“God Is With Me Through the Night”

“God Is With Me Through the Day”

by Julie Cantrell

Children have so many little fears. Fears that we, as adults, take for granted. How quickly we forget the fear of being alone, or being in the dark. We forget how a long hallway seems so ominous to a little one during the night time regardless if they have walked that same hallway a hundred times during the day.

Have you ever taken the time to get down to your child’s level. I mean literally. Get on your knees and see the world from their perspective. Everything is bigger then you, larger then you and taller then you. Kind of scary.

Since they were tiny newborns…I have tried to share the love of God and the Faith I have in Him with my twins. Teaching them that He is always there for us. That He never leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). I want them to understand that Mommy and Daddy will never leave them or stop loving them either.

Julie Cantrell takes beautiful pictures, simple lines and statements that reinforce the idea that your little one is never, ever alone. This perfect is for the Toddler who can admire the photos to the older child who can read it alone.

The goal of both these books is that a child can reassure that they are loved and cared for by a Heavenly Father. What a wonderful gift to give this season.

I love receiving books for Christmas or anytime of the year. I just love books and love to read. What makes a book even more interesting is learning a bit about the author and what compelled he or she to create the book they did….with that in mind…my Holiday Shopping Tip…may I introduce you to Julie Cantrell!

Why did you write these picture books?

When my daughter was young, she had a hard time sleeping in her own bed. She was afraid of the dark, and she suffered from terrible nightmares. She loved to read, and she loved animals – so when she was five years old, the two of us worked together to create a bedtime story just for her.

We found stock photos of animals, and we wrote simple text to reassure her that even when I tucked her into her bed at night, she was not alone. I wanted her to feel secure that I would never leave her in a place that wasn’t safe, and that God was always with her—even in the dark.

How did the books become published?

I never intended to publish the book. I wrote it to help my own daughter overcome her fears while building her faith in God. When her friends would sleep over, they all enjoyed the book and wanted me to print copies for them. Then the neighborhood kids asked for copies. I was working in a preschool as a speech-language pathologist at the time, so I read the story to my students. They all reacted positively to the story, so some of the other teachers and parents asked for copies. Their reactions made me think seriously about sharing the story to children on a bigger scale.

I had been working as a freelance writer for many years, so I decided to look for an agent. Several publishers expressed serious interest in the books, and we ended up signing a contract with Zonderkidz (the children’s division of Zondervan).

I was thrilled when they asked for a partner book to help children cope with fears such as separation anxiety and shyness through the day. God is with Me through the Day and God is with Me through the Night were released simultaneously on March 1, 2009.

How have children reacted to the books?

It’s been amazing to see children’s reactions as I read to school groups and story time groups. They laugh at the funny photos. They say “awww” when there’s a sweet photo. And they show sad expressions when the animals express fear or loneliness. I encourage them to talk to the animals on the pages. “Tell the goat, ‘Don’t be scared. Go play with your friends.’” Or “Silly kitty. That’s just a shadow!” They really interact with the book and always ask me to read it again.

Through the use of realistic, natural photos, the children can understand that all of God’s creatures feel afraid at times. It helps them cope with their emotions so they feel confident to explore their world or sleep through the night.

One Lucky IE Mommy Reader will receive a Set of God is With Me…Books!

To Enter:

Follow Julie Cantrel on Twitter and tweet “I follow because of @iemommy RT – Enter to WIN the God is With Me Giveaway http://www.theiemommy.com/2009/11/22/god/” @JulieCantrell” = One entry for each Tweet
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