A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 23

Picture Book: A Little Bit of Love

Author: Cynthia Platt

Illustrator: Hannah Whitty

Summary: A hungry young mouse wants something sweet & new to nibble, not the usual cheese & crumbs. He & his mother embark on a journey to gather the ingredients to make a special treat which will be made “with a little bit of love.” As they gather, Mama explains the loving work that goes into making each ingredient & expresses her gratitude for each source. Then they make a delicious huckleberry pie.

Hanna’s Comments: Young children will love the mystery & then coming together of these ingredients. If making and eating a pie could be added to the end of the lesson, it would be such sweet learning! Because this book is about cooking and all the love that goes into that task, you can tie it to the story of God's loving provision for Elijah and the widow (see scripture reference below).

There's similar book that offers more advanced concepts, Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? by George Shannon. Here readers will consider all the people who worked to make the cookies possible and yummy. This book also has a nice international flavor to it. 

Publisher & Date of Publication: Tiger Tales, 2011

Age and Grade Appropriateness: 3 and up, Pre and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: None at present 
 
PBT Category: Post 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: abundance/bounty, affirmation, babies/children, blessings, body of Christ, bonds/connections/connectedness, caring/tending, community, consumerism/consumption/riches, dependence/interdependence, feasting/food/hunger/nutrition, gardening/planting/pruning/sowing, generosity/giving/offering/stewardship, gifts/giftedness/talents, God’s care/providence, goodness, gratitude/thankfulness/thanksgiving, harvest, helping, labor/work, manna, mothers, nurturing, parents/parental love, participation, patience, preparation/preparing, prevenient grace, relationships, sharing, teamwork, transformation, unity, variety, waiting

Scripture Connections: Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12 & Ephesian 4:16); Elijah and the Widow (1 Kings 17, 8-16)

Idea(s) for Application: a parenting class when talking about quality time or gratitude, a young children’s lesson on the Body of Christ (for non-Christians this refers to diversity yet unity in religious community)