The Jesus Comfort Quilt by Jane Van Antwerp (A Review)
About the Book
Jesus Comfort Quilt is unique book designed for kids and adults grieving a loss. Part coloring book and part guide through the grieving process, this unique book will help kids and adults understand the grief process while creating a quilt from the various coloring pages.
Who Is This Book For?
This designed for kids ages 5-12 but will be a benefit to teens and younger children as well. The book has been used extensively by grief support groups as well as pastors and counselor supporting grieving children.
Our Synopsis of the Book
The book includes 19 coloring pages covering ways a child might be comforted in their grief. Each coloring page includes a brief phrase to remind the child of its purpose as well as one blank page where the child can draw a picture of something they find comforting. Opposite each page is a brief paragraph that explains the grief concept included in the coloring page. The book includes instructions on how to use the pictures to create a paper or cloth quilt from the coloring pages.
Topics covered in the book include:
- Jesus Comforts Us
- Hearing Kind Words
- Being Listened To
- Playing
- A Hug
- A Gift
- A Song About God
- Hearing a Story
- Helping Someone Else
- Being Held
- Reading a Bible Verse
- Doing Normal Stuff
- Remembering the Deceased
- Prayer
- Crying
- Giving Thanks
- Asking Questions
- Knowing You Will Always Be God’s Child
- Worshiping
- Hope
Amazon’s Synopsis
Here’s how Amazon describes the book:
The Jesus Comfort Quilt is a one-of-a-kind resource. It is a coloring book to help kids and adults grieving a loss. Each page has a short paragraph and a simple illustration of one way Jesus might bring comfort during a time of loss. Even though the books were written with children ages 5 – 12 in mind, teens will find comfort in “overhearing” something meant for younger children, and preschoolers will enjoy the sense of belonging.
The Jesus Comfort Quilt is being used by both grief support groups and by pastors and counselors. It is also a helpful and tangible gift to bring to families in the midst of a tragedy.
What We Liked
We like almost everything about this book. In fact, this is one of our favorite books to help kids deal with grief. In addition to suggesting things to kids that can help them with their grief, it reminds them they have will always have a loving and never-changing heavenly father. As an added bonus, the act of coloring the pages in this book can be a coping mechanism in and of itself.
What We Didn’t Like
Honestly, there isn’t anything about this book that we don’t like.
Recommendation
We recommend Jesus Comfort Quilt for every child (of any age) who is grieving the loss of someone special. In fact, Jesus Comfort Quilt makes the short list of three “must have” books that we recommend for grieving children. If you work with kids, we recommend that you buy a package of five and keep the extras on hand to give out to the grieving kids you work with.
