A Multi-Media Experience

Picture Book: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Authors: William Kamkwamba

Illustrator: Elizabeth Zunon

Summary: This is a true story of 14 year old William, whose village in Malawi suffers a crippling drought. It begins with an explanation that William's village is a farming community with no electricity for lights or irrigation. 

But William loves the dark because he can dream of building things from scraps he collects. He does build many things.  

William works in the fields and attends school when his family can afford the fees. 

As the burning sun and lack of ran burns fields to dust,  

William's family has no fees for school.

One meal a day is all they can afford. Others in their village have even less.   

William is a determined learner so he goes to the village library and reads science books, but they are in English. Thanks to an English dictionary, William feeds his desire for learning. 

When he sees a book about how a windmill can produce electricity, creating light and pumping water, 

 

William imagines the good such a machine can bring his family and village. 

He is determined to build the "electric wheel" with the scraps he finds. Others think he's crazy, 

but his friends soon want to help. 

The windmill is built, 

and electricity is generated, but "Light could not fill empty bellies" so a water pump is built next. 

Later, other windmills are built, once the community sees the "magic" of William's inventions and their power to feed their community and their entire country. 

Hanna’s Comments: Picture books are great resources for all ages, but when you can supplement them with other media experience such as video, the learning will be even more meaningful. I was thrilled to learn that there is a new Netflix film based on this story. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor from the movie 12 Years a Slave. I watched and was very pleased by how closely it corresponds to this book. It was beautifully done, but some death scenes and violence are present so be sure to preview with your audience in mind. Other versions of this story are available as well, one a chapter book for children, another is appropriate for teens and adults, and you'll find a book about William in a series for elementary-aged students called Remarkable Lives Revealed. This last book would likely have many photographs. For both the film and the picture book, you'll need to address the meaning behind the mystical costumed figures. These are ghost dancers, an aspect of William's culture that gives him inspiration and comfort. The power of this story is multi-faceted. Themes such as vocation (William has a scientific mind he seems called to use) and science vs magic vs faith are rich subjects for conversation with teens and young adults in your churches. You can also focus on the wind as a metaphor for God’s power, God’s inspiration, or The Holy Spirit which is inside William giving him agency to change his family’s (and community’s) quality of life. The movie ends with this line: God is as the wind which touches everything. I recently heard a news story about solar panels decreasing in cost and being used all over Africa. More modern versions of evolving tech or updates on William might be included in your program. Anytime you can challenge your audience, no matter their age, to connect their faith with current events, especially global issues, then you’ve added great meaning and potential for spiritual growth.

Original Publisher & Date: Scholastic, 2012

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1^st and up

Formats other than Book: None at present but the other books are available in other formats.

Scripture Connections: Scriptures about wind such as the story of Pentecost in Acts 2, scriptures of prophets leading their communities such as those of Elijah, and Bible stories about young leaders such as in the story of David & Goliath

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of teens and explore the themes above. Beforehand, invite the teens to watch the Netflix movie or watch it together. 

Ocean Vocation

I was able to visit the ocean last week! In my opinion, there is no more inspirational natural beauty. The post below features a book about Jacques Cousteau. We ocean-lovers, not to mention oceanographers and those who are worried about the state of today’s oceans, owe a great deal to this man and the work that is still being done in his name. Praise be to those who find their passion (aka vocation) early in life and their work benefits the entire world! 

Picture Book: The Fantastic Undersea Life                                                              of Jacques Cousteau

Author & Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino

Summary: Jacques Cousteau was a sickly French boy whose doctor suggested he swim to build strength. He also loved gadgets, cameras especially. These early experiences would guide his life's work.

His desire to view under the sea and his disdain for the limits of diving suits of his day compelled him to explore with other contraptions. Eventually he invented the Aqua-Lung which allowed divers to breath underwater while swimming. 

Cousteau's strong desire to better see what was under the surface led to inventing a waterproof camera and underwater lights. The mystery of the silent ocean was now much more accessible. The first of his Calypso ships, still widely known internationally, was purchased. 

