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Jessica Wolff lectionary

How Do We Teach Children Safety, Without Making Them Afraid?

Year B, 3rd Sunday of Easter, 1 John 3:1-7; Lectionary reading for April 18, 2021

I really wanted to focus on the joy of the first verse in this reading:

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

1 John 3:1

Unfortunately, there is more to the message of this passage that needs to be addressed. Our world is full of wonder and goodness, but there is evil here too. There are people who refuse the designation “child of God” and choose instead to hurt others and destroy creation. Our children need to know that not everyone is trustworthy. It is imperative that we teach them to stay safe.

In our age of 24-hour news channels and instant disaster updates sent straight to our phones, stories of evil can be difficult to escape. As adults, we can filter this information with what we know of the goodness of the wider world. Children cannot. The world can seem to be a very frightening place when the adults around them discuss murder and mayhem within earshot.

Michael Leannah’s book Most People is a simple and comforting antidote to that kind of fear. It gently explains that while there are some bad people, most people in the world are kind, helpful, and safe to be around.

Most people want to make other people—even strangers—feel good. Most people are very good people.

Michael Leannah

Jennifer Morris’s illustrations back up this message by depicting an impressive array of diverse people doing good things in a variety of circumstances. She draws people of all sizes, colours, abilities, and lifestyles, which gives readers an opportunity to talk about the expectations we have about certain groups of people.

This book does not deny the existence of evil, and I don’t suggest you do with your children, either! Until God’s will is fully done on Earth as it is in heaven, we need to teach our children ways to keep safe without making them fearful. We are all children of God, and most people live up to that calling. Let’s give the children in our care a message of hope along with our necessary messages of caution.

Questions to ask before you read:

  • What should you do if you get separated from your parent/family/caregiver?
  • Look through the illustrations and ask the children what they think about a few different people, and ask them why they think that.
  • Do you think people are mostly good or mostly bad?

Discussion after you read:

  • Go back through the illustrations and talk about people the children had earlier said looked mean, scary, or bad.
  • Can you tell if a person is bad by looking at them?
  • What is the difference between being cautious and being afraid?
  • Remind children that if someone makes them feel unsafe, they should always find an adult they trust.

Please be mindful of your audience when reading this book. If you work with children who have experienced trauma, this book could help them understand that not everyone is as scary as they might think, but they might also feel like their experience is being minimized. If you know little about the children in your care, please make sure your questioning is gentle and that you in no way try to minimize or dismiss any child’s experience of trauma.

This book is really one of a kind, and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s tough to talk to our kids about staying safe without also making them more afraid, particularly of people who look different from their family. Most People can start important conversations in your home, church, or wider ministry.

Here’s a friendly reminder that you can purchase my featured books by clicking on their images. This supports me with a small commission. Please also consider subscribing to the blog or following Storybook Ministry on Facebook to support my work. Thanks!

Leannah, Micheal. Most People. Tilbury House, 2017.

Jessica Wolff lectionary

We Are Not Defined By Our Sins

Year B, 3rd Sunday of Easter; Acts 3:12-19; Lectionary reading for April 18, 2021

When I was a child, sin terrified me. I was a Very Good Girl, and there was a lot at stake to keep it that way. While far from perfect, I wanted everyone, including God, to think I was. If I wanted to go to heaven, I had to be perfect, right? Once, shortly after my grandpa taught me how to make the sign of the cross, I did it with my left hand. That was it, I was sure I was going straight to hell, even though God had made me left-handed. I prayed and prayed for forgiveness, but I feared it would never be enough.

I lost my faith as a teenager, partly because I couldn’t keep up the perfection game. I didn’t understand how God could have made me so flawed and then wanted me to follow all these rules! I didn’t have enough scriptural understanding or guidance to survive that paradox. Rather than feel the shame of failing to meet God’s expectations, I rejected Him altogether. I was a sinner, so I gave up.

Eliza J. Murphy is also a Very Good Girl. She’s even captain of the Worm Rescue Team! But in Abigail Rayner’s book, I am a Thief!, she does something no good girl would ever do: she steals a sparkly green stone from her classroom. Eliza feels terrible about being a thief, but when she starts asking family members about their checkered pasts, she discovers that many of them have stolen things too — but that doesn’t make her feel any better.

