Bless Our Pets: Poems of Gratitude for Our Animal Friends

One of the final books edited by renowned poet Lee Bennett Hopkins (1938-2019), this tribute to pets large and small, ordinary and exotic, is a delightful acknowledgement of the relationship between children and their animal companions.

Illustrator Lita Judge’s tender, joyful artwork depicts children’s lively, or sedate, or enthusiastic, or prayerful encounters with a dog, a gerbil, a kitten, a goldfish, a parakeet, a hamster, a rabbit, a horse, a guinea pig, a box turtle, a snake, and a mouse.

Each poem offers a glance into the connection between children and animals or a prayer for their wellbeing. For example, in “A Prayer for My Gerbil,” poet Eric Ode writes, “Watch over every tiny part. / Whatever sniffs / or scurries, / listens, / looks, / waits, / or worries, / hesitates / or hurries. / Her slender tail, / her tender toes, / her whiskered cheeks, / her twitching nose, / her dreaming eyes, / her drumming heart: / watch over every tiny part.”

In a girl’s blessing on her rabbit titled “Lop-Eared Rabbit,” Joan Bransfield Graham writes, “Blessed are / the soft of fur, / the long of ear. / I wish you safe / from harm, / from fear. / I wish you snug, / cozy, warm. / I wish you safe, / curled in my / arm. / ... For from your tiny, / lop-eared start, / your whiskered ways / soon won my heart.”

This anthology of 14 poems concludes with Lee Bennett Hopkins’s poignant reflection titled “My Old Dog,” in which he praises his faithful canine friend: “Snuggle into me / while I scratch your ears / remembering / so many years / since you were / my precious, tiny pup. / Snuggle, / cuddle up, / let’s cherish / the many wondrous / times we have together. / ... I’ll forever / recall each and every / day / I had with you. / I know you’ll forever / remember, too.”

Bless Our Pets, a book to be savored again and again, is a celebration of God’s awesome creation of pets and the roles they play in people’s lives.

(Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)