Psalm Twenty-Three

I'm a library person all the way, but every so often I find a book that I want to own... Psalm Twenty-Three is one of those books. We first discovered it back when my kids, now in college, were in grade school. Tim Ladwig's sublime paintings capture the exact feel and atmosphere of every scene: the children's bedroom, the family kitchen, the playground, the classroom, the scary walk home. His paintings must be anointed, as they bring the meaning of this Psalm to vivid, relatable life. God's word is still fresh, and this book socks it home in a way any reader, of any age, can GET. I agree with all the points made by the other five-star reviewers here, and urge you to read their comments. I particularly like and agree with Robert Kellemen's statement: "The scenes are not so much "heavenly," as they are depictions of God's earthly provision through "Jesus with skin on"--loving parents, teachers, and other adults and extended family members." We're all called to minister to others and this book creates a desire to do just that, so thank you Tim Ladwig!P.S. By the way, you may have read that at age 8, Tim Ladwig lost an eye in an accident. With that in mind, notice the scenes of the Grandmother sewing an eye back on the stuffed lamb... that just gets me every time, along with the stained glass window at the very end. Oh my! Another one to knock your socks off: "This Is the Star" by Joyce Dunbar, with breathtaking illustrations by Gary Blythe. You'll see the Nativity with a new and startling clarity that I predict will fill you with joy!!

You read this once and appreciate it….You read it again because you missed the heart-touching clues the first time…This book is amazing!Ladwig created a masterpiece.

I got this for my sister to read to her two-year-old. She thought the pictures didn't go with the words. When I saw it, I realized that you'll have to do a lot of explaining to get your child to see the connection between the two. For example, for the text about God leading us to quiet waters, there is an illustration of some children seeing a leaf in a puddle on the side of a street. I didn't want to have to explain that, no, God is not leading us to play in puddles. The puddle appears to be metaphorical for God leading us to find peace in the everyday things we see around us (not sure about the leaf on the puddle). But I'm not sure young children have the cognitive ability to understand such abstract connections.Also, there are some illustrations that are even more unclear. For example, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" is illustrated with the kids walking by some teenagers hanging out in front of their doors. The teens don't even look like they're doing anything wrong... except that their eyes all have the same squint. Kind of weird. If you assume that they're kids that are up to no good, then you have the difficulty of explaining there are evil people in the world who want to hurt you or that somehow these kids are trouble (though it's unclear how).On the other hand, both my nephew and my daughter love the book because of the illustrations. My sister and I just ignore the text and make up our own descriptions of what's going on in the story. If you do that, the story you get is of a day in the lives of a couple of (African-American) kids who wake up, have breakfast, walk to school, learn things, walk home, have dinner, get ready for bed, and go to sleep. Of course my toddler keeps asking where the mommy and daddy are (the children in the story are apparently being raised by their grandparents).For youth, maybe it's fine. It's a book about how God takes care of us in our every day lives. For young kids, it's more of a picture book about kids going to school and coming home. I think the straightforward Lord is my shepherd sheep metaphor will be enough for them to try to understand without having a secondary metaphor that builds on the first one.

I love the way this author brings the message of Psalm 23 down to the real life tangible everyday events of the day! I found the illustrations engaging and an invitation to look closer.

My 6 and 4 year olds love this book and It is their most favorite request for bedtime story. The lush, gorgeous illustrations are so evocative and realistic, and my children love to add their own interpretations of the story beyond the read-along text, the images are stimulating enough to really make them think and conjure up alternate storylines on their own. I am happy to find a positive, Bible-based and affirmative book featuring and for beautiful children of color.

I already owned a copy of this book, but ordered more to give as gifts. Primarily, I like the illustrations that go along with the phrases of the Psalm because they picture life in the city. For example, "streams of water" is a puddle in the street - this is a very good way to bring Ps. 23 to life for those who are living day to day in an environment where sidewalks, empty lots, crossing streets, etc. are most familiar. It goes through an example of a typical day for two children as they encounter different places and people and are ultimately and always cared for by their Shepherd.By reading it in a picture story format, one of our children had this Psalm in its entirety easily memorized at age 2.

My 8 year old son is in love with this book. It conveys Psalm 23 in heart language, using pictures of everyday life to open our eyes to "God with us" in our own everyday lives. We read this almost every night before bed, poring over each illustration with wonder and curiosity. Thank you, Tim Ladwig, for this gift!

I was pleasantly surprised to see how each verse of this passage is beautifully illustrated to correlate with the type of society we live in.It is my hope that my son memorizes this scripture by way of connecting each verse with his day to day activities and life.My son is 3 now, and I just introduced the book to him and we both love the illustrations.

Amazing!

in love with this book :)