"Firebird: He Lived for the Sunshine"
by Brent McCorkle & Amy Parker
So this one isn’t your typical multicultural book. It is, however, from a Christian movie called “Unconditional” which is multicultural.
“Unconditional” is inspired by the true life story of co-producer Joe Bradford, played by Michael Ealy (any other Ealy fans out there?!). “Papa Joe”, as he’s lovingly called by many fatherless children, and his wife, Denise, first ministered to underprivileged children in low-income areas of Nashville. Since then, they started “Elijah’s Heart”, a non-profit organization to help children in need all across the USA.
One of the main characters from this movie is a children’s author and when she read aloud “Firebird” at the end of the movie, I quickly googled to see if it was an actual book. I was so excited to find it was published and got my copy right away.
Maybe these snippets of McCorkle & Parker’s writing might help you see why:
“But, oh, when the rains came,
little Firebird would whine and complain.
‘Why, Mama?’ he’d ask. ‘Why does
God let the storm take the sun away?’
Mama would just smile and say,
‘You’ll know someday, baby.’
Then she’d get that faraway look, as if
she were looking straight up to the sun.
‘You’ll know, when you take
a walk on the clouds.’”
During one horrible storm, Firebird’s mama’s answer is a different one, encouraging him to find the answers for himself by flying through the rain and thunder. After a rough flight that almost tears him apart, he finds:
“All alone, in the midst of the darkest storm,
Firebird saw the sun, shining more brightly than ever.
And then he knew:
God never let the storm take the sun away.
It was as constant as his mother’s love,
Waiting there, just above the clouds.”
See why I had to immediately purchase for my daughter?! The message that God never abandons us and that His love for us is unconditional, despite the trials and when we can’t see Him, is such a clear one. We’ve been blessed to read this since she was a toddler.
Illustrators Rob Corley and Chuck Vollmer capture this powerful imagery with their art, which help make this concept a tangible one for our younger children.
“Firebird: He Lived for the Sunshine” is one of my favorites to gift families of little ones with. Even the authors’ book dedication really touched my heart so I’ll leave you with it: