Grab & Go #12 - Stone Soup

Here’s another great book if you need a lesson for adults or children in your faith community and don’t have much time to prepare. It practically teaches itself! It’s an old tale full of rich meaning that particularly contrasts with modern paradigms of fear and scarcity. The scripture connections are many.

Picture Book: Stone Soup 

Author & Illustrator: Jon J. Muth
Summary: This is an oft-told legend of scarcity, fear, & selfishness in which 3 strangers enter an unwelcoming village & begin to make stone soup, a dish for which sharing is required. Their mysterious soup prep happens in the center of town so the hungry villagers become curious. It takes a child's courage to make contact and urge her elders to come see, smell, contribute, and eventually taste. Little by little, the villagers give out of their scarcity and experience the marvels of generosity and community.
Hanna’s Comments: Various versions of this old tale have been published; this one has a beautiful Chinese setting. Tom Chapin has recorded a wonderful song with the same title and story. The video version of this book was shared during worship at my church when we were launching a year of focusing our local mission activities on food deserts in our city. This is truly a beautiful book with an incredible message that all will understand! 

Original Publisher & Date: Scholastic, 2003
Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Preschool and upFormats other than book: tablet, video on-line and in several video collections

Scripture Connections: ...and a little child will lead them. (Isaiah 11:6); Boy with Loaves & Fishes (Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:31, Luke 9:10, John 6:5); any scripture about generosity, hospitality, or abundance

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to your faith family and explore the importance of hospitality, generosity, abundance rather than scarcity, or unity in community.

Do Something GRAND!

It’s National Grandparents Day here in the states. On the website, the folks at www.grandparentsday.org encourage everyone to “Do something GRAND!” Today I have a blogpost for you that celebrates grandparents, including details on 2 very different books about grandmothers. If you want more picture book options featuring grandparents, go to the list of green search words and click on “grandparents.” You’ll be taken to 36 different picture books I’ve featured on this blog!

What grand thing have I done today? I’ve designed and taught an adult Sunday School lesson. I’ve invited and welcomed a family to my church’s worship service where the praise was mighty and authentic. I’ve tutored a child. And I’ve visited my local library where I complimented the librarians on the grand work they do for me. Then I left with my usual big stack of picture books. Oh boy!

Look for more grand possibilities as I expand and diversify my work here at PBT. Details to come soon. Meanwhile, enjoy all the picture books I have already offered you and the many possibilities they hold for ministry, teaching, therapy, or especially for today, family time with a child or grandchild where you can talk about your values and your legacy. 

Picture Book: A Special Gift for Grammy 

Author: Jean Craighead George

Illustrator: Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Summary: At the end of a visit, Hunter gives his grandmother a pile of stones on the front porch, near her front door.

What will I do with a pile of stones?” she asked Hunter.

“What everyone does with a pile of stones,” he answered.

Her simple response is, “Of course,” a response that is repeated time and time again as various passersby use the stones for various purposes. Some are used to mark the grave of a much-love dog. Three are used to give directions to a couple of Girl Scouts. Hunter himself finds that 5 of the stones serve as important symbols of his identity so they are strung on a necklace for Grammy. The last stone is found to be perfect for skipping lightly across a nearby lake.   

Hanna’s Comments: There are many things I love about this book. It emphasizes generosity, creativity, and memory while offering a nature story. Too many children are not able to see the bounty that is in their back yard or a nearby park. Stones, like many other gifts of the natural world, offer great potential for marking, adorning, and remembering. Offer your children a lesson on the qualities and possibilities of a pile of stones or one remarkable rock.

There are many places in scripture where stones or rocks are mentioned either concretely or metaphorically. The old hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing has had generations singing, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer.” That’s a reference to a biblical story of thanksgiving in 1st Samuel. Do you know what a cairn is? Cairns are piles of stones used for marking a place of memory. Jacob built such a cairn to witness his and Laban’s covenant. Peter is called the rock, and we are instructed to build our house on stone, not sand.

Original Publisher & Date of Publication: Harper, 2013

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: Fresh off the Press

Scripture Connections: Jacob places his pillow stone as an altar (Genesis 28:18-22); Joshua instructs them to take 12 stones from the Jordan River (Joshua 4); Then Samuel took a stone (1 Samuel 7); a wise one build a house upon the rock (Matthew 7: 24-27); you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (Matthew 16:18); yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5)

Idea(s) for Application: Consider a series of lessons on how stones are used in scripture. Let this story be your starting point, emphasizing that, of course, a pile of stones has so much potential for enriching our lives.  

