Lauren Ducommun

Crossway is about to release a new picture book for kids ages 3 through 5: Who Are You? A Little Book about Your Big Identity by Christina Fox. I was so looking forward to this picture book, which addresses the questions “Who are You?” and “What really makes you… you?” But while this picture book may help little ones learn about what shouldn’t define them, I felt like it didn’t fully address our “big identity” found in Christ.

Who Are You? is a fun little picture book written in rhyme. I like the message of this book — that our identity isn’t found in what we own, what we do, how we feel, or what people say. Fox spent the majority of her time here, relating to kids in a fun and goofy way, always asking, “Is that what makes you, you?” Even though the theme of the book is about our “Big Identity,” thirteen out of eighteen pages are devoted to pointing out the wrong ideas we may have about our identity. While these are great examples and helpful for children to see where they may be finding their worth or identity, I wish she spent more time talking about our identity in Christ.

The picture book description says it will help littles “learn about their deeper life-giving identity, which is rooted in their relationship with their Creator and Savior–the one who fashioned them in his likeness and calls them to live a life for his glory.” Knowing this, it was underwhelming to find that only four pages mentioned God and briefly talked about our identity in him. 

Christina answers her question, “Who are you?” by briefly sharing how we are made by God and like him, to show what he is like and to live for him, that we are loved by God, and if you trust in God, you’ll be his child. These are all wonderful truths, but there are only really four short sentences devoted to them.

I appreciate that the gospel message is present and that Christina doesn’t say that just because we are created by God, we are automatically children of God. She implies that if you trust in God, you’ll be his child. The gospel sentence was also abruptly and slightly awkwardly introduced. Fox urges kids to “trust in him. He’ll wash you white as snow.” The name of Jesus is also not mentioned in this picture book — he is only referenced as God’s Son. 

The only other qualm I have with this book is how the writing isn’t always clear or cohesive. The illustrations are nice but often disjointed. It took me a few reads to figure out how they relate to each other, and they often struggled to connect well with the text. (It took me a few reads to see that the snow fort was being used throughout the picture book.)

Fox ends the book by answering the main question by saying, “If you’re God’s child, you’re made to live for him.” While this is true, I wish she had spent more time helping kids understand their identity in Christ instead of what it is not. The book would be better titled: Who Aren’t You? Even so, this would be fun to read together to spark discussion about what our world or culture says we are.

I received this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.

Who Are You? A Little Book about Your Big Identity
by Christina Fox
Crossway, 2024
32 pages*
(*Amazon says 32 pages, but including end and title pages it’s only 24.)