PBT Redux #20 Love Monster and the Last Chocolate

This year Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday are on the same day. For some people, Ash Wednesday begins a Lenten journey of struggle and denying your desires. My Lenten journey will involve better Sabbath practices. I'll bask in the love of God that is always available. Today’s PBT Redux is a reminder of God's love that is better than chocolate, ever present, and more abundant than we realize. You might want to have some chocolate handy when you read this one.

Picture Book: Love Monster and the Last Chocolate

Author & Illustrator: Rachel Bright 

Summary: This book is in a series of 4 books. In all, you’ll find Love Monster living in a world of cute, fluffy characters and exploring their relationships. In the introductory book, Love Monster searches for love among the fluffy creatures, thinking no one will love a slightly hairy, googly-eyed monster. He's so wrong and so lovable.

In this book, Love Monster knows he is loved by all his cute fluffy animal friends. He is fretting about a box of chocolates, found when he arrives home from a trip. 

Before opening it, he worries about whether he should share the chocolates. There might not be enough to share with all his cute, fluffy friends. 

Someone might eat his favorite, Double Chocolate Strawberry Swirl.  

Perhaps he will have only the coffee one left after sharing. He hates the coffee one!

After deciding not to share and then feeling very guilty,

 he runs to his friends 

and confesses his selfishness. 

They insist that he look in the box. 

There he finds one chocolate, his favorite, and a love note saying how much they missed their favorite monster. 

The story ends with this wise statement: “Sometimes it’s when you stop to think of others that you start to find out just how much they think of you.”

Hanna’s Comments: How could I not love this book?! It’s about 2 of my favorite experiences in this great life God gives us: chocolate and friends! Your children will get a kick out of Love Monster’s fretting. Help them realize how he struggles with generosity but is still willing. Claim and explain the joys of generosity.

Allow your audience to give examples of when they have discovered surprising generosity from others. Tie it all together with some scripture. See my suggestions below.

Original Publisher & Date: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2015 

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

Formats other than Book: Tablet

Scripture Connections: One gives freely, yet grows all the richer. (Proverbs 11:24-25); Give and it will be given to you. (Luke 6:38a); It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35b); Let no one seek their own good but the good of a neighbor (1 Cor. 10:24); Look not only to your own interests but to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4); any scripture involving God's abundant love or grace

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book when teaching children about the joys (and struggles) of generosity. OR Teach this book to explore God's abundant love (or grace) freely and surprisingly given, even when our inclinations are selfishness. 

PBT Series: God Books #7

Here's another PBT God book, the sequel to Old Turtle, featured in Friday's post. Another book in this series will be highlighted on Friday. Enjoy! 

Picture Book: Old Turtle and the Broken Truth 

Author: Douglas Wood
Illustrator: Jon J. Muth
Summary: In this sequel to Old Turtle, a “truth” falls from the sky but breaks apart.  Animals find 1 piece but drop it after realizing it’s a half-truth. Later, a man finds it and reads “You are loved,” an incomplete message. He assumes this truth is especially for him and keeps it with pride, sharing it with his tribe. They treasure the affirming message and soon have little compassion for Earth and its other inhabitants who begin to suffer in the wake of such pride. Other people begin to war over the half-truth and suffering grows. A brave girl finds Old Turtle, the wisdom character in the previous book, who explains that the found truth is only a broken truth and the world needs the missing part. This mending will happen when all know that “every being is important, and the world was made for each of us.” Old Turtle gives her the missing half. Upon her return, she brings together the 2 pieces and see the whole truth: “You are loved...and so are they.”
Hanna’s Comments: This is a long and wordy tale, but it beautifully offers further reflection on humanity’s place on Earth and our limited understanding of the value of other inhabitants, the love of God that we all share, and how we can all live more peacefully. Whenever you offer such a tale, be sure to connect it to real situations and find the instruction in the experience. Don’t settle for simple enjoyment. Make it meaningful.
Original Publisher & Date: Scholastic, 2003
Age and Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up
Formats other than Book: Tablet, dramatic versions on Youtube
Scripture Connections: The story of Jonah (Jonah 1-4); you shall know the truth & the truth shall set you free (John 8:32); God is love (1 John 4:8b)

Idea(s) for Application: With the examples on Youtube, a youth group or older elementary group could also offer dramatic re-tellings of this book and its prequel. Additionally, simply read or tell this story to a group of children or adults who are talking about truth, wisdom, or God's intention for humanity's relationships with other Earth inhabitants.

Obsession and Friendship

If your church uses The Revised Common Lectionary for planning your messages, you’ll find that today’s simple story perfectly illustrates verses from one of the selected scriptures for this week, Philippians 2.

Picture Book: We Found a Hat

Author & Illustrator: Jon Klassen

Summary: Two friends on a journey, who happen to be turtles, find a hat -  one hat, two turtles. 

Each tries on the hat, 

and each declares it looks good on the other. 

They know it would be wrong for only one turtle to have the hat. 

Solution: They must leave the hat behind. 

They don't go far. The hat is still in plain site which proves to be really hard for one turtle. 

The two turtles watch the sunset together. 

It is clear that their company is important and this daily event worth their attention. 

But once the sun is down, that one turtle's eyes look back... 

to the hat, a new obsession. 

Both turtles turn and prepare to sleep, one turtle sleepier than the other. 

After a while, a night time excursion is inevitable. 

The sleeping friend is neither far in distance nor far from the thoughts of the secretive turtle. 

