Also by this author: I'm So Glad You Were Born: Celebrating Who You Are, There's a Lion in My Nativity!
Published by Zonderkidz on April 16, 2024
Genres: Children's
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#1 NYT Bestseller now available in board book! Parents and children both have big dreams—about their life and the wonders the future holds. I’m So Glad You Were Born celebrates those dreams as well as the wonder of everyday experiences like sweet and special snuggles and cuddles, fun times and learning times too! New York Times bestselling author and FOX News anchor Ainsley Earhardt has created a picture book that celebrates ALL the dreams come true--a parent's, a child’s, and Creator God’s! I'm So Glad You Were Born is full of love and hope and has a sweet, playful message inspired by Scripture that will leave your child without a doubt just how thankful you are that they are in your life and that they were created to be extraordinary. I’m So Glad You Were Born : I’m So Glad You Were Born ?is an inspiring and loving message to your child, sure to become a go-to favorite for reading aloud as well as during bedtime snuggles!
A couple years ago, I reviewed the picture book I’m So Glad You Were Born. That bestselling book is now available in a board book format, and I decided to review it because I wondered if the board book was identical to the original, or if it was a revised and shortened version. I liked many things about the original book, but I also had some issues with it, as I’ll explain below. I hoped that the board book would be a shorter, modified version that removed the sentence that I had a serious problem with. That is not the case, because the different formats of the book are almost identical. The board book doesn’t have space for writing a gift message, and expands the final page into a double-page spread, but those are the only differences.
I’m So Glad You Were Born: Celebrating Who You Are conveys a sense of joy and celebration, with enthusiastic text from Ainsley Earhardt and diverse, colorful illustrations from Kim Barnes. The words in the book come from the perspective of a parent or other loved one who is affirming a child, and the book celebrates that child’s individuality, expresses gratitude for their life, and talks about how God has purposefully designed them and has big plans for their lives. The book briefly highlights possible career paths, along with mentioning the possibility of someday being a mother or a father. Other pages share important lessons about facing challenges and persevering.
However, I can’t get past this line: “God’s purpose for you is to follow your heart. Create a BIG LIFE that’s your own work of art.” No. No. God gives us dreams and passions to pursue, but there is a huge leap between that truth and the idea that God put us on this earth to follow our hearts. God’s Word makes it very clear that our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:7), that both good and bad things flow from them (Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:19), and that we should seek God’s wisdom instead of relying on our own judgment (Proverbs 3:5-7). Also, we can all see from personal experience and human history that following your feelings and impulses frequently ends in disaster. I consider “follow your heart” to be bad advice in any book, but it is especially egregious in religious books.
Because that line is such a deal-breaker for me, I hoped that this board book wouldn’t include that line, but the text is exactly the same. Unlike with some board books, which present a shortened or modified version of the original, this board book is equivalent to the full-size picture book. The new format will make this book more affordable for some people, and will make it more appropriate for little ones who aren’t ready for a book with paper pages. However, I would still only recommend it to people who don’t mind the line about following your heart, or who would plan to revise it as they read.