Eventually Eliza realizes something important: even if someone is a thief, they are many other things too. Their mistakes do not define them, especially when they make amends. The children in our care need to know that they will mess up, make mistakes, and yes, sin, but that they are more than the sum of their deficits. They are beloved children of God. No matter what they have done, all they need to do is turn away from their mistake and back toward God to have their sins wiped away. There may still be worldly consequences for their actions, but God’s love and forgiveness are assured.

Questions to ask before you read:

  • Have you ever stolen something? What happened?
  • How do you feel when you know you’ve done something wrong?
  • Does someone in your family write down all the mistakes you’ve made? Do you think God does?

Questions to ask after you read:

  • Why do you think Ms. Delaney tells Eliza that she’s brave?
  • Does this book tell you it’s ok to steal?

I loved reading this book, and I think you will too. Click on the book image to purchase it through amazon and you’ll be supporting my work on this blog. Thanks for reading, please subscribe so you always have a book suggestion ready for your ministry!

Rayner, Abigail. I Am a Thief! NorthSouth Books, 2019

Jessica Wolff lectionary

God’s Light Through the Universe

Year B, Second Sunday of Easter; 1 John 1:2-2:2; Lectionary reading for April 11, 2021

Did you know that there is more light in the universe than scientists can explain? Even if they take into consideration all the light emitted by all the stars and galaxies, and reflected off all the planets, moons, asteroids, and dust, there’s still more light than there *should* be. Even the darkest parts of outer space still have some light in them, and scientists are still puzzling out how this could be.

Like many people, I love going outside and looking into the night sky to watching the stars and moon, but I don’t enjoy stumbling back through the darkness into my home! But the problem isn’t that it’s too dark, the problem is that my eyes can’t see enough light to guide me home. It’s a problem of perception, not of light. Our eyes can only see a narrow little piece of the spectrum of light, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any light out there! When God created light to begin the universe, he banished darkness. God is light, and so is creation.

What Is Light? by Markette Sheppard captured my attention because it connects literal light to metaphorical light. There are many excellent books that cover the science of light (here’s a link to my favourite) and some that focus on the metaphorical light within us all (this one is amazing) but this gentle little book gives us a little bit of each. It isn’t a very long book, but that gives you extra time to talk to the children in your ministry about light, both the kind that shines from the sun and the kind that God placed in each and every one of us.

Questions to ask before you read:

  • What do you use light for?
  • Every single food we eat depends on light from the sun. Can you figure out how the sun helps make pizza? What about ice cream?
  • What does it mean when someone says, “you light up the room?”

Questions to ask after you read:

  • The story ends by saying that light can be seen in everything you do. How can you be light for someone today?
  • How are the kind things you do similar to actual light from the sun?

Sheppard, Markette. What Is Light? Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition (May 5 2020)

If you would like to support my work, please click on the links and purchase the books I feature through Amazon. I receive a small commission, and you will be supporting the work of amazing children’s authors!

Jessica Wolff lectionary

Called To Share

Year B, Second Sunday of Easter; Acts 2:32-35; Lectionary reading for Sunday, April 11, 2021

I love reading about the early church in Acts. Imagine their enthusiasm for the new Way Jesus had provided! Of course there were conflicts, of course there were dangers, but passages like this in Acts 4 helps me envision not just a past, but a future where Christians live in harmony, sharing burdens and joys and making sure everyone has what they need. I won’t get into the argument for everyday Christians giving up all their possessions and turning to a communal life, but the message here is clear: we are called upon to share, even to everything we have.

Sharing is a frequent theme in children’s literature, because for young children who have just learnt the word “mine,” sharing is HARD. But wherever you land on the political spectrum and whatever your opinion of our current economic system, we can agree that children need to learn to share— and so do some adults. I will focus on my new favourite book about sharing, but I’ll also link to some classics so you have a few choices to turn to.

I recently discovered the author/illustrator Oge Mora and I am in love with her artistic style and meaningful stories. Thank You, Omu! tells the story of Omu (the Igbo word for Queen), a community elder cooking a delicious and particularly aromatic stew. As the smell wafts out her window, a variety of community members follow their noses up to her apartment. Even though she’s looking forward to sitting down to the best supper ever, she fills bowls for each of her visitors until there’s none left. Like every good book about sharing, Omu is rewarded for her selflessness, but I won’t spoil the lovely surprise ending.

