Recognized as an ECPA Bronze Seller of over 100,000 copies sold.
God Made All of Me by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb is an invaluable resource and beautifully illustrated story to help families talk about sensitive issues with two- to eight-year-old children.
Because the private parts of our bodies are private, home is the ideal environment for a child to learn about his or her body and how it should be treated by others—without conveying a message of shame.
Through carefully written language and relatable storytelling, God Made All of Me helps parents navigate discussion that can so easily be warped into confusion, embarrassment, and secrecy.
Instead of instilling a message that their bodies are shameful—which can often prevent children from recognizing and reporting sexual abuse—Justin and Lindsey Holcomb equip parents to build a first line of defense against sexual abuse in the safety of their own homes.
This helpful guide starts from the fundamental truth that God created everything and applies that truth—the doctrine of creation—to kids and their bodies. With the help of God Made All of Me, parents and caregivers can begin conversations with boys and girls about their bodies, helping kids understand the difference between the appropriate and inappropriate touch of others.
This life-changing resource shows readers how to establish the foundation for a healthy bond with their children to meet increasing challenges of sexuality, which they will inevitably confront in childhood and adolescence. By teaching their children how to establish body and health boundaries, parents are imparting invaluable skills for their kids to express thoughts and feelings.
God Made All of Me is the first children’s book written by Rid of My Disgrace authors, Justin and Lindsey Holcomb. Parents of young children themselves, the Holcombs are profoundly aware of the dangers kids face, and they regularly counsel victims of sexual abuse.
Explore God Made All of Me and find encouragement, clear guidance, and the tools necessary to facilitate open conversations about how your children can protect their bodies, an important step in keeping them as safe as possible.
Justin Holcomb, PhD, is an Episcopal priest and professor of theology and apologetics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary. Justin is a City Network Leader for Made to Flourish. He serves on the boards of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments), Heart Support, and Leaders Collective. He has authored, coauthored, or edited more than fifteen books on numerous topics, including sexual assault, domestic abuse, biblical studies, and historical theology. He and his wife, Lindsey, coauthored the award-winning children’s book God Made All of Me and God Made Me in His Image.
Lindsey A. Holcomb, MPH, works at Samaritan Village, a safe home and therapeutic program for adult survivors of sex trafficking. She is a former case manager at a sexual assault crisis center and a domestic violence shelter and is the cofounder of REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade). Together, Lindsey and her husband, Justin, conduct a variety of training seminars on how to prevent, recognize, and respond to child, sexual, and domestic abuse. She is also the award-winning coauthor of Is It My Fault?, Rid of My Disgrace, God Made All of Me, and God Made Me in His Image. The Holcombs live in Orlando and are parents of two daughters.
Trish Mahoney is a graphic designer and illustrator in Seattle where she runs The Mahoney Studio with her husband, Patrick, also a designer and illustrator. They have two children—both budding artists, too.
"Protecting our children begins with conversations that help them understand how to protect themselves. Unfortunately, many parents simply aren't equipped to have these often difficult and awkward conversations with their little ones. Tragically, sexual offenders realize this and often target children who have never learned how to protect their bodies. The simplicity of the text and the wonderful illustrations make God Made All of Me the perfect resource for teaching our children this absolutely necessary information. What I love most about this amazing little book is how beautifully it conveys God's love for little ones by wanting them to be safe. As a former child abuse prosecutor, I have no doubt that God Made All of Me will be a major contribution to making our world a safer place for our precious children."
Boz Tchividjian, Executive Director, GRACE; Professor of Law; and former prosecutor
"Justin and Lindsey have written a book to help us protect our children from sexual abuse. In clear and simple language it engages the child in the discussion. Woven throughout is the foundational belief that our children have been purposefully created by God and that every aspect of their being was his idea. I highly recommend God Made All of Me to parents of young children. Love them well by educating them about keeping their bodies safe."
Diane Langberg, PhD, Psychologist
"This is a strange and beautiful book. Strange because it's so unique: exploring God's creation with a view to helping children protect themselves in an increasingly at-risk culture. Beautiful because it hits its mark: instilling practical wisdom in a way that teaches without terrifying. The combined experience of the authors makes this a terrific resource for parents as well. As a father of four, I highly recommend it."
Michael Horton, Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary, California
"A lively, engaging, and straightforward little book, God Made All of Me is the perfect invitation to start a conversation with children about their bodies, boundaries, and the people in their life that make them feel safe. This book is both God-glorifying and visually stimulating and our homes and churches will be safer and more joyful places because of it. "
Rachel Held Evans, blogger and author of Faith Unraveled, author of Searching for Sunday
"God Made All of Me is a sweet, compelling, brilliantly sensitive invitation to teach your children the beauty of their body and the honor due to being made in the image of God. It offers simple and clear wisdom little ones can grasp about how to protect themselves from inappropriate or unwanted touch. It is the responsibility of every parent and grandparent to address uncomfortable subjects. This glorious resource is an investment in care, protection, and honor. I am grateful I get to read this to all three of my grandchildren."
Dan B. Allender, Professor of Counseling Psychology and Founding President, The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology; author of The Wounded Heart and Healing the Wounded Heart
"I wish my family had this book when I was a little girl because if they did I wouldn't have the sexual abuse story I have today. This is an important, straightforward book."
