I once mediated a sibling fight from the driver's seat of my minivan. The details escape me now, but I'm assuming we talked about who did what wrong and what should have been done instead. As we wound down the debrief, I prompted the offending party to apologize to her sibling with a "What do you say?" And from the backseat came a mournful, "Thank you." Apparently, my husband and I had used that phrase (What do you say?) so many times, we'd unknowingly conditioned a knee-jerk thank-you reflex in our child.
Scripture is filled with the prompt to "Give thanks to the Lord!" We are called to give thanks to him because of his works (1 Chronicles 16:8-9), for his eternal and steadfast love (Psalm 106:1), for his righteousness (Psalm 7:17), and more. "It is good to give thanks to the Lord," the psalmist writes (Psalm 92:1). For the people of God, gratitude an appropriate response to who God is and what he has done.
It's important to teach our children to remember their please's and thank you's. But even more so, we want them to have a heart that learns to say "Thank you" to God in worship. To that end (and as Thanksgiving approaches) we wanted to highlight a few picture books we carry here at Westminster Kids that help cultivate thanks and praise in children.
Picture Books about Thanking God
- Title: Psalms of Praise: A Movement Primer
- Ages: 0-3
- About the Book: Using colorful, engaging artwork, Psalms of Praise introduces little ones to the lyrical Scripture of the Psalms while illustrating how our everyday movements are actually postures of praise. Children will delight in the beautiful illustrations and learn how the fun ways they naturally move their bodies are an important part of worship. The movements of Psalms are coupled with both calm and joyful texts taken straight from the Bible.
- Title: Happy: A Song of Joy and Thanks for Little Ones
- Ages: 0-3
- About the Book: Inspired by Psalm 92, Happy's lyrical text celebrates all that God gives his children and the joy found in giving him gratitude. From the author of the bestselling The Jesus Storybook Bible, Sally Lloyd-Jones, and the award-winning illustrator Jago, comes an uplifting board book that encourages even the smallest believer to share in God's great love for them.
- Title: Good Gifts Come From God
- Ages: 4-7
- About the Book: Every day God gives us good gifts to enjoy--family, friends, sunshine, hugs, smiles, and kind words. The greatest gift from God is sending his Son, Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We should always thank God for his good and perfect gifts. In Good Gifts Come from God, Sally Michael helps parents to instruct the mind, engage the heart, and influence the will of their children as they learn a new Scripture. Each page shows pictures and asks questions to engage preschoolers in understanding and memorizing the verse.
- Title: Why Do We Say Thank You?: Learning to Be Grateful
- Ages: 4-7
- About the Book: Often, kids (and grownups too) don't feel thankful. It's easy to complain about things, even when there are so many wonderful blessings all around us. But in the Bible, God says "in everything give thanks." The young boy in Why Do We Say Thank You? learns that thankfulness is a choice--it's about paying attention to God and the glory of the world he has made. Award-winning author Champ Thornton wrote this book to help children recognize God as the source of all joy and contentment.