Questions to ask before you read:

  • What is your favourite food? Is it difficult to share?
  • How would you feel if someone else ate ALL of your favourite food?
  • Who is it easy to share with? Who is it difficult to share with?

Questions to ask after you read:

  • Did Omu know her neighbours would come back?
  • Do you think she did the right thing when she shared until she didn’t have any left?

I hope you add Thank You, Omu! to your ministry library. If you click on the book (or on the links below), Amazon will work its magic and get it to your mailbox and I will receive a small commission. Check your library and your friendly neighbourhood school teacher too!

Mora, Oge. Thank You, Omu! Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018

Some other sharing books to consider:

Jessica Wolff lectionary

God Doesn’t Have Favourites!

Year B, Easter; Acts 10:34-43; Lectionary reading for April 4, 2021

The good news is for everyone!

God didn’t choose to save only the Jews. From the very beginning, when God calls Abram, he is told that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Gen 12:3)”, but tribalism is as difficult to shake now as it was in Abram’s time. Even though the resurrected Jesus commissions the disciples to spread the Word around the world, and even though they received the gift of tongues at Pentecost, God knows Peter isn’t quite ready for God’s blessing to be upon non-Jews and Jews. God sends a vision to Peter and an angel to the centurion Cornelius, and finally Peter understands.

Yes, but…

Nope. No buts about it.

No matter who you are, where you’re from, the colour of your skin, what language you speak, your gender, or who you love, if you fear (honour, respect, and revere) God and do what is right, God accepts you into God’s family.

Jamie Lee Curtis’s book, Is There Really a Human Race? helps put this into perspective. The story is told as a child asking a parent questions about this human ‘race’ we seem to be in. Where are we going? Why are we racing? Is the race fair? Eventually the perspective switches to the parent, who reassures their little one that we aren’t actually in a race with other people, and in fact, we experience far more success when we cooperate rather than compete. There’s a lot going on in the illustrations, so plan on leaving this book out in the Sunday school room, or when it’s safe to pass something around during coffee and fellowship (remember those days? Sigh.).

Questions to ask before you read:

  • Do you like being in races and contests?
  • Would they still be fun if EVERYTHING was a race or a contest?
  • Can you win God’s love in a race?

Questions to ask after you read:

  • Can you tell if someone loves God by looking at them?
  • Can you lose God’s love in a race?
  • Why do you think God made so many different kinds of people?

I hope you use this book in your ministry, but be warned: it can be a bit of a tongue-twister, so practice reading it out loud first! If you click on the picture of the book below, Amazon will happily sell you a copy and I will receive a small commission to help support the site. Check your local library for a copy too!

Curtis, Jamie Lee. Is There Really a Human Race? HarperCollins, 2006.

Jessica Wolff lectionary

This Easter Book Rocks

Year B: Easter John 20:1-18; Lectionary reading for April 4, 2021

Halleluiah! He is risen!

While many of the books I feature here help children understand the meaning behind the lectionary reading for the week, Easter calls for a book that showcases the story itself. The Easter miracle is foundational to our faith, and we should encourage children to listen to, read, retell, and dramatize it over and over. There are plenty of books about Easter aimed at younger audiences, and your church likely has one or two already, however, it’s difficult to find one book that will appeal to a wide range of ages. 

Patti Rokus’s retelling of the Easter story is simple, direct, and beautiful. Each page features scripture along with a paraphrase of the passage, but what sets this book apart are the illustrations. Rokus used rocks of all shapes and sizes to recreate scenes from Holy Week and through to the Ascencion. While at first this might seem like a gimmick, the resulting images are profoundly moving.

Early-years educators know the value of ‘loose parts’ in imaginative play, and this book is a bridge to similar activities in Sunday School. Bring out a basket of pebbles—smooth and rough, large and small—and see what beautiful scenes your children create. Perhaps start by encouraging them to recreate Easter scenes, but be sure to give them time to create other biblical scenes or scenes from their imaginations.

This book provides its own question to ask after you read it:

  • How will you show your love for Jesus?

