PBT Favorite Posts #6

Here’s a hypothetical: Let’s say your faith community is planning around a  sermon series on the concept of The Holy Trinity. You want your whole faith family to explore this concept together organically, but it’s a tough concept for children. It’s a tough concept for adults! Remember, learning about The Trinity is a life-long journey so offering activities that connect with the sermons will enhance their learning journey if you consider their ages and experiences.

Picture Book Theology (PBT) is a big proponent of organic church programming that has folks in various settings talking about the same ideas. PBT encourages you to explore even complex theological concepts via literature that children (and adults) can connect to and relate to meaningfully. Encouraging children to experience the idea of The Holy Trinity in various contexts and within a variety of activities will lead to better understanding and richer meaning. Isn’t that what we all want in religious education?

The book I’m offering today is such a book. At the surface, One Family is a fun book about counting and collective nouns – those words that stand for a group of persons, places, or things. The numbers 1-10 are explored in order, but 1 is emphasized. Here’s a taste of the text pattern:

One is one. One lamp. One clock. One book to share.

One is two. One pair of shoes. One team of horses. One family.

After the number 10 is explored...

One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.

The Holy Trinity is a collective noun so here a book about numbers and language can be transformed into a profound lesson about The Holy Trinity. 

In your lesson, read the book first, then connect it to the concept of The Holy Trinity. While reading, point out the collective nouns (you might want to call them “group words”) in the text. In later pages, let your children locate those words. After reading, continue with the pattern and play of the text to bring in the concept of The Holy Trinity by saying...

One is three.

Creator, Jesus, Holy Spirit (Use your terminology here.)

One is God.

One is the Holy Trinity. (Repeat.)

To teach these lines, present them visually and use movement in creative ways.  Eventually have them say the phrases with you. Explain that “Trinity” is a group word too. The children will more easily see the link if you make those connections with the text of the book in overt and subtle ways, such as in your voice tone, rhythm, and finger play. Refer back to the page in the book about the number 3. Offer other examples of threesomes that are seen as one (a Neapolitan ice cream cone, 3-leaf clovers, a fleur-de-lis, triangles of all sorts, etc.)

When talking about The Holy Trinity, be sure to get a sense of what the children know already. Build on that knowledge and reassure them. This concept is hard! If this picture book is too juvenile for your tweens and teens, go ahead and check it out because while reading it, you might be creatively inspired to design programs appropriate for those ages.

There are several aspects of this book that I especially love. It emphasizes the power of “one” which in turn emphasizes the power of unity. Such is The Body of Christ and The Trinity! Also, this is a great book for practicing counting with young children. Engage them in some choral counting while you read the book. 

I use phrases like “family of faith” or “religious family” a lot here at PBT. This is an important value for me and this book fits nicely with that idea. If you share this value and use similar phrases, mention this in your lesson. 

One last benefit I’ll mention here is the way this book presents diverse families, diverse in membership, color, and culture. It is crucial that children’s books represent children’s realities so that the connections to self can be more easily made.

Picture Book: One Family

Author: George Shannon

Illustrator: Blanca Gomez

Original Publisher & Date: Frances Foster Books, 2015

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up

Formats other than Book: Tablet

PBT Favorite Posts #5

Picture Book: Jabari Jumps

Author & Illustrator: Gaia Cornwall
Summary: It's summer and Jabari is a self-confessed "great jumper." After situating his suit and goggles, Jabari is determined to jump off the diving board this year. 

His dad is surprised. 

After swim lessons and a test, Jabari says he isn't afraid.

He watches the jumpers from the sidelines, noticing their techniques, and declares that it "looks easy," but Dad's hand feels awfully good. 

The ladder is a bit daunting,

and the crowd is more ready than he. Jabari urges them to go ahead of him so he can practice his special jump. When Jabari stalls half-way up the ladder, his dad asks if he's ok. Jabari says he just needs a rest. Dad urges him to come on down. Jabari does.

Then Jabari remembers his stretches - very important! 