Mary DeMuth, author of Not Marked: Finding Hope and Healing After Sexual Abuse
"As a parent to a young daughter, I'm already thinking through how to parent well in this area. Too many resources, when I was growing up, made us feel shame because of our bodies, or just simply didn't talk about it. I'm so thankful and completely indebted to Justin and Lindsey for giving us a resource like this."
Jefferson Bethke, author of New York Times bestseller Jesus > Religion
"This is a must-read for any parent who wants to help empower their child to be safe from those who hurt little ones."
Michael Reagan, President, The Reagan Legacy Foundation
"This book is an absolute gift to parents! Finally, there is a quality book that engages children while providing a way for parents to discuss the difficult topic of sexual abuse. This is a vital tool to help parents raise healthy, brave children."
Lindsey Strickland, former child advocate at Sexual Assault Resource Agency, Charlottesville, VA
"It's sad that we have to educate our children in self-protection; but it is profoundly necessary. The good news is we can rejoice that we are God's creation and teach our children to live in that sacred dignity. This book is a great help!"
Gregory O. Brewer, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida
"Educating our children about their bodies is one of the most important steps in preventing child abuse. That's why God Made All of Me is a valuable resource. A simple story with colorful artwork, and theological and practical truth—all packed into one small book. Parents, educators, Sunday school teachers, children's ministry directors, and many others should pick up a copy today and read it to their young children."
Deepak Reju, Pastor of Biblical Counseling and Family Ministry, Capitol Hill Baptist Church (Washington, DC); and author of On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse at Church and The Pastor and Counseling
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Justin S. Holcomb and Lindsey A. Holcomb
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This is a great book to include in conversations with your children about keeping their bodies safe. My only suggestion is that the publishers consider formatting it a little bit differently. I would encourage them to consider putting the reviews and statistical information in pull out sheets that parents can read and then remove. Some of that sensitive information is on the back of important pages. For example, statistics about sexual abuse percentages are on the front side of the "God made all of me" purple Scripture page. That purple page seems to be the beginning of the kid's portion of the book. Since my oldest two kids are 9 and 7, if I left those pages in and the book was lying around, they could read those for themselves. I'm not ready for them to have those numbers floating around in their heads. The last page of the story, with Psalm 28:7, another important page, has the first of 9 tips on how to keep your children safe from sexual abuse. Of course we need those tips, and it's not that the wording isn't approachable, but for our family, which is trying to scaffold their presentation of this topic, I would prefer it to not be a bound part of the book. I ended up taking out any pages that had more "grown up" details in them, or gluing/taping the last mentioned page to another. This may seem overly cautious on my part, but it seemed important to mention. Corrie TenBoom has a wonderful story of how her father used the idea of a heavy suitcase to help her understand a parent's timing in the process of sharing knowledge with his or her children, and the things I mentioned above seem like they might make that suitcase a little to heavy for my kiddos at this time. May the Lord grant us wisdom as we engage this topic with our children!
While a great way to broach the topic of "good touch" and "bad touch" and privacy with your children, it's pretty long - much too long for a toddler to stay engaged. Perhaps it'd be better with a child in kindergarten or above, although the colors/style of the book make it seem toddler-friendly. The pictures are very vivid and lots of bright colors on each page but there's just too much writing on certain pages and the book itself is very long. My son loves books but had a tough time sitting through this one.
I agree with the overall premise of this book. We are, and will continue to teach our 3 year old little girl that her body is hers and her private areas are not to be touched. My problem is, like with other important lessons in life, the attempt to teach it fervently and effectively can sometimes go too far and consequently result in an undesirable message. There's a page in the middle of the book showing what looks like grandma wanting a hug, and her grandchild says "No, thank you" with a smug look on her face. It seems that in an effort to convey the important message to honor their feelings, we can be saying your feelings are paramount to anything else, or to anyone else's feelings. We have way too many of our youth growing up with a sense of being the center of the universe, entitled, bratty, and selfish. I won't MAKE my daughter show affection to anyone, but I will teach her it is good to hug your grandma back. We as parents are busy all the time teaching values to our children. We teach her to say "thank you", "please", "excuse me", even if they don't feel like it. In other words, the point of the book is a good one, but it needs to be balanced with proper limits in the context of what is actually taking place.
I appreciate the idea and thought behind this resource. This book deals with an extremely sensitive and important subject, and as a parent of a three-year-old, I want to make sure my son understands what kind of attention is appropriate and inappropriate, as well as how to respect his body and others'. This book is great if you need help or ideas on how to talk openly about these issues with your kids. My personal opinion was that the book itself wasn't all that engaging as a kids' resource, however. As I've mentioned, my son is only three, but I often explain to him that there are ways others should never touch him and what to do if they try. Though I know he doesn't fully understand everything I'm trying to tell him, he listens carefully. When it came to the book, however, we got halfway through and he said, "Mommy, this is a boring book!" Then he hopped up to get another book. So I'm on the fence about the effectiveness of the book, though I suspect it will engage some children better than others. And older children might be more interested than my three-year-old was. :) Certainly, any attempt to address this crucial topic with your children is a good one, and I'm glad the authors have taken the initiative to put out a resource like this. In compliance with regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, please know that the publicist, on behalf of the author and publisher, has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
God Made All of Me by Justin S. Holcomb and Lindsey A. Holcomb (New Growth Press, 2015) offers an opportunity for parents and children to discuss how God made our bodies and what kinds of touch are appropriate. This colorfully illustrated book, intended for children ages 2 to 8, prepares kids to avoid inappropriate touches and seek help without guilt if they are ever sexually abused.