Meanwhile, a team was recruited for filming their many global explorations . 

The Silent World was Cousteau's first widely-released film. It's audiences were amazed by the ocean's creatures. It was "the first full-length, full-color underwater film." Many TV shows were to follow. This French oceanographer would become a world celebrity.

Even Antarctic oceans were not too far, too deep, or too cold for this team!

The team's next invention was the Diving Saucer, capable of carrying 2 people into the deep ocean. 

Cousteau's great hope was finding a way to live under the sea so they invented underwater labs where scientists would stay for weeks. Alas, our bodies need for sunlight could not be overcome so Cousteau's permanent undersea dwellings were not possible. 

Eventually, return trips to particular oceans showed evidence of death and destruction from pollution. The world's foremost ocean explorer became the world's ocean ambassador, documenting their deterioration and passionately declaring a need for change. His was an early prophetic voice of doom if humanity did not protect its oceans and the treasures and necessities they held.

Hanna’s Comments: Now and then I run across a picture book biography that connects strongly to a biblical figure. Do you see the connections to Jeremiah whose life was spent warning the people of Jerusalem of the doom and destruction that was to come? There are many possibilities here to talk about God-ordained vocations, particularly as they relate to ecology and justice since deteriorating oceans are negatively affecting humans in numerous ways. Another approach for this book in ministry is simply to do a lesson on God's glory in the oceans. What amazing evidence of God's creative spirit! Help your audience imagine earlier generations with no way of knowing there were such creatures as tiger fish or even otters and dolphins and then seeing those creatures on screen in full color in their homes. According to Wikipedia, Cousteau in last book, The Human, The Orchid, and the Octopus, wrote “The glory of nature provides evidence that God exists.” In the back of the book, you’ll find a time line of important events in Cousteau’s life as well as a list of other resources. Can’t find this book? Check out Manfish by Berne & Puybaret or Who Was Jacques Cousteau by Medina and Putra.

Original Publisher & Date: Knopf, 2009

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1^st and up

Formats other than Book: Digital

Scripture Connections: Various verses from the book of Jeremiah; I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide… (John 15:16); Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned and to which God has called. (1 Corinthians 7:17); Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called (Ephesians 4:1)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to inspire art or science activities about the oceans with children in your faith community or a vocational retreat for older teens looking to connect their spiritual passions with ecological or justice work. 

A More Scientific Creation Story

Picture Book: Older Than the Stars

Author: Karen C. Fox

Illustrator: Nancy Davis

Summary: Written similar to The House That Jack Built, an old cumulative rhyme, the phrasing in the central text of this picture book repeats and builds rhythmically. Below I give the entire cumulative rhyme. On each page there is a more detailed section of text to help with understanding. That's what I'm mostly summarizing here. The key idea in this beautiful picture book is that every one of us (every bit of us) was created in The Big Bang. 

Billions of years ago, our universe began very small, but immediately it began expanding “like the fastest growing bubble ever.”

Small bits called protons, neutrons, and electrons began buzzing about “like a bunch of bees.” 

Once the bits started “bumping into each other” and forming atoms, the building blocks of our universe were being formed.  

Helium and hydrogen were formed first so giant gas clouds (“puffs”) spun from those building blocks to make stars. 

These stars eventually died and formed supernovas, exploding to further distances and allowing their atoms to form new metals along with new stars. 

As one particular cloud “flattened out like a giant plate” our star was born. 

Other stuff began to collide “in dusty clumps,” becoming planets. 

Over time on our planet, atoms came together to form tiny living creatures which evolved to be bigger and more complex. 

These plants and animals were all made from that same atomic stuff and when those living things died their stuff was released to provide for future life on our planet. About 600,000 years ago the human animal appeared. Then humans had children again and again. 

"You are one of these children, descended from the first humans," perhaps from the same atoms that "formed stars long ago and far away."