When Jabari suggests that tomorrow might be a better day, his father confesses that he too is afraid sometimes, explaining that scared feelings sometimes turn into surprise feelings. Jabari loves surprises! That's when Jabari breathes deeply and does some self-talk: "I'm ready." So Jabari takes that deep breath... 

 

climbs the ladder...

walks to the edge... 

and feels ready for the surprise, not so afraid anymore.

Jabari takes another deep breath and jumps. 

 After flying, he hits the water, goes down, down, and down and then... 

and up again!

Everyone celebrates Jabari's courage! 

He's ready to go again, this time with that special jump - "a double backflip!"

Hanna’s Comments: This book offers great connections to our many scriptures about courage. Don’t let the age and cuteness factor of Jabari limit you. Sure this book is great for little ones, but Jabari can be an inspiration to us all. Adults struggle with courage and can relate to jumping off a literal or figurative diving board. The metaphors of faith and our belief in God’s (or Jesus’ presence) are evident in this story. Acts that are our next steps in faith are Jabari's slow journey to the end of the diving board. Jabari's father is an obvious image of God (or Jesus) and a role-model to those wanting to be encouraging parents. Breath is a particularly important aspect of the strategy Jabari’s father gives him to face his fears and be ready for the joys such courage can bring. Remind your audience that breath can signify God (or the Holy Spirit) and holy inspiration. I've been doing more centering prayer lately. Perhaps you do yoga. Breath is an integral aspect to such grounding practices so we can courageously jump with faith into the delights that will follow.

If it's not summertime, you might consider Chicken Chickens by Valeri Gorbachev. It is about twin chicks who enter a chaotic playground for the first time. They are welcomed well and eased into going down the slide. 

Original Publisher & Date: Candlewick Press, 2017

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 2 and up, toddler and up

Formats other than Book: None at present

Scripture Connections: Be strong and courageous. Don’t be terrified…for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go (Deuteronomy 31:6 & Joshua 1:9); Where shall I go from your Spirit? Where shall I flee you’re your presence? (Psalm 139:7); When you pass through the waters, I will be with you (Isaiah 43:2); You will seek me and fine me, when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13); I am with you always (Matthew 28:20); God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of children who are going to church camp for the first time. Relate this story to their courage when swimming but also to other activities that will be new or require risk. Emphasize the comfort that God’s (or Jesus’) presence offers. For a class on parenting, emphasize the role Jabari’s dad plays in letting him be courageous while tooling him with strategies and confidence.

PBT Question #5 to Ask about Any Secular Book

Does this book have the potential to positively affect the behavior or future of those who experience it? 

Good teachers teach to improve the quality of audience members' lives. With this last question, PBT encourages you to consider the future of your listeners' understanding of God, their places in a family of faith, or their relationships with The Holy.

PBT is all about connecting the content in picture books to scripture and/or spiritual truths so that spiritual growth can be more personally meaningful. Longer lasting learning occurs when theological ideas are connected to realistic situations or meaningful concepts. What affects you connects you!

Asking yourself how a picture book will positively affect your listeners is a worthy consideration that gives focus to your planning and teaching.   

As a nationally certified school psychologist, I’m passionate about improving social and emotional skills; those include spiritual skills. Modern psychological research is finding that social and emotional learning (SEL) and its affects on behavior is crucial for success in all relationships as well as in academic learning. For more on this critical link, check out www.casel.org. CASEL has identified 5 Interrelated Sets of COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, AND BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making.

 

With this last PBT question, I’m offering an example book, Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg (see my PBT re-post where I offer it as a Grab & Go book [here]). It's a story of a careless boy and his discovery of an array of environmental concerns. 

Connecting this story to God’s desire that we have respectful and intelligent guardianship of Earth’s inhabitants and resources might inspire listeners to evaluate their relationship with the Earth. They could find connections between their behavior and the Earth’s health and see this as a God-ordained relationship. Additionally, this book addresses all 5 of CASELs competencies listed above. 

Here are a couple of amazing illustrations from Van Allsburg. First, I show a scene from Walter’s bad dream. 

