Dandilion Rhymes is a series of books written by Dandi Daley Mackall and illustrated by David Hohn for 4-8 year olds . The series forms a collection of poetry for all families that worship the Lord, adding a new poem that celebrates God with each book.

Inspired by Psalm 139 of the Bible, When God Created My Toes tells the story of a little girl who ponders how God created her. Various body parts receive her examination and contemplation.

When God created my toes
Did he make them wiggle?
Did he know I’d giggle?
Did he have to hold his nose
when God created my toes?

Silly questions – often prompting laughter from small readers – are asked about God’s thoughts and actions during the forming of her body. These questions are applied to her knees, hips, hands, head, eyes, nose, heart, and finally to her entire being, ‘me’.

Hohn provides playful illustrations to accompany the meandering thoughts of the poem. The highly active little girl enjoys childhood activities including playing in the mud, roller-skating, and an imaginary tea party attended by parents, pet cat, and teddy bear. Her high spirits often lead her into mischief, some of which seems developmentally inappropriate for a child of her age. Our girls have all made messes out of paint, food colouring or any other marking device they can find, but generally not in the age range of 4-8 years old. Each illustration is connected to the body part being discussed; skinning knees accompanies the stanza on God’s creation of the little girl’s knees, for example.

Hohn’s joy-filled artwork alternates with crumpled pieces of actual lined paper that have been incorporated as design elements. At times they include only text, but more often feature both text and child-like, pencil-crayon line drawings that depict the action that occurs between the full illustrations. This unique stylistic choice adds to the feeling of childhood joy and wonder that is present throughout.

Through the synchronistic combination of playful rhyming verse and snapshots from the busy life of a little girl, children begin to grasp God’s joy as He creates each child, even themselves. “Was he pleased as he could be when God created me?”

While When God Created My Toes is my 5-year-old daughter’s favourite of the two, God Loves Me More Than That outshines its companion in my opinion. A much stronger rhythm is present in the verse. My daughter already has much of this title memorized due to rolling cadences that beg to be read aloud and recited.

How much love does God have for me?
More than the letters between A and Z
More than the bumbles in a bumble bee.
God loves me more than that!

Those are the words that I overheard my eldest ‘reading’ to my 2 year old in the bed tonight.

The quotation above is the first stanza which provides a repeating form for each following section of verse. Each quatrain ends with the line “God loves me – than that!” Fill in the blank with more than, deeper than, softer than, louder than, bigger than and others! God’s love for us is immense, far larger than we can conceptualize.

This title reminds me of a bed-time game I play with my girls, familiar to many parents.  I call it “I love you more than.” We take turns saying how much we love each other; “I love you higher than the tallest tree.” I say. “Well, I love you to the moon and back.” My daughter replies. Going on for quite some time, the conversation ends with my concluding remark, “But you know who loves you more than even I do?” “Yes, God!” my daughter answers joyfully, she knows the drill. Drawing from this same vein and tradition God Loves Me More Than That makes a perfect addition to family bedtime rituals.

Hohn’s illustration takes Mackall’s not entirely uncommon imaginings of God’s love: deeper than a treasure chest beneath the sea, higher than a space shuttle flying by, etc., and takes them in to the realm of the fantastic. Hohn places the little boy who is reflecting on God’s love for him amongst hippo’s dancing in the rain, on a bumble bee’s back and as a cowboy on horseback on the range to mention only a few. We are clearly immersed in the realm of the imagination, and are treated to a fantastic voyage through this little boy’s daydreams.

Reading these books from the Dandilion Rhymes series to my children takes us on a light-hearted, joy-filled exploration of God’s loving care and creation. These two titles are pure fun and reading them to small children is a delightful experience.

Publisher Info:

Title: When God Created My Toes
Author: Dandi Daley Mackall
Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (August 19, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1400073154
ISBN-13: 978-1400073153

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST TWO PAGES!

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Publisher Info:

Title: God Loves Me More Than That
Author: Dandi Daley Mackall
Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (August 19, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1400073162
ISBN-13: 978-1400073160

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST TWO PAGES!

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIAN BOOK!

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT AMAZON!