Here's the ending cumulative rhyme:
These are the people just like you

Who live with the plants and animals, too,

That grow on the planet green and blue

That circles the sun, our daily view,

That was born from the dust, so old and new,

Thrown from the blast intense enough

To hurl the atoms so strong and tough

That formed in the star of red-hot stuff

That burst from the gas in a giant puff

That spun from the blocks

That formed from the bits

That were born in the bang

When the world began.

Hanna’s Comments: I offer this book to those in ministry who would like to have a more scientific framework to approach the concept of creation and Genesis chapters 1 and 2. I learned to appreciate those poems all the more after viewing Rob Bell’s video Everything is Spiritual. He did a 2nd version of this presentation in 2016 that is also on Youtube, but it was the 1^st version which I found so amazing. Check it out [here]. Thanks to the concrete phrasing in this picture book (see several quotes above), the incredibly complicated phenomenon of The Big Bang as the origin of our universe is understandable to children and adults like me who are not scientifically inclined. If you are looking for a book about evolution that is for young children, I highly recommend Grandmother Fish: A Child’s First Book of Evolution by Tweet & Lewis. [Here’s] the Amazon link. It also has very accessible information in the back to help you understand evolution at a level more complicated than the text of the story. 

Original Publisher & Date: Charlesbridge, 2011

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1^st and up

Formats other than Book: None at present 

Scripture Connections: Genesis 1 & 2

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of children when wanting to pair a more scientific approach to creation with the poetry of Genesis 1 and 2.

A Creation Care Hero

Picture Book: Seeds of Change

Author: Jen Cullerton Johnson

Illustrator: Sonia Lynn Sadler

Summary: This is the beautiful story of Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner for her leadership in The Green Belt Movement, an organization she founded to plant trees in Africa. She was the first female from Africa to win this prize. 

This book begins with young Wangari and her mother sitting under the mugumo, a fruit tree her mother explains, that is home to many. 

When her parents recognize Wangari’s intelligence, they send her to school even though she is a girl. She is so successful she travels to America for a degree in biology. 

She returns and becomes a professor of science, very unusual for an African woman. Her country has changed though. New factories have caused much damage and suffering, particularly dire effects from the loss of trees, even the beloved mugumo. 

Maathai becomes an outspoken critic of these factories and teaches her countrywomen to plant trees, eventually 30 million trees! 

After crossing those powerful in Kenya’s industries, Maathai is imprisoned. There she prays for her faith to be strengthened. Supporters band together for her release, and she comes out of prison determined to fight also for the rights of women prisoners. 

Maathai takes her message to the world and is elected to Kenya’s government where she has even more positive influence on Kenya’s and Africa’s environment.

Hanna’s Comments: On the 7^th day of PBT’s Picture Book a Day for a Year, I featured another book about Wangari Maathai, Planting the Trees of Kenya, a 2008 book that also tells this story. Read that post [here]. There are many picture books about Maathai’s story and movement. This beautiful book frames Maathai’s work as peaceful protest and transformation of a continent.

I decided to feature Seeds of Change because it highlights her personal story. You get an understanding of the importance of trees in her culture, her desire to go to school, her academic success, her passion for women’s rights, her prayers in prison, and how women worked together to plant millions of trees. Youth who are particularly worried about the environment will respond to this powerful story. There is some very general information about Wangari Maathai on the last page of the book. Be sure to tell your audience that Ms. Maathai died in 2011. More about The Green Belt Movement and Wangari Maathai can be found [here]. If this story is too long or complicated for your children, simply tell the story while showing the illustrations. Be sure to give credit to the author and illustrator.

Original Publisher & Date: Lee and Low Books, 2010

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1^st and up

Formats other than Book: None at present

Scripture Connections: Let humans have dominion over all the earth - according to Hebrew Professor Ellen F. Davis: the original word translated into “dominion” means “mastery among” or “working on behalf of”- (Genesis 1:26); God put man in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Genesis 2:15) also scriptures about trees (Psalm 1:3, Isaiah 60:13, Jeremiah 17:8)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of children, youth, or adults when talking about faith-based heroes or faithful responses to creation care and environmental concerns. 