If you click on the book images, it will whisk you off to Amazon where you can purchase the book and support this website with a small commission. While not as widely available in Saskatchewan libraries as other books I’ve featured, other regions might have more copies.

Rokus, Patti. He is Risen: Rocks Tell the Story of Easter. Zondervan, 2019.

Jessica Wolff lectionary

Stand Up and Say Something!

Year B, Palm/Passion Sunday; Lectionary reading for March 28, 2021

Last week I confessed I buy Peter Reynolds’s books as soon as they are released when I featured a book he illustrated. This week, I’d like to introduce you to a book he both wrote and illustrated, Say Something.

When we hear the word ‘prophet,’ we tend to equate it with fortune telling, and yes, the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures did their fair share of predicting the future. However, their role was far more significant than gazing into a crystal ball and warning the Israelites of calamities to come.

Prophets like Isaiah were more like divinely appointed critics than fortune tellers. Isaiah’s role was to steer Israel’s leaders and the people towards God, and that meant pointing out all the ways in which they had failed to live up to God’s expectations. In this brief passage, Isaiah tells the Israelites that no matter how they might despise and torture him, he will hold fast to God’s message.

Essentially, a prophet is one who challenges those in power and stands up for what they believe is right. Challenging the status quo or speaking truth to power isn’t reserved for ancient men who heard directly from God. The children in our ministries should know that they, too, can speak up when they see injustices in their communities.

Peter Reynolds reminds children (and their families!) that everyone’s voice deserves to be heard. This book encourages readers to express their creativity, advocate for peace, and fight injustice. While this book fits well with today’s scripture, you might also set it aside for the next time there are protest marches in your community or on the news, to help the children in your care understand what is happening.

Questions to ask before you read:

  • How would you feel if you saw someone bigger and stronger than you do something terrible, like hurting a little kid? What would you do?
  • What are some problems you see in your community?

Questions to ask after you read:

  • What ideas do you have that could improve our community?
  • What would you put on a sign if you could tell the entire world something?

Reynolds, Peter. Say Something. Scholastic Canada, 2019

Friendly reminder that if you click on the book images, you can buy the book through Amazon and I earn a small commission to support the website. Or use your library, that’s great too.

Jessica Wolff lectionary

Teaching and Learning Sacrifice

Year B, Lent 5; Hebrews 5:5-10; Lectionary reading for March 21, 2021

If Jesus is the Word, the Logos, the blueprint for our lives, we too must suffer and sacrifice ourselves for others. For most of us, that doesn’t mean sacrificing our actual bodies, but we must learn that sometimes we have to put our own comfort aside for the benefit of other people. Many adults struggle with offering their time, talents, and treasures to help others, so how can we teach young children, who are naturally self-centered, this tricky idea? Once again, a storybook to the rescue!

When I first read Manjhi Moves a Mountain, I thought it was a beautiful allegory. The people of a mountain village struggle to go about their daily lives, climbing over a mountain top to get to school, medical care, and jobs. Manjhi decides that life would be easier if there was a road through the mountain and sets about to build one with the hand tools he has. The villagers think he’s crazy, but after years of sacrificing every spare moment to the task, a road begins to take shape.

The best part? It’s not just an allegory; it’s a true story!

Questions to ask before you read:

  • Tell me about a time you helped someone else. Did you have to give up something you wanted to do in order to help them?
  • Tell me about a time someone helped you. What fun things could they have been doing instead?

Questions to ask after you read:

  • How did Manjhi have the courage to keep going with the villagers made fun of him?
  • Why do you think it took so long for the villagers to start helping Manjhi?
  • How did Jesus have the courage to stand up to the religious authorities?
  • How can you find courage to help you through the tough things you know you have to do?

Churnin, Nancy. Manjhi Moves a Mountain. Creston Books, 2017.

Reminder that I am part of the Amazon Associates program (dancing with the devil, I know…) so if you purchase a book through the links provided, I earn a small commission to help keep the site running.

Jessica Wolff lectionary

Planting Seeds, Planting Love

Year B, Lent 5; John 12:20-33; Lectionary reading for March 21, 2021

Please, plant some seeds. Right now, go to the store and buy some nice big seeds, or better yet, ask a farmer in your congregation to give you some actual wheat seeds, and plant them with your little ones. Fill a jar with dirt, push some seeds down along the sides so you can see them, and witness death and resurrection.