 

Here is a “post-dream” scene in which Walter plants a tree for his birthday:

 

This book is one of many possible books about positive behaviors. Here are others from the PBT archives:

Judgement vs. Acceptance - You Are (NOT) Small

Health & Self-Understanding - many I Am books

Learning from Nature - Ruby's Birds

Compassion - What Happened to You?

Building Community - Circles All Around Us

Inclusive Behavior - The Big Umbrella

Loving Behavior - various Bucket books

Responsibility - The Little Hummingbird

Here's another strategy: Think of an important SEL skill, find it or a related word in the large list of search words at the bottom of this screen (on the web version), and see the vast potential PBT has for your ministry and/or your family. May your own SEL learning be enhanced as you teach!

Breath for Jumping Courage!

Picture Book: Jabari Jumps

Author & Illustrator: Gaia Cornwall

Summary: It's summer and Jabari is a self-confessed "great jumper." After situating his suit and goggles, Jabari is determined to jump off the diving board this year. 

 His dad is surprised. 

After swim lessons and a test, Jabari says he isn't afraid. 

He watches the jumpers from the sidelines, noticing their techniques, and declares that it "looks easy," but Dad's hand feels awfully good. 

The ladder is a bit daunting,

and the crowd is more ready than he. Jabari urges them to go ahead of him so he can practice his special jump. 

When Jabari stalls half-way up the ladder, his dad asks if he's ok. Jabari says he just needs a rest. Dad urges him to come on down. Jabari does.

 Then Jabari remembers his stretches - very important! 

When Jabari suggests that tomorrow might be a better day, his father confesses that he too is afraid sometimes. 

That's when Jabari breathes deeply and does some self-talk: "I'm ready." That scared feeling sometimes turns into a surprise feeling. Jabari loves surprises!  

 So Jabari takes that deep breath... 

climbs the ladder...

walks to the edge... 

and feels ready for the surprise, not so afraid anymore.

Jabari takes another deep breath and jumps. 

 After flying, he hits the water, 

goes down, down, and down and then... 

up again! 

Everyone celebrates Jabari's courage! And he's ready to go again, 

this time with that special jump - "a double backflip!" 

Hanna’s Comments: This book offers great connections to our many scriptures about courage. Don’t let the age and cuteness factor of Jabari limit you. Sure this book is great for little ones, but Jabari can be an inspiration to us all. Adults struggle with courage and can relate to jumping off a literal or figurative diving board. The metaphors of faith and our belief in God’s (or Jesus’ presence) are evident in this story. Acts that are our next steps in faith are Jabari's slow journey to the end of the diving board. Jabari's father is an obvious image of God (or Jesus) and a role-model to anyone wanting to be an encouraging parent. In this story, breath is a particularly important aspect of the strategy Jabari’s father gives him to face his fears and be ready for the joys such courage can bring. Remind your audience that breath can signify God (or the Holy Spirit) and holy inspiration. I've been doing more centering prayer lately. Perhaps you do yoga. Breath is an integral aspect to such grounding practices so we can confidently and courageously jump with faith in the delights that will follow.

If it's not summertime, you might consider Chicken Chickens by Valeri Gorbachev. It is about twin chicks who enter a chaotic playground for the first time. They are welcomed well and eased into going down the slide. 

Original Publisher & Date: Candlewick Press, 2017

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 2 and up, toddler and up

Formats other than Book: None at present

Scripture Connections: Be strong and courageous. Don’t be terrified…for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go (Deuteronomy 31:6 & Joshua 1:9); Where shall I go from your Spirit? Where shall I flee you’re your presence? (Psalm 139:7); When you pass through the waters, I will be with you (Isaiah 43:2); You will seek me and fine me, when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13); I am with you always (Matthew 28:20); God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of children who are going to church camp for the first time. Relate this story to their courage when swimming but also to other activities that will be new or require risk. Emphasize the comfort that God’s (or Jesus’) presence offers. For a class on parenting, emphasize the role Jabari’s dad plays in letting him be courageous while tooling him with strategies and confidence.