Not Finished Yet - by Sharon Garlough Brown (Hardcover)

About the Book

Gran's art studio is a special place. Not only is it where Wren and Gran paint, but it's also where they talk about all the good and hard stuff of life--to each other, and to God. In this gentle story by Sharon Garlough Brown, young readers will join Wren as she explores her feelings and discovers that God welcomes our honest prayers.

Book Synopsis

2025 Independent Press Awards - Childrens: Religion Fiction

Discover the Power of Art, Emotion, and Prayer with Sharon Garlough Brown's Not Finished Yet

Sometimes, you see, Wren and Gran didn't paint flowers or clouds or birds or trees.
Sometimes they painted their feelings.
She and Gran called it "painting prayers."

Enter the childhood story of Wren, the beloved character from Shades of Light by Sharon Garlough Brown, in Not Finished Yet, a beautifully illustrated book that helps children explore their emotions and connect with God through honest prayer.

Wren's journey begins in Gran's art studio--a place filled with love, creativity, and encouragement. Through painting, Wren learns to express her feelings and discover God's presence in every part of life. Together, Wren and Gran share a practice they call "painting prayers," guiding young readers to see art as a way to explore their emotions and communicate with God.

Accompanied by Jessica Linn Evans' exquisite illustrations, this heartfelt story opens the door to meaningful conversations with children about feelings, faith, and prayer while inspiring creativity with every page.

Complete with a special note from the author, Not Finished Yet offers an opportunity for caregivers to talk about their faith together with children and teaches them that God welcomes honest, heartfelt prayers.

Key Features:

• A tender story that introduces children to expressing emotions through art and prayer
• Stunning illustrations that bring Wren's world and experiences to life
• Encouragement for creativity and emotional exploration for young readers
• A thoughtful author's note to spark deeper conversations

Introduce the young readers in your life to this meaningful and uplifting story. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, or caregiver, Not Finished Yet is a beautiful resource for guiding children through their feelings and teaching them about prayer. Get your copy and begin this heartfelt journey with Wren and Gran!

Review Quotes

"Not Finished Yet is a warm and welcoming story that invites children and their adults to bring all the parts of themselves to God. Nestled in the safe relationship of grandparent and grandchild, children are invited to enter creatively into color, shape, and form as ways to express their feelings to God. Not Finished Yet is one to enter into over and over again with the child most near to you. I highly recommend it."

--Lacy Finn Borgo, spiritual director, teacher, and author of Faith Like a Child

"Not Finished Yet: Trusting God with All My Feelings is a book that speaks directly to families and educators who are committed to fostering open communication, emotional well-being, and spiritual growth in their children. This beautiful and meaningful addition to a child's collection of spiritual books is a testament to the collaborative efforts of Sharon Garlough Brown and Jessica Linn Evans, who have created a timeless story that will help young readers understand the value of sharing their feelings with loved ones and with God."

--The Children's Book Review, May 2024

"A book about opening our hearts to God--something all God's children need to learn. In this story, see through the eyes of a child how our emotional life can be prayer, offered with the holy simplicity and trusting faith of one who learns to rest in the Father's love. Readers of Sharon Garlough Brown's other books will recognize the gifts she is offering here."

--Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, author of Glittering Vices

"Sharon Garlough Brown has once again proved her genius as storyteller and teacher. In the new picture book Not Finished Yet, Sharon expands our understanding of prayer. Wren, the young girl in the story, and her grandmother paint their feelings and their prayers in living color on large canvases. When Wren's painting becomes a total mess, her grandmother listens to Wren's misery and helps her to transform her canvas into a visual lament. This is a lovely book--both beautiful and full of love. Each page is a canvas for the wonderful and intricate watercolors of artist Jessica Linn Evans. Each face is a canvas for the emotions and longings of the characters. Together, the story and the pictures expand our image of a loving God who wants to hear and see all our thoughts and feelings--even the messy ones. Not Finished Yet is a finished little masterpiece for both children and adults to savor."

--Sybil MacBeth, author of the Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God series

"Since the beginning of time, we have been hiding from ourselves, from each other, and from God. In this gentle, brave, and winsome work, Sharon Garlough Brown calls out the encouraging question first spoken by our Loving Creator: 'Where are you?' The gift of this book is it offers a way for children (and the child inside of each of us) to answer that question honestly, vulnerably, and creatively--especially in their darkest places--allowing them (and us) to come out of hiding and into God's loving embrace."

--Tara Owens, founder of Anam Cara Ministries, spiritual director, and author of Embracing the Body

"This book is for children, yes, but it's also for the child in all of us. When our emotions get too big for our bodies, we can trust Sharon Garlough Brown. She's the wise voice of Wren's grandmother, gently reminding us that we're a work in progress. Nothing--not even our biggest, scariest feelings--can separate us from the love of God."

--Sarah Arthur, author of Once a Queen and A Light So Lovely

"We can't give what we don't have. No one knows this--nor fears this--more than parents. Thankfully, with Not Finished Yet, Sharon Garlough Brown and Jessica Linn Evans have offered us a gift that provides as much for us parents as it does for our children. It is a gift that our children--and as it turns out, we adults--so desperately need. For indeed, we each need to be invited to name all that we feel in the presence of the God who is longing to hear it--and be lovingly transformed as we do. Read this story to your children. Read this story to yourself. And when you do, allow yourself to be captivated by the God who is in the business of creating beauty and goodness in the places we might least expect to find it."

--Curt Thompson, psychiatrist and author of The Soul of Desire and The Deepest Place

"What a stunning, delightful book! Sharon Garlough Brown's gentle and elegant storytelling is accompanied by the gorgeous and stirring illustrations by Jessica Linn Evans. Not Finished Yet is prayer in picture book form. What a gift to young readers and the adults who love them. Readers of Glenys Nellist and Crystal Bowman will want to have a copy for their shelf."

--Susie Finkbeiner, author of Stories That Bind Us

"With her signature sensitivity and spiritual insight, Sharon Garlough Brown has penned a tender children's book that is sure to become a classic. Not Finished Yet helps readers (of all ages) acknowledge and express their unwelcome feelings of disappointment. This beautifully illustrated book is a treasure that I'm eager to share with my grandchildren."

--Lynn Austin, author of All My Secrets

About the Author

Sharon Garlough Brown is a spiritual director, speaker, and author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes series, which includes spiritual formation novels Sensible Shoes, Two Steps Forward, Barefoot, An Extra Mile, and their study guides. She and her husband, Jack, live near castles and the North Sea in Scotland. This is her first children's book.

Jessica Linn Evans is an author-illustrator whose books reinforce wonder for creation, inspire adventure and invention, and encourage loyalty and friendship with the lovely. She is the author and illustrator of Penguin Sets Sail and the illustrator of Little Mouse Finds A Friend, Waiting Through Winter, and Solar the Polar. Jessica lives in the beautiful state of Idaho with her husband and three of her four wonderful children.