Once you’ve done your planting, choose one of the dozens of great storybooks about seeds and gardens. Some that I wanted to write about but didn’t:

Seriously, so many splendid books. But today, we will plant something a little… unorthodox.

As a general rule, I add every new Peter H. Reynolds book to my library, and when he works with Amy Krouse Rosenthal, it’s twice as magical. Plant a Kiss features simple rhyming text to capture the attention of very young children, but the illustrations and the message will equally interest older children.

Rather than plant a seed, a little girl plants a kiss to the skepticism of those around her. But just as one kernel of wheat that falls and dies produces many seeds, the one kiss multiplies to bring joy to everyone in the community. Towards the end, the little girl runs out of kisses to share and walks away from her empty bowl. Take that opportunity to ask how the little girl might feel, having given away everything she harvested. How would the children in your congregation feel if they made a batch of cookies and gave them all away, getting none for themselves?

Questions to ask before you read:

  • How do you think a seed feels when it is planted?
  • What happens to the seed underground?
  • How does a seed transform into more seeds?

Questions to ask after you read:

  • We can’t really plant kisses, but what are some ways we can spread love?
  • If you could plant things other than seeds to make the world a better place, what would you plant?

Rosenthal, Amy Krouse. Plant a Kiss. HarperCollins, 2011.

If you purchase a book through my links, I receive a small commission which goes toward keeping the site afloat and perhaps buying the occasional book. Thanks for your support!

Jessica Wolff Uncategorized

Jesus Fixes Our Perception Problem

Year B, Lent 4; Numbers 21:4-9; Lectionary reading for March 14, 2021

I’m no biblical scholar, but even I know the Israelites did a lot of grumbling in the desert. I leafed through Exodus and Numbers for a quick count, and this particular grumble is #14. Most of the time, Moses calmed his people down, took the problem to God, and God solved the problem. This time, however, the Israelites were whining about the very food God had provided; talk about ungrateful. God punishes the people with snakes, but also provides a solution by instructing Moses to build the bronze snake.

I found several interpretations of this tricky story online, but Dr. Keith Wagner’s explanation most struck a chord with me. Dr. Wagner suggests the Israelites had a perception problem. All they could see were their problems; sore feet, repetitive food, no water, and now, snakes! When Moses raised the bronze serpent onto the pole so that it could heal anyone bitten, he helped them adjust their focus. Rather than grumble about how hard life in the wilderness was, the bronze serpent reminded them to focus on God, the source of all healing.

I think this is why Jesus compares himself to the serpent in the passage from John 3:14. We are saved by looking upon Jesus suffering on the cross, saved by keeping our focus on God, saved not through efforts of our own, but through God’s grace. When I focus on my troubles, that is all I see. When I focus on God’s grace, I am transformed.

Is there a children’s book that can make sense of this? I believe there is!

Matt de la Pena and Christian Robinson’s book Last Stop on Market Street follows CJ and Nana on an after-church bus trip across town. CJ, like the Israelites, has an acute case of the grumbles. Why do we have to wait for the bus in the rain? Why can’t we drive a car? How come it’s so dirty here? At every turn, Nana helps CJ change his perspective.

“Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, CJ, you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful.”

Nana, Last Stop on Market Street

CJ learns that a little bit of hardship, a little bit of jealousy, or a little bit of want doesn’t mean much when he focuses on the beauty of the people and places around him.

Questions before you read:

  • Have you ever had to do something you really didn’t want to do?
  • Did grumbling about it make it any easier?
  • What do you think it means to “look on the bright side?”

Questions after you read:

  • Why is CJ glad they came at the end?
  • How do you feel when you help someone?
  • What can you do to remind yourself to focus on God when you feel like whining?

Even if you choose a different focus this Sunday, I hope you keep Last Stop on Market Street in your back pocket. You never know when you might need the perfect story to teach gratitude and service. Enjoy!

I receive a small commission when you purchase a book through my links. All proceeds go towards maintenance of the site… which may or may not involve the purchase of new books to review. Hey, the public library can’t do all the work!

de la Pena, Matt. Last Stop on Market Street. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2015.