Picture Book: Grandma in Blue with Red Hat

Author: Scott Menchin

Illustrator: Harry Bliss

Summary: From a young artist’s point of view, this book celebrates the potential of art to honor and commemorate the love a grandson has for his grandmother. The unnamed protagonist attends art lessons at his city’s art museum. There he learns that art is beautiful, different, funny, tells stories, comes from far away, and makes others feel good. When he realizes that all of these qualities are also true of his grandmother, he decides he must give his grandmother to the museum. Once the museum curator gets involved, the narrator has a more practical idea. He studies the styles of various artists, is inspired by them, and creates a one-boy exhibition. The theme? Grandma. Many come, including the museum curator who acquires a piece for the museum: Grandma in Blue with Red Hat.

Hanna’s Comments: This is such a fun book. It teaches a great deal about art while celebrating an extraordinary cross-generational relationship. Encourage discussion about the nature of art and God’s role in artistic endeavors and the creative spirit of humans. Emphasize how the love of these family members inspires and enriches the beauty of the boy’s art. Look for evidence of loving art in your family or family of faith. Talk about how God and scripture have been the subject of artists throughout history.

Original Publisher & Date of Publication: Abrams, 2015

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

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present 

Formats other than Book: Tablet

PBT Category: Fresh off the Press  

Scripture Connections: The skills of artists (Exodus 35); but now, O Lord, you are our God, we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8)

Idea(s) for Application: Use this book as a discussion starter for considering how God has created humans to be both artists and art, creators and creations, inspired by God and for God. 

Finding a Happy Home at the Altar of the Lord

Picture Book: Cathedral Mouse

Author & Illustrator: Kay Chorao

Summary: After escaping a pet store and being chased from a meat market, Mouse scampers into a nearby cathedral. He is at first afraid of the odd sounds and strange sights of the unique space. As he begins to explore the vast and beautiful rooms, he hopes to make it his new home, but he meets hostile resident mice who don’t invite him into their community. He is determined to stay however. He especially enjoys the light from the stained-glass windows and a friendship with the stone carver who creates a special place for him and declares him to be Cathedral Mouse. Mouse has found a home.

Hanna’s Comments: Whether or not your place of worship is a cathedral, a house church, or a store front, your children can benefit from the reading of this beautiful picture book. Certainly Mouse is intrigued and wooed by the beauty of this cathedral, but it is the hospitality and friendship of the stone carver who encourages him to stay despite the resistance of the resident mice. Do you know anyone in your family of faith who is resistant to newcomers? Perhaps they are upset when visitors sit in “their seat” at worship. This book is appropriate for adults in your faith family too for it invites us all to consider the perspective of strangers who wander into our midst, sometimes running from and carrying human fears and hopes for community. The hospitality and encouragement of the stone carver is what God wants us to offer to strangers.   

Another important emphasis you can give when presenting this book is in talking about the importance of a family of faith that feels at home. Connect positive aspects of home to your family of faith and encourage your listeners to have a faith home all their lives. The first verses of Psalm 84 (see below) describe this beautifully.

Original Publisher & Date of Publication: E. P. Dutton, 1988

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

# of Pages: 32 

Available in Spanish? Not at present

Formats other than Book: None at present

PBT Category: Pre 2K

Scripture Connections: Treat the stranger who sojourns with you as a native among you (Leviticus 19:34); even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself …Happy are those who live in your house (Psalm 84:3-4a); do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2); show hospitality to one another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:9) 

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of children or adults when presenting a program on the importance of finding a home in a family of faith or a lesson on the spiritual practice of hospitality. 

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. 

A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 54

Picture Book: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Author & Illustrator: William Steig

Summary: Sylvester, a pebble-collecting donkey, feels lucky to find a magic pebble that makes wishes come true, but fear of a nearby lion leads Sylvester to wish to be a rock. When his wish comes true, he is stuck and mute. Sylvester’s parents begin a frantic search to find their beloved son. As time passes, all three become hopeless and sad. Once spring comes, Sylvester’s parents go on a picnic to cheer up. When his mother sits on him, Sylvester is awakened. She spies the magic pebble, picks it up and places it on the rock. Suddenly Sylvester’s desperate wish to be himself again transforms him to into a donkey. The family is joyfully reunited.

Hanna’s Comments: This is a powerful story of familial love, absence, and struggle. The story can be easily re-framed as a demonstration of fervent prayer and even miracles.
 

Publisher & Date of Publication: Simon & Schuster, 1969 

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

# of Pages: 32 

Available in Spanish? Yes, there is a video in Spanish also the collection listed below. 

Formats other than Book: Audible, Audio cassette, CD, video in Strega Nona & More Stories about Magic 

PBT Category: Classic

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: family, found, hiding/isolation/separation/walls, lost, miracles, parents/parental love, prayer, rocks/stones, wishes

Scripture Connections: Ask and it shall be given (Luke 11:9)

Idea(s) for Application: part of a lesson on how prayer comes from faith and instills hope