Created Critters with Wings
Ben Cooper
Nonfiction / Children
Word Count:
Brief Description
Created Critters with Wings is a delightful look into the diversity of winged creatures and points both the reader and the listener to the One who designed them. The stunning graphic illustrations with hidden bee images and the crafted rhyming verses encourage young and old alike as they learn interesting facts about each animal and ultimately discover how we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Synopsis
Here are two book endorsements to give a better synopsis of the content:
Michelle Medlock Adams, award-winning and bestselling author of over 100 books writes:
“Kids love rhyme, and kids love animals. Author Ben Cooper has merged those two loves to produce a wonderful, informative, inspiring book about winged animals that children of all ages will adore. Whether encouraging wisdom through lyrical language about the owl or showcasing teamwork through fun verses about the bee, this author helps children celebrate God’s awesome creation in such a special way.”
Andy Clapp, pastor and author writes:
In Created Critters with Wings, Ben Cooper takes the reader on a journey in nature that teaches them about animals with wings and their Creator. Ben’s knowledge flows through the wonderful devotions, captivating both young and old readers alike. My daughters, Cheyenne and Autumn, love this book. I watched their faces light up as they learned about God and nature. This book is a must-have for every home library. Ben’s insight leads to growth and the illustrations are beautiful. This book will help you fall deeper in love with nature and with the Lord.”
Writer's Edge Notes
Needs some development work, but could be charming.
Sample Chapters
Hidden Bee Search
One of the most amazing creatures God created is the honeybee. They are so complex and are a social species having as many as 60,000 bees in one colony. They are crucial for the pollination of flowering plants all over the world. Honeybees are essential for food production for both animals and people.
In 2019, the honeybee was declared the most important animal on the planet. So, with that in mind, you will find throughout the illustrations hidden bee images for your young ones to search for as you read to them. By learning to look for the hidden bees in the book, children can learn to look for them in our created world and come to appreciate their importance. Both the author and the illustrator of this book are avid beekeepers.
God took great care and effort in designing the marvelous honeybee on day five of
creation and then went on to create man in His own image.
The English Standard Version of Genesis 1:31 tells us,
“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”
Birds
To be able to fly is a wonderous thing,
to go where you want to by use of your wing.
A bird makes a nest to hatch out her young,
and creates nature’s music by her songs that are sung.
Although God cares deeply for the birds in the tree,
He especially, lovingly cares greatly for me.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26 (NIV)
Eagle
The majestic bald eagle flies up on high.
She floats effortlessly in the air and the sky.
Her feathers are key to her magical flight.
Her talons display her great power and might.
Compared to the eagle, we are so much more,
for we were created by our God to soar.
“. . .but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
Gnat
The small, tiny gnat lives only a few weeks.
She has to work hard for the life that she seeks.
To have lots of babies is what she does best.
But that can be tough when you’re seen as a pest.
It takes lots of wisdom as our days amount.
We make it our aim to make every day count.
“So teach us to number our day that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12 (ESV)
Honeybee
Each bee has a job, a task to be done.
The colony relies on the work of each one.
The queen in the hive makes thousands of bees,
to fly out and pollinate flowers and trees.
God calls each of us to a work of our own,
to water and nourish the seeds that are sown.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:12 (NIV)
Owl
An owl can hear the very slightest of sound,
by turning his head nearly all the way ‘round.
He hunts and is active, mostly at night,
and is silent and stealthy when given to flight.
He is said to be wise, but I cannot see how,
because God has more wisdom than the wise old owl.
“. . .know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.”
Deuteronomy 4:39 (ESV)
Pigeon
In cities and parks are where pigeons are found.
Here people will sit and throw seeds on the ground.
Their eyesight is sharp. They can see far away.
They use their good vision to live out each day.
When a lamb or a goat was too much to afford,
a pigeon was offered up unto the Lord.
“Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, such as the person can afford,”
Leviticus 14:30 (NIV)
Animals that differ with fur, fin, or feather,
have learned how to live alongside of each other.
Their habits, their food, their homes aren’t the same,
yet God knows each one and He calls them by name.
Each turtle that hatches and crawls to the sea,
each colt that is born to run wild and free,
all come to exist in the air, sea, and land,
by God’s mighty power and His loving hand.
Yet we are unique, quite different, and odd,
because we are created in the image of God.
“So God created human being in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27 (NIV)