New book embraces story of creation through color

Plano Morning News by Linda Stewart Ball

June 9, 2001 — In the beginning, as in three or four summers ago, there was vacation Bible school.

And it was pretty good. But to help make it better, the Rev. Margie McNeir, an associate pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Plano, paraphrased a few Bible Stories for the teachers to use.

One of them was an inspired version of Genesis 1:1 – 2:3 that children could easily understand. The Rev. McNeir wrote a rough draft on her home computer with her daughter's assistance.

And it was a hit.

“The teachers used it several times and asked us ‘Where did you find this book?'” the minister recalled. After learning of its orgins, they encouraged mother and child to publish, saying “If it's published, we will buy it.”

Well, Ms. McNeir, of Garland , and her daughter, Kellie M. Ullrich of Plano , filled with an adventurous spirit, decided to go for it.

The result” Where Did It All Begin? The Story of Creation is hot off the Brown Books publishing press—just in time for vacation Bible school.

“It's been received very well,” said Ms. McNeir, noting that they had a premier introductory sale at their church last Sunday. “It's selling copies, which makes me happy.”

Apparently, more than teachers are interested in this 25-page treasure.

In the last two days of a regional annual church conference held at the Plano Centre this week, Cokesbury Books sold at least 100 copies from a special onsite display, store manager Whit Whittington said.

I stopped by to sneak a peek at the book and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. It was sweet.

The illustrations are colorful nature photos, some of them shot in rural parts of Collin County by the minister, her daughter and Neil Ulrich, her son-in-law.

Though based on the Scripture, this visually stunning account of creation us on that even Darwin might want to buy. A hardback, it retails for $13.95.

“It is beautiful,” said the Rev. Danette Schader, director of children's ministries at Christ United Methodist Church . “I think it captures the beauty of God's work and all the love he has for us.

“The photography is so overwhelming it causes us to stop and really look at what God has done for us,” Ms. Schader said. “This book causes us to slow down and take time to reflect on how blessed we are.”

Ms. McNeir said they could have used drawings but chose photographs to set it apart from all the other children's books out there.

“We illustrated it with actual photographs to be different and make it relevant to what children see all the time in life,” she said.

There are snapshots of the ocean and mountain peaks taken on family vacations, pictures of flowers and trees, close-ups of backyard pets, farm animals and insects. It's a day-by-day account of creation with picturesque sunrises and cool shots of the moon.

“We wanted to look like it was written from a child's point of view,” said Ms. Ullrich, a stay-at-home mom and Christ United member.

They succeeded “because I helped with it,” noted daughter Morgan Ullrich, 9, who selected a “fun” font for the book and is in some of the pictures.

Little brother Carson, 6, who was also featured, although reluctantly, said his favorite part of the book is the photograph of “our big dog, Vern,” He points to the picture of a large yellow dingo and adds, “but he's dead. And I also like our new little puppy dog, Cleopatra.”

Cleo, however, appears to be doing quite well.

Her photo and more than 50 others were given to Brown Books' graphic artists in Dallas to perform their layout magic. Milli Brown, president of Brown Books, said Ms. McNeir and Ms. Ullrich were a joy to work with.

Ms. McNeir approached the company about a year ago explaining the importance of getting this message out.

“This is her passion,” Ms. Brown explained. “It's not about money. …This is more of her love. She wants to give back, educate children and have fun.

“She's got a beautiful project,” Ms. Brown said. “She has something to be proud of. …They did a phenomenal job.”

The book is one they're all hoping parents and grandparents will enjoy reading to their kids.

“It's been quite an adventure,” Ms. McNeir said.

And it's only just begun.

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