PBT Blog Series: Theological Statements for Young Children #8

Illustration from Be Gentle by Virginia Miller

Finding stories that are appropriate for toddlers & preschoolers becomes challenging when considering the topics of the next PBT statement for young children: God/Jesus doesn’t want you to lie, steal, or hurt others.

Illustration from Be Gentle by Virginia Miller

Generally, these darker subjects are not addressed in stories for the very young except perhaps for the last prohibition, hurting others. Parents and teachers of young children often have to teach children to “be gentle” or “don’t hurt.” I did find a few excellent series that are specifically published to address social-emotional skills which are crucial for children's success in school and later in adult life. 

I featured 2 books in the Best Behavior Series on February 16, 2015. These 2 books had the same title, Words are Not for Hurting, but one was much simpler and offered Spanish text as well. The rest in the series are also perfect for very young children and many connect with this theological statement. Some are board books, and some come with Spanish text. Their contents are obvious, given the titles, so I’m just going to list those below. 

The illustrator for all is Marieka Heinlen. The author of all is Elizabeth Verdick, except for the first which is by Martine Agassi. Elizabeth Verdick also has a series called Toddler Tools which describes in simple terms typical moments in a young child’s day. Here are some titles from that series: Calm Down Time, Naptime, Sharing Time, Listening Time.

Best Behavior Series:

Hands are Not for Hitting

Feet are Not for Kicking

Teeth are Not for Biting

Tails are Not for Pulling

Germs are Not for Sharing

The Getting Along Series is for children a little older. The recommended age is 4 and up rather than 2 and up for the series above. This series focuses on more complex interpersonal interactions. They are all written by Cheri J. Meiners who also writes the Being the Best Me Series, which I would highly recommend. It covers topics like forgiveness, integrity, and resilience.

 Getting Along Series:

Talk and Work It Out

Cool Down and Work Through Anger

Know and Follow Rules

Share and Take Turns

Be Polite and Kind

Be Honest and Tell the Truth

Respect and Take Care of Things

Other PBT books that connect with links to posts:

The Empty Pot - 7/27/14     

Peace, Baby - 7/8/14

Unlovable - 6/27/14

Do Unto Otters - 10/25/14

Be Gentle - 2/10/15

Too Tall Houses – 3/21/16

Words are Not for Hurting - 2/16/15

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 150

Picture Book: Spuds

Author: Karen Hesse

Illustrator: Wendy Watson

Summary: To help out a hard-working mother, her 3 children sneak out into the night to glean potatoes from their neighbor’s field. Once home, they discover they have picked up mostly rocks. Ma discovers their thievery and forces them to confess to their neighbor, return what they’ve stolen, and apologize. They are surprised to hear no fury from their neighbor, but gratitude, for they have cleared stones from that part of his field. Additionally, he says they are welcome to glean anytime. They return home with the spuds and have a ‘tater feast.” Narrator and middle child, Jack, says that his Ma’s love is big enough to turn, “even 3 little spuds like us into something mighty fine.”  

Hanna’s Comments: This beautiful story of sacrificial parenting and neighborly generosity is full of possible connections to scripture. I think of a desperate Ruth gleaning in Boaz’s field. There is the description of the ideal woman described in Proverbs 31. Also, I think of the many times the Israelites, and later Christians, are compelled to help out widows and orphans. There is no mention of a father in this story. Perhaps he is away at war or dead. Either way, the mother has the sole responsibility for providing for these 3 children.

Publisher & Date of Publication: Scholastic, 2008

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 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: action, adaptation/assimilation, adventure, anxiety/worry, babies/children, caring/tending, challenges, confession, consequences/punishment, darkness/evening/night, dependence/interdependence, difficulties, disappointment, family, feasting/food/hunger/nutrition, forgiveness/justifying grace/mercy/redemption, found, generosity/giving/offering/stewardship, God’s care/providence, God’s nature, grace, guilt, harvest, helping, insecurity, labor/work, land/mountains/soil, mistakes, mothers, neighbors, poaching/stealing/theft, poverty, regret/repentance, rocks/shells/stones, searching, sharing, siblings/sibling rivalry, sin, at table, treasure

Scripture Connections: Ruth gleans in Boaz’s field (Ruth 2); whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17); the ideal woman (Proverbs 31:25-29; Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29)

Idea(s) for Application: Besides the applications listed above, I could see this book used in an adult lesson about caring for neighbors, praying for neighbors, and being involved in our neighborhoods. Lately I’ve heard several complaints about how we don’t know our neighbors anymore and yet our scriptures use the term “neighbor” repeatedly to compel us to tend to one another.