Find below a general book about Galatians 5:22-23, 3-4 books for each Fruit of the Spirit with a question to help you explore these, and a couple of books about a particular fruit or
fruit in general. Find links to those PBT posts in the titles.
I’ve changed the order of the Fruits. I end the list with
Love, Kindness, Goodness, & Faithfulness because conceptually they overlap. Conceptual
overlapping is also true for Gentleness and Self-Control.
Twice below I refer to a PBT series called 12 Theological Statements for Young Children which is a workshop I do for church-based preschool events.
Paul's collection of positive and godly behaviors are traits we can all aspire to. Make this learning enjoyable and more meaningful
to children (and their parents) in your faith family with these books:
Fruits of the Spirit (general- Ask: Where do you see these fruits in your faith family?)
JOY (Ask: How
is joy shown in different ways by different characters?)
Yes Day! by Rosenthal & Lichtenheld (also a great secular
book for Easter.)
Lola Loves Stories by McQuinn & Beardshaw
Anna Hibiscus’ Song by Atinuke & Tobia
#12 Theological Statement for Young Children: God wants to be worshiped.
PEACE (Ask: How does peace change you and others in
the moment?)
Peace, Baby! By Ashman & Lew-Vriethoff
The Peace Book by Parr
A Little Peace by Kerley
PATIENCE (Ask: What does having no patience look
like?)
Albert by Napoli & LaMarche (Too long? Tell the story & show the pictures.)
Bear Has a Story to Tell by Stead & Stead
Owl Moon by Yolen & Schoenherr
GENTLENESS (Ask: How does gentleness help others and you?)
Be Gentle
by Miller
How to Heal a Broken Wing by Graham
You Will Be My Friend! by Brown (an opposite of gentleness offers humor
and redemption)
SELF-CONTROL (Ask: How does self-control help everyone including you?)
Katie Loves the Kittens by Himmelman
More by
Springman & Lies
Wild Feelings by Milgrim
#5 Theological Statement for Young Children: God
gave you feelings. They’re not good or bad. What matters is how you act on your
feelings.
LOVE (Ask:
What does love look like here? Feel like here? Sound like here?)
The Invisible String by Karst & Stevenson
I Will Love You Anyway by Inkpen & Inkpen
Love is… by Adams & Keane
Love by La Pena & Long (dark situations here, consider using paper clips to skip pages)
KINDNESS (Ask:
What kinds of hard choices are being made here?)
The Kindness Quilt by Wallace
Miss Maple’s Seeds by Wheeler
Be Kind by Miller
GOODNESS (Some translations call this COMPASSION. Ask: What makes these characters’
behaviors good?)
Bear Feels Sick by Wilson & Chapman (This book is about
servanthood.)
What Baby Wants by Root & Bartow (This book is about
empathy.)
One Winter’s Day by Butler & Macnaughton (This book is
about generosity.)
FAITHFULNESS (Ask: Who do you know that is
faithful?)
The Carrot Seed by Krauss & Johnson (This books connects with being faithful
to God. The other books are about being faithful to other people.)
I Promise by McPhail
Mama Always Comes Home by Wilson & Dyer
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Stead & Stead
Two Bonus Books about fruit:
Little Apple Goat by Church
An Orange In January by Aston & Maren
Thank you SO MUCH for this list! I've stumbled across it on my own journey as Godparent to a child who doesn't go to church and want to be intentional about teaching these concepts without needing them to be related to bible stories or church traditions.
ReplyDeleteThe role of godparent is so important! My husband and I are privileged to have 5 goddaughters. Thanks so much for your comment!
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