God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Image

Figure 1. God Gave Us You book cover (2019).

Evaluation of Book

In God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren, Little Cub wants to know where she came from. Mama tells her the story about how Mama and Papa wanted a baby, and then how she grew in Mama’s belly. Mama polar bear prepared Little Cub’s room and prayed for her to be healthy and love God. And finally, Little Cub came into the world because God gave her to her mom and dad.

One of the best aspects of this book is the dialogue. Mama bear tells a beautiful story about her baby growing inside of her, getting bigger, and then being born. During all of this, she repeats, “because God gave us you” throughout the book to emphasize this idea with Little Cub. And when the story ends, that catch phrase is what she takes away from the story. (Bergren, 2000)

The illustrations also do a wonderful job of reinforcing the text. When an action is described in the text, the picture shows it. Example, when Mama bear tells about the angels celebrating Little Cub’s conception, they are shown in the picture. And then when Papa bear sang to his unborn child, the pictures shows him singing. Each picture represents the event described in the text.

Another great thing about the illustrations are how they extend the plot. At no point are all the creatures of the area mentioned, and yet the pictures show penguins, walruses, geese, seals, and other animals and sea creatures joining in for celebrating and investigating the coming of Little Cub. There is also a baby blanket that is made by Mama bear. It appears on the bed at the start, is made while Little Cub grows bigger in Mama bear’s tummy, and covers Little Bear at the end of the story. Books also decorate the room of Little Cub, like The Velveteen Bear, a reference to a popular human book with a rabbit. Over and over again, the pictures show extended information that enhance the plot.

Response

While reading God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren, I continuously flashed back to experiences in my life. Like in the book, I too prayed for my baby to love God while he grew in my tummy. And others did gawk at my belly as the birds and animals stared at Mama bear’s. And the idea of raising my child to love God and for me to cherish the gift he gave me agrees with my views. A baby provides a parent the opportunity to share the word of God and teach another how amazing they are within the big picture of the world. And this book reinforced my views on being open about God with my child so that he can have peace, knowing that God gave us to each other.

Conclusion

For a God loving family, God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren provides a beautiful way to express love for one’s child and their relationship with God. Also, it works for all ages because the story and illustrations relate to every age. Out of four stars, I give this book a four.

Citation

Bergren, L. T. and Bryant, L. (2000). God Gave Us You. New York, NY: Waterbrook Press.

Willis, C. (2019). God Gave Us You book cover (photo). Retrieved March 15, 2019 from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KIuCReWHt_C81lkobpj94t-nqI8X2XXU/view?usp=sharing