As a parent of four young girls, I’m always on the lookout for reading material. Especially for my youngest, who still need/want/love to be read to. I’m very grateful for more and more non-cheesy/trite/platitudinous/clichéd options for young-children’s bible-themed stories.
New Growth Press has recently published a variety of really good options along this line. They are delightfully illustrated, cleverly told, engaging books that my youngest daughter asks for repeatedly, and my second youngest now picks off the shelf to read on her own (she’s a beginning reader.)
These books provide great source material for dealing with hard topics (failure, anger, fear, ethnic diversity, and marveling at God’s creativity!) and provides parents with guides for discussion along these topics. My girls also love the tear-out pocket bible verses included in each.
The best part about these stories is that they aim at pointing a child to Christ in faith, rather than simple behavior modification and moralism, in accessible ways.
Oh, and the messages of the books are good reminders and encouragement for me, the parent, as well. :)
A small nitpick with some of the books: I’m striving hard to make my conversations around moral issues gospel-fluent and biblically faithful. Some of these stories, in needing to be simple enough to be grasped by the very young, can come across as “just pray, and you won’t be afraid anymore!” (I think what is intended is “when you are afraid, you should pray!”)
An attentive parent will be able to navigate around this, but I wasn’t always an attentive parent (and still sometimes miss here). I’m not sure how I’d improve the situation, but just something to be aware of. Perhaps just a gentle nudge that parents should pray hard about how to communicate to our kids that sometimes God does allow suffering to continue, even when we pray. Perhaps the hardest lesson of all.
Buster’s Ears Trip Him Up: When You Fail
By Jocelyn Flenders, Edward T. Welch (Ed.), Illustrated by Joe Hox
Dealing with failure, and fear of man’s opinion of your performance. Part of a new series of illustrated hardbacks from CCEF.
Jax’s Tail Twitches: When You Are Angry
By Jocelyn Flenders, David Powlison (Ed.), Illustrated by Joe Hox
Dealing with anger, repentance, seeking forgiveness, and reconciliation. Part of a new series of illustrated hardbacks from CCEF.
Zoe’s Hiding Place: When You Are Anxious
By Jocelyn Flenders, David Powlison (Ed.), Illustrated by Joe Hox
Dealing with worry, fear, and anxiety. Part of a new series of illustrated hardbacks from CCEF.
God Counts
By Irene Sun, Illustrated by Alex Foster
A simple book for very young readers, using the very simple act of counting to engage your child and tie things we observe in creation with explicit acknowledgement of our creator.
God Made You and Me
by Shai Linne, Illustrated by Trish Mahoney
Helping kids (and parents!) engage with the beauty of God’s design for ethnic diversity. God is not “colorblind”, nor should we be. Though I’m no connoisseur, Shai Linne is one of my favorite hip-hop artists and to have him bring his lyrical artistry to my children is a delight.