Next is a sort of confession. Dreams of owning the hat are declared. But... 

quickly that dream expands to both turtles owning hats and wearing them very well. 

The hat is considered again. What's this hat worth? An important friendship? 

No. 

The turtle returns to the more important relationship and settles in for a good night's sleep. 

Still there is the dream.

Hanna’s Comments: Be sure to point out the eyes as you read to your audience for they are crucial to the story. Klassen is known for his simple but profound books. This book is part of Klassen’s Hat Trilogy, but the stories are not connected - different hats, different animals. This is Not My Hat is about a fish stealing a hat. A great PBT option if you are looking for a book about “Thou shalt not steal.”  I Want My Hat Back offers another great PBT experience for exploring The Parable of the Lost Coin.

Original Publisher & Date: Candlewick, 2016

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

Formats other than Book: None at present

Scripture Connections: The story of Lot's wife (Genesis 19:15-26); Be of one mind; don’t do anything out of selfishness. (Philippians 2:2-5)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of people of any age and then explore ideas of obsession, selfishness, or greed and how these can harm important friendships and be obstacles to spiritual formation.

Stuff and Friendship

Picture Book: More

Author: I. C. Springman

Illustrator: Brian Lies

Summary: The key character in this fable of few words, is a magpie who collects stuff, lots of stuff, nests and nests of stuff! His mice friends give him the first object, a beautiful marble, 

but then they begin to comment on is hoarding. 

What on the surface is a story teaching collective adjectives (less, more, enough…) becomes a lesson in the consequences of having at first, 

"Lots" and then "Plenty,"

“A bit much”  

and then “Way too much.”

Then there's a kind of community intervention. 

After the collapse of a limb under too much weight, 

the mice, and a squirrel friend, take away item after item from the nests 

and help the magpie be contented with a few treasured items. 

The number of words is few. The illustrations are many and detailed. And the messages are clear: Too much is a problem. Friends can help with that.

Hanna’s Comments: I love Springman’s bio in the back in which she describes herself as a “small-house person living in a McMansion-loving world.” She wrote this book for her grandsons hoping that “one day there will be enough for all.” That’s a PBT message for sure! Help your audience see the changes in expressions of the magpie and mice as the amount of stuff changes. Also, help them see the detailed illustrations, but don’t allow them to get too caught up in the treasures. The point of this book is that gluttony is a distraction and a problem. Explain that gluttony, one of the deadly sins according to Roman Catholic tradition, isn’t limited to the realm of food. It is overconsumption of anything. I personally struggle with gluttony and view it as a key issue in my spiritual development. My hunch is that many in your faith community, particularly if you’re American, have similar struggles, even your children. If you struggle with this, pray about sharing your struggles. Friendship is a key part of this story. Considering the amount of stuff (or assets) in our bedrooms/playrooms (for children), homes or places of worship (for adults) as spiritual questions would be valuable conversations to have in a faith context.

Original Publisher & Date: Houghton Mifflin, 2012 

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

Formats other than Book: Tablet

Scripture Connections:  The wilderness lesson of hoarding manna (Exodus 16); be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters (Proverbs 23:20); where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21/Luke 12:34); do not lay up for yourselves treasures on Earth (Matthew 6:19); I will not be enslaved by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of children or adults when discussing the spiritual issue of gluttony or the spiritual practice of simplicity.

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 292

Terrific Trio: Book 3

Picture Book: Sorry!

Author: Trudy Ludwig

Illustrator: Maurie J. Manning

Summary: Jack is the narrator of this story of older elementary or middle school children. He is concerned and confused regarding his friend Charlie who gets out of the frequent trouble he causes by insincerely saying that he’s sorry. Repeatedly, Jack sees adults accept Charlie’s insincere apologies. Charlie is a bully so Jack doesn’t want to alienate him. When Charlie pressures Jack into quickly throwing a water balloon at a neighbor, Jack feels uncomfortable even after apologizing. Later Jack does nothing to stop Charlie from damaging a former friend’s science project. When confronted by a teacher and required to replace the damaged parts, Jack complies quickly and Charlie complains. Once the science project is restored, Jack chooses to make friends again and helps clean up the mess Charlie made despite Charlie’s invitation to go shoot some hoops.

Hanna’s Comments: This last book in a PBT Terrific Trio of books with the same title is more sophisticated than the first two books. Here you have some manipulative and complicated human dynamics that elementary aged children will definitely find familiar. Aspects of the plot include peer pressure, alienation, bullying, compensation, vandalism, and even some violence. In the back of this book, you’ll find a detailed Afterward by a psychiatrist, Dr. Aaron Lazare, A Note from the Author, Discussion Questions, and Apology Do’s and Don’ts. Adults who interact with children and youth in faith communities must realize that bullying and peer pressure are often present in those contexts. In fact, such behaviors can sometimes cause more harm in these contexts because the bullying behavior conflicts dramatically with the lessons that are being taught. Also, adults might be viewed as supremely naïve or as hypocritical. 

Original Publisher & Date of Publication: Tricycle Press, 2006Tricycle Press, 2006

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 6 and up, 1^st 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: belonging, choices/decisions, change, communication, confession, conflict, emotions/feelings, forgiveness/mercy/redemption, greed/selfishness, guilt, pride, relationships

Scripture Connections: Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16); if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book when talking to elementary children about authenticity in confession and apology to friends, family, and to God.