CHOOSE TO BELIEVE

Faith in God liberates a young elephant from the prison of fear in Owino’s illustrated children’s book.

The tale opens on the woebegone face of a small elephant trapped in a cage somewhere on the African savanna, where she longs to roam free, smell the roses and sage, and play with the ducks in a nearby pond. A kindly lion happens by and breaks open the cage door. Alas, the elephant stays put in the only home she has ever known, plagued by a swarm of “What If Worrybugs” that stoke her anxieties about change. What if life outside the cage is too hard? What if no one likes her? What if the roses and sage don’t smell as good as she imagines? The lion steadies her with an encouraging message: If she believes in herself and calls on God’s strength, she can summon the courage to exit her cage forever. Buttressing the lion’s arguments are many Bible passages, including Jesus’ parables of the lilies of the field and of the mustard seed, which enjoin believers to cease fretting and put their trust in Providence. Owino’s yarn feels a bit like the down-to-earth Christian apologetics of C. S. Lewis (complete with a Narnia-ready heroic lion) done in the style of Doctor Seuss. The author’s limpid, melodic, easy-to-recite rhymes skillfully evoke kids’ social timidity and fear of shaming themselves (“What if running is tricky and / you fall on your face? / What if ducks are not friendly / and give you a chase?”) as well as their heady ebullience when obstacles are surmounted (“‘Buzz off, you What Ifs, / I have places to be. / I can do all things when / God strengthens me’….She spun and she twirled, / her feet did not stop, / ‘till she trampled that / cage and ran free / from that spot”). Paj’s illustrations feature rich, vibrant colors—there are dusky purple twilights and glowing gold and grass-green sunrises—and Disneyesque figures with huge, expressive eyes; they make a catchy visual accompaniment that helps bring the story to life for kids.

An entertaining read-aloud storybook that reassures tots that, with faith in God, all things are possible.