About the books:
“How to show your love for God” is a miniature children’s book trilogy about why it is important to love and learn about yourself and the rest of God’s creation. The graphic novels depict and discuss very basic anatomical and developmental differences in people, caring tips, and biblical stories which exemplify loving relationships in proximity to God. The common theme for all of the books is love which is a fundamental value of Christianity.
The intention of these books is to be used as a teaching tool in Christian classrooms or households. The series is a brief educational intersection of faith, relationships, and the human body. The series is meant to help individuals start thinking about life in a critical, inclusive, and modern way.
Why teaching these concepts to a younger audience is beneficial
While introducing the book topics to younger viewers may seem like a daunting task, it is important to expose young people to these topics to assist them in their times of development to relinquish any shame that may be associated with themselves and lead to hate and othering. Further, learning about oneself and others, in general, is vital for being able to share love and not hate in the world, as is a fundamental value of Christianity.
References
GILL, EMILY R. An Argument for Same-Sex Marriage: Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and Public Expressions of Civic Equality. Georgetown University Press, 2012. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tt3n5.
Johnson, Luke Timothy and Mark D. Jordan. “Christianity.” In Sex, Marriage & Family in World Religions, 86-103. Edited by Don S. Browning, M. Christian Green, and John Witte, Jr. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
Michaelson, Jay. God vs. Gay?, 62-77. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon, 2011.
Myers, D. G. (2017). Psychology (12th Edition). Macmillan Higher Education. https://reader.yuzu.com/books/9781319067977
Oremus Bible Browser, last modified June 30, 2021. https://bible.oremus.org/.
Runkel G. (1998). Sexual morality of Christianity. Journal of sex & marital therapy, 24(2), 103–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926239808404924
Staff, Mayo Clinic. “Talking to Toddlers and Preschoolers about Sex.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, June 17, 2021. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/sexual-health/in-depth/sex-education/art-20044104.
I love this project!! It’s so creative. I really like your illustrations and I especially like the third book where you pull stories of love from religious text. I think this is a great tool for young children.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. 🙂
This project is so cute! Hearing your preview of it in small groups captured my attention, so I was so excited to finally get to see it. It is both informative and engaging, providing a wonderful combination perfect for children (and even for any age I think). This is such a meaningful topic to teach children about, and it’s so great that you’re passionate about it.
Thank you very much! I was thinking about that too, actually… that this could also be helpful for people outside of the 8-10 age range because I’ve certainly taught my suitemates and family members more than they thought they would learn through this project. 🙂
This is exceptional and so so creative. I absolutely love how you took in everything we learnt in this class i.e. the different faith traditions and how they show their love for god. I am in awe of the examples as well, such as the one with Ruth and Naomi <3 Beautiful !
This is exceptional and so so creative. I absolutely love how you took in everything we learnt in this class i.e. the different faith traditions and how they show their love for god. I am in awe of the examples as well, such as the one with Ruth and Naomi <3 Beautiful ! –ars
I loved how you focused on creating a teaching tool as your project! I thought it was very creative and addressed a lot of the shortcomings and problems with how love, sex, and relationships are taught currently. It was great to see biblical examples of relationships/stories which exemplified your point because I feel like we didn’t talk much about some of the positive stories in this class. Awesome job!
This project was super cute and was a great example of how to better educate our youth on religion instead of the concrete traditional views usually taught in church. Your art work was simple, yet effective and flowed so nicely. I especially liked that you included the story of Ruth & Naomi and David & Jonathan!
Absolutely loved the creativity of this project and the content within it! After hearing about your experiences with your teachings and what I have (or I guess haven’t) learned about Christianity the messages you are spreading within these books are really powerful. Great job!
I think your project is very cute and should definitely be used to teach children about these topics! We should normalize teaching kids about their bodies and more positive concepts rather than those of sinning and damnation. There are too many adults out there that do not know about even their own bodies, so we should teach them young for sure.
I love everything about this project! I love which stories you chose, I love your art style, and you delivered the information in a very simple but also in a very heartfelt and earnest way. This would definitely be something that I would have liked to read as a kid, and I think a lot more Christian kids today would appreciate the messages you have in these three booklets. Very well done!
This was such a creative idea! While it is obviously important to learn about these topics in the context of the academic classroom, it is even more important to apply what you have learned and try to make an impact. Books like these need to be shared with young Christian kids. It is unfortunate that so many kids grow up learning to feel ashamed and isolated for not fitting into the rigid roles that Christianity promotes. This was something I talked about in my presentation too. So many women don’t know how to reconcile what they’ve been taught about sex with their own desires as adults. Books like these would make a huge impact on the ideas Christian kids take into adulthood.
really enjoyed reading through your books, I think this work is so necessary to educate the younger generations and foster a safe space for them as they explore both their religious and sexual identities.
These really are such well done books, I loved getting to go through them in person! I think you did such a good job when it comes to making your wording accessible and complementing it with your drawings. If these books were in print, I think they’d make good additions to religious classrooms
I thought the books were so beautiful. I had to hold back tears looking at them in class. They were so creative and encouraging. I wish I had books like this as a child. I think publishing these books in the future may be very helpful to help kids learn to grow into their identities and learn to love themselves. It was a very touching and creative project.
This was incredibly creative!! It’s so important to educate young minds about important topics such as sexuality and expressing your love for God in more open ways such as expressing it as your love for other people and to move away from the traditionally restrictive ideologies. I loved your drawings in the book especially the ones educating about how sexual organs can look very different for different people because I feel like this is something we just never bother to talk about.
You were so creative with this project, very artistic and I really enjoyed looking at the art in each book. I hope to see books like this in Sunday school someday, which will definitely help our future generations grow with an open and more welcoming mindset. Also wanted to thank you for opening up to us in class about your own experiences. Amazing job!
I was so excited to see the route you were going to take with each book when we were discussing it in small groups. They are amazing! I especially liked the second book as I do not think that there are many connections made between caring for the body and the body itself and the fact the God made it the way that it is. Great job!
I really appreciate that you saw a need/shortcoming in your community and thought of a project specifically to address that need. It’s quite impactful that you made something that younger you would’ve benefitted from. I also really appreciate the variety of love stories in the last book. You include the story of Ruth and Naomi and present it as queer, providing individuals with representation in a space that’s often very heteronormative. And you also touch on David and Rebecca giving a heteronormative story as well. I think providing a spectrum of love stories normalizes the variety of love. Really creative and touching project!