Doing Something New: A Prayer for Beginnings

Jesus, now I come to you,

at the start of something new . . .

Children all encounter change differently. And whether a new year, a new school, a new neighborhood, or a new team, change can be hard.

Through Doing Something New, award-winning author Mitali Perkins reminds kids that wherever they go and whatever they do, in all of these changes they are not alone: Jesus is with them. And not only is Jesus with them, but he also understands and empathizes with them because he, too, has experienced new and difficult things.

In Doing Something New, you'll find

• a heartfelt prayer kids can lift to God during times of newness and change,
• a charming story brought to life through Andrés Landazábal's vibrant illustrations of children in new everyday situations, and
• a note from the author to encourage further conversation about trusting Jesus in the midst of hard things.

Doing Something New is a prayer that offers children--and the adults who read with them--language to pray in times of change or stress. Rooted in the promises of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-10, this book provides comfort and reassurance that everything matters to Jesus.

Share Doing Something New with the children in your life and help them see how Jesus is with them in every moment of their lives.

Andrés Landazábal is an illustrator, production designer, and art director based in Colombia. His work has appeared in animation films, TV shows, and numerous children's books. Andrés's love for drawing and painting was instilled at a young age reading classically illustrated children's books.

Mitali Perkins (mitaliperkins.com) has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film), all of which explore crossing different kinds of borders. Her goal is to make readers laugh or cry, preferably both, as long as their hearts are widening. She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area.