Nashville-based singer-songwriter Ellie Holcomb has announced her first children's book releasing early next month, along with the children's EP, Sing: Creation Songs, releasing tomorrow, Sept. 21 on Full Heart Music. The book, "Who Sang the First Song?" is scheduled for release via B&H Publishing on Oct. 4.

"Who Sang the First Song?" is an engaging board book with whimsical art, where Holcomb asks a childlike question and answers with a lovely lyrical tale that shows young readers that God our Maker sang the first song and created us all with a song to sing. The idea for Holcomb's book came after her five-year-old daughter Emmylou one day asked in passing, "Mom, who sang the first song?"

"Emmylou's question reminded me of some beautiful passages we have read in 'Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing' by Sally Lloyd-Jones," Holcomb shares. "In the first of many beautiful family devotionals in the book, Sally says this: 'In the beginning, God sang everything into being--for the joy of it--and set the whole universe dancing (p. 19).' I've always loved that image she gives of God singing Creation into being, and it felt it was a clue to answering my daughter's question, so I went on a treasure hunt of sorts looking for the answer."

(Photo : ELLIE HOLCOMB/B&H PUBLISHING)
Cover for Ellie Holcomb's 2018 debut children's book "Who Sang the First Song?"

She says her daughter's question made Holcomb start her own search for who sang the first song, which she says became a perfect foundation for her first book.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I love to sing," Holcomb explains. "So I got curious about who sang the first song. What did the world sound like as God created it? I loved these questions, so I set out to write a book that would explore not so much how God made the world, but why He created the world and each one of us. My sincere hope is that children, and the adults reading to them, would be reminded of who and whose we are... and that as we remember how God created us and loves us, our hearts and lives would sing for the joy of being loved!"

Releasing tomorrow, Holcomb says Sing: Creation Songs is the perfect companion to her upcoming book. She has created a beautiful, scripture-rooted children's musical project that also fits perfectly along with her current musical catalog, true to her style and lyrics.

Holcomb explains she wanted to write songs that were directly inspired by both God's word and his beautiful creation. Each song is tied to specific Bible passages and is also full of rich imagery from the world around us. She says she wants kids to be able to sing these songs and see evidence all around them of what they are singing.

"I wrote most of the songs for this record during the spring, and I'm pretty sure I ended up moving outside each time I wrote," Holcomb recalls. "I was completely inspired by Creations' song, whether it was the birds, or the stars, or the trees reaching high towards the heavens, or flowers blooming so colorfully that they looked ready for a party."

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Click here to hear Holcomb explain how her new children's book came about, or click here to listen on YouTube: