Doing Something New: A Prayer for Beginnings by Mitali Perkins. Illustrated by Andres Landazabal

In this children’s picture book that is rooted in Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 5:3-10, known as the Beatitudes, renowned Christian author Mitali Perkins invites children (and adults) to discover comfort in the truth that Jesus understands what they are going through as they encounter new situations.

As a young boy waits for the school bus on his first day back to school, he prays, “Jesus, now I come to you, / at the start of something new. / People didn’t know your name. / Here I am, a bit the same. / Jesus, I miss all that’s gone. / It’s sometimes hard to carry on. / You left behind a home you knew. / Here I am, a bit like you.”

As the boy goes through his day, he thinks about the ways Jesus lived on earth, and how he is, and wants to be, “a bit” more like Jesus—humble, kind, loving, comforting, seeking justice, and more.

In an author note, Perkins relates how she and her family moved multiple times and what that meant for her as a child. By the time she settled in California when she was in grade seven, she had lived in India, Ghana, Cameroon, England, Mexico, and New York. Though Perkins had not yet met Jesus, looking back on her life, she sees how Jesus accompanied her in her numerous beginnings.

Perkins encountered the Beatitudes for the first time at the age of 19. She recalls what she learned and what she hopes her book will help children understand, “A remarkable theme in Jesus’ words is that we are blessed to bless others—even as we struggle. Maybe even because we struggle. And here’s the plot twist—Jesus struggled too! He knew what it was to be a vulnerable child and a suffering human being in this distressed world.”

Perkins offers adults two questions to help children explore more deeply their experiences of new circumstances: “What situations are you experiencing where you would like to be ‘a bit’ more like Jesus? When have you needed to pray a ‘Help me!’ prayer to Jesus?”

Illustrator Andres Landazabal’s vivid, emotive artwork and the author’s tender, vulnerable prayer make this book one to return to again and again as children face new challenges. (IVP Kids)