“This book is at once gorgeous and glorious, quiet as falling snow, and still as a hibernating animal. It captures the magic and promise of Advent in words and pictures—reminding us, gently but powerfully, of God‘s love for all His creatures—including us.”

Sy Montgomery, National Book Award Finalist and NYT best-selling author of How to Be a Good Creature

“All Creation Waits is an Advent book as exquisite as it is unusual. In a season which often centers human stories and celebrates the triumph of light, this enthralling book directs our gaze elsewhere: to our animal kin and what they can teach us about stillness, waiting, and the generative power of darkness. Poetic, wise, stunningly illustrated, and rich in mystery, All Creation Waits is an ideal Advent companion for curious children (and grownups too). I can hardly wait to share it with my own family.”

Laura Alary, author of Look! A Child's Guide to Advent and Christmas and many other books

“Saying I loved All Creation Waits is an understatement. It moved me and inspired me. My family will be using it to welcome in Christmas, not just once, but for years to come. As a parent, I love the space the book leaves for my own kids’ responses and the prompts that are truly at a child’s level. It’s a delight and my new go-to recommendation for families.”

Meredith Miller, pastor and author of Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kids Don’t Have to Heal From

“A gorgeous exploration in words and pictures of animals in winter, life in darkness, beauty in nature, the wonder of the world...”

Deborah Heiligman, author of Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, a National Book Award Finalist

All Creation Waits

The Backstory

When I finished All Creation Waits in 2016, I thought I had written a book for adults. They would read it alone, reflect on it alone, through the days of Advent. As soon as it was published, I learned I was mistaken. Yes, there were many people who read it in the solitary way I’d pictured. But there were many others who read it with their families at bedtimes, at mealtimes, in quiet family reflection times during Advent. They wrote to tell me how the animals had captivated their older children as well.

The younger children—not so much. The book’s beautiful woodcut illustrations drew them right in, but they got a little lost in its vocabulary and sentence structure. Because, well, I had written the book for adult readers. Younger kids drew pictures while their older siblings and caretakers read the book together.

Team members at Paraclete Press were hearing this too. They proposed I write a version of All Creation Waits that would captivate young readers in the same way the original edition was engaging older readers.

I froze. I balked. I said no. It seemed a setup for failure. I had never written for children, and I loved the original book so much I was afraid I would bastardize it with amateurish efforts to translate it into simpler language.

Paraclete’s very patient editor-in-chief, Bob Edmonson, gently reminded me that the younger children are when we encourage them to give themselves to their natural love of the world, the more likely they are to grow into adults who protect it. Paraclete then paired me with skilled children's editor Annette Bourland, who coached me in the art of writing for children. And my dear soul-friend, Cheryl Hellner, modeled this art form for me in her own stirring stories for children.

Even with my best efforts, though, this book would not be the work of art that it is without the stunning illustrations of Sharon Spitz. Sharon paints from a heart brimming with love for creatures of all kinds. My hope is that children feel her love, and mine, for the animals pouring out of the pages into their hearts.