Creation for Kids
I’ve been on a quest.
We on the BioLogos team are preparing to launch a new resource page that highlights educational materials for a wide range of ages—young children through adults. So in preparation for that, I’ve been searching for some great books for young children that convey the vastness and richness of the universe as well as the awesome majesty of our God.
This post is intended as an introduction to this new resource and includes a short tour of the material I’ve found most enjoyable and educational. One great option for young children (preschoolers through age 5) is Creation Touch-and-Feel (2007). This bright and colorful book exposes children to the wonderful creatures, colors, and textures God has made. Over and over we hear the question: “Who made ______?” And the answer is always, “God did!” “Who made the land? God did….Who made the sun? God did. And God made the moon. God made stars that twinkle; God made planets and fiery comets too.”
Children are invited to touch something with every turn of the page: touch the turtle’s dimpled shell, the rough bark on a tree, the beautiful coat of a zebra, and the lush pink feathers of the flamingo. Without reference to the Genesis “days” of creation, this book wonderfully portrays the diversity of life and emphasizes the important and simple truth that God is Creator of it all.
Interested in a children’s book that tackles Big Bang cosmology, early solar system formation and development of life on earth? Take a look at Older than the Stars (2011). The title presents the emphasis of the book: all the organisms on earth today, even our own bodies, are made of elements present from the very, very, early beginnings of our universe. Pre-schoolers through elementary graders will appreciate this lively trek over billions of years, and adult readers will appreciate the sing-songy rhythm of the text:
This is the sun, our daily view, that was born from the dust, so old and new,
thrown from the blast intense enough, to hurl the atoms so strong and tough,
that formed in the star of red-hot stuff, that burst from the gas in a giant puff,
that spun from the blocks that formed from the bits, that were born in the bang, when the world began.
The pages are filled with engaging rhymes like these, along with more detailed paragraphs that could be skipped for younger children:
In time, some of the atoms in the ocean joined together to form tiny living creatures. At first, these creatures were so simple they didn’t think or even swim—they just floated in the water. But over time they evolved, getting bigger and more complex.
Another book worth grabbing for kids 8 - 12 years is Kids' Guide to God's Creation: An illustrated guide to earth, space, the human body - all of God's creation! (2010) The strength of this book is its accurate but accessible scientific information about our atmosphere, light, oceans, plants, other galaxies, fish, birds, land animals, and humans. Though the topics are organized within the 6 “days” spoken of in Genesis, the emphasis is the interesting science we’ve learned about various aspects of creation. For example, did you know that jellyfish are about 95% water or that the earth’s crust is about 25 miles thick underneath the land, or that when baby African bush elephants are born they weigh in at about 225 pounds? The book contains numerous, full-color photos on every page, like the picture of the Eagle Nebula taken by the Hubble Telescope, or the picture of a blue-spotted stingray from Thailand. There is no mention of evolutionary processes, but the authors do include a statement recognizing different views among Christians when it comes to age of the earth:
Even though all Christians agree that God created the earth and everything in and around it, some of them disagree over how long it took God to do it. Some believe the earth is very young- between 6,000 and 10,000 years old-while others believe the earth is very old...maybe billions of years old.
If you’ve spent significant time around young children, you know that often when they read a boo