PBT Blog Series: Theological Statements for Young Children #3

Illustration from Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell & David Catrow

The 3^rd PBT theological statement for young children is: God gave you a great body to do great things.

This is probably my favorite of the 12 statements because the books that tap into this idea cover such a wonderful range and are so encouraging to children. This statement not only inspires children to use their bodies to do good work and play. This statement is also about aspects of the brain such as learning, problem solving, imagination, and creativity.

Again I start with a Sandra Boynton book for very young children. Children are fascinated with belly buttons, probably because they are so reachable and weird looking. This fun book offers an opportunity celebrate an interesting aspect of the bodies of humans and many other animals. 

Be sure to tell children about the important function of belly buttons and how they are a reminder of when we were inside our mama’s bellies. Thanks be to God that our mama’s body was able to do such a great thing: feed us while we were growing. What a wonderful design and reminder God has given us!

Picture Book: Belly Button Book

Author & Illustrator: Sandra Boynton

Original Publisher & Date: Workman, 2002

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 2 and up

Formats other than Book: None at present

The next book is a celebration of art in all its wondrous varieties. Here you have young children engaging in painting, music, writing, cooking, dancing, pottery, sewing, and performing. The double page spread at the end is a theatrical culmination of the creative work the children have been doing to demonstrate to an audience “When We Grow Up.”

This is a perfect book for a unit on careers that allows you to open up the spiritual aspects of vocation. Don’t use those words, of course. Simply talk to the children about how being made in the image of God means that we get to be creators too. And God gives us a body (and brain) that encourages our creativity and artistry in our good work as children and adults. 

 Picture Book: Think Big                                      

 Author: Liz Garton Scanlon

 Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley Newton

 Original Publisher & Date: Scholastic, 2012

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

 Formats other than Book: None at present

The next PBT offering is a fun book about science! Children in an elementary classroom are given the materials to participate in a Going Places contest (similar to a soap box derby). Rafael and Maya, are next door neighbors. Rafael follows the direction in the box, but Maya’s dreams carry her literally outside the box to the possibility that her contraption might fly. Rafael catches Maya’s dream and they work together. They win the race in an amazing way that doesn’t quite fit with the laws of science, but your children will love their dreaming. You’ll love the chance to talk about how cooperation often leads to a better end. Encourage your children to consider what God might want them to invent to make the world a better place.

Picture Book: Going Places

Author: Peter and Paul Reynolds

Illustrator: Peter Reynolds

Original Publisher & Date: Scholastic, 2014

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

Formats other than Book: Tablet

The next offering is a twofer. The author and illustrator followed up the success of the book pictured here with a male version: My Name is Not Alexander: Just How Big Can a Little Kid Dream? (2018 Update) Now available: Isabella: Girl on the Go and Isabella: Star of the Story.

No matter which book you choose, you’ll delight in the imaginations of these children who refuse to answer to their own name because they are pretending to be a famous person. Can you guess who Isabella becomes? Sally the astronaut, Annie the sharpshooter, Rosa the activist, Marie the scientist, Elizabeth the doctor, and Mommy the greatest Mommy ever. In the back of each book you’ll find facts about each hero, including Mommy or Daddy!

Picture Book: My Name is Not Isabella: Just How Big                                           Can a Little Girl Dream?          

Author: Jennifer Fosberry

Illustrator: Mike Litwin

Original Publisher & Date: Scholastic, 2008

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

Formats other than Book: Tablet

Other PBT books that connect with links to posts:

Here are My Hands - 8/30/14     

You’re Here for a Reason - 1/11/16

Have Fun Molly Lou Melon - 7/26/14  

Lola Loves Stories - 4/22/14        

Lion’s Lunch - 5/8/14

I Love You Nose, I Love You Toes - 2/18/15

Extra Yarn - 5/31/14 

The Little Engine That Could - 4/20/14

Hands Say Love - 3/14/15  

Planting a Rainbow - 9/5/14

The Curious Garden - 8/13/14