breakfast alike, advanced theological training is no defense, and I can use as much help as any dad or uncle. Unfortunately most of what’s out there is pretty unhelpful.
But I recently ran across Joey Allen’s little book on the Trinity in his Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers series.
I had nothing to do with this book, and found it by chance. But it is a book after my own heart. Not only does it present the Trinity without ever using any of those analogies that I find so distracting and off-the-subject, but it presents the gospel along the way, as a natural outgrowth of discussing the Trinity. Is that perfect? I actually recommend it for reading with very young children.
The illustrations are professional and, if you have a stomach for the cuteness factor of kids books, sweet without making your teeth ache too bad. I warn you, if you’re not currently living on a steady diet of kid stuff, you won’t be able to handle the narrator character. But if kid lit is your daily fare, this is right in the zone, and the easy, well chosen words are worth it. I read it to my own kids (age 3 and 5) and will gladly use it with nieces, nephews, and friends. I haven’t checked out the other books in the series yet, but the topics are cleverly chosen: gospel, mission, scripture.
I’m also interested in this trilogy, though I haven’t read it yet (and it looks like the Spirit volume isn’t released yet).
