EQUIP Book Gift Guide

In November we will be taking a brief look at a variety of books that would be great to give as gifts this Christmas.

Please enjoy this review of a children’s book that helps to explain suffering.

The Moon is Always Round

by Jonathan Gibson, Illustrated by Joe Hox

A great gift for: children in your life, perfect for a godchild.

I’m not sure if you have many, or even any, books about death written for children. It’s something we tend to shy away from, perhaps because we somehow want to protect them from being exposed to suffering. But we know that being part of this fallen world will mean that at some point children will have to face the big questions that death and suffering bring. It is incredibly valuable to give them a framework for understanding the place of suffering and God’s goodness through it, before it happens.

This is a beautiful children’s picture book, written by Moore College graduate Jonathan Gibson, about conversations with his son around the stillbirth of his daughter. Its central premise is that just as the moon is always round even when we can’t see all of it, so God is always good even when we suffer. The book includes a helpful section at the back for parents. It’s a book I haven’t yet managed to read without shedding tears, but it has given me opportunities to teach my kids about the steadfast love of the Lord through all of life’s circumstances.

Meet Jocelyn Loane

Jocelyn Loane is married to Ed, who lectures in Doctrine and Church History at Moore College. They have five children and enjoy church together at St Peters, Cooks River. Her children think her hobbies include laundry, finding lost shoes and making multiple versions of the same dinner.