Plans I Have For You

Amy Parker’s children’s books have sold more than a million copies, including two Christian Retailing’s Best award-winning books and the bestselling books A Night Night Prayer; Night Night, Farm; and Night Night, Train. Visit Amy at www.amyparkerbooks.com and on Instagram @amyparkerbooks and Facebook @amyparkerauthor. Vanessa Brantley-Newton is a self-taught illustrator, doll maker, and crafter. Her passion for children’s books began when she came across The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats as a child in the 1960s. Growing up in a musical family who loved to sing, Vanessa’s illustrations are as fun and whimsical as a beautiful melody. Vanessa currently makes her nest in Charlotte, NC with her husband of 20 years, their daughter, and a very rambunctious cat named Stripes.

“You are my hands and my feet there on Earth,” narrator God says to an array of kids. “I’ve given you apurpose---it’s been there since birth!” Splashy, energetic illustrations introduce us to the YOU Factory, acolorful, Willy Wonka–style building where God makes kids, imbuing them with all the skills they willneed to be successful in life. Each has a specific purpose---a nurse, a zookeeper, an entomologist---and areencouraged to find the one thing that inspires them. The factory metaphor may not hold up under intensescrutiny, but the find-your-passions message is an appealing one. The joyful, rhyming text and bright,whimsical illustrations make this well suited for read-alouds, and the religious elements are gently woveninto the story---though God and the Bible both appear, neither is referred to by name---making thissomewhat more accessible to a wider denomination. Parents raising their children to have faith in boththemselves and in a higher power will appreciate this offering.--- Maggie Reagan