Brave Squish Rabbit

Title: Brave Squish Rabbit

Author:  Katherine Battersby

Illustrator:  Katherine Battersby

Publisher:  Viking, 2012

ISBN:  9780670012688

Audience:  Ages 2 and up

Summary:  Squish is a little stuffed rabbit who is afraid of many things, including storms, chickens, and most especially the dark.  Squish’s usual modus operandi is to hide from the dark as much as possible, but one day his best friend Twitch disappears, and he bravely sets out to find her.  Equipped only with a pot full of what must be lightning bugs, a helmet made from an acorn cap, and an even tinier toy bunny in a wagon, Squish must confront every one of his biggest fears.  In the middle of the darkest night, he finally finds Twitch, and they sit together under a starry sky.  Squish is still a little rabbit, “but being brave made him feel much bigger.”

Literary elements at work in the story:  Brave Squish Rabbit has only the barest of story lines, and Squish himself is created from only the barest of cartoon lines.  He is a white bunny with two ears, a round tail and two eyes.  Writer/illustrator Battersby portrays emotion with Squish’s physical responses to friends and to the fearful trifecta of lightning, massive yellow chickens, and the dark.  Even the youngest readers will be able to identify with Squish’s frightened paws to eyes at the sight of yellow feathers or wide-armed delight at the reappearance of a friend.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  Perspectives on gender and race take a backseat in this story of the power of friendship. However, since cultural stereotyping draws much power from running beneath the radar, it may be worth noting that the frightened bunny here is male, while his best (brave) friend is female.  This is also an inter-species friendship; Squish is a rabbit, and Twitch is a squirrel.

Theological Conversation Partners:  Human beings are an anxious lot, so Brave Squish Rabbit would be a good book to open up a discussion about worry with young children.  One of God’s most oft-repeated phrases is “Fear not!” (see Genesis 15:1, Isaiah 41:13, Isaiah 43:5, Matthew 1:20, Luke 2:10, Acts 27:24).  The point is that we are not alone when we call upon God.  Squish certainly does not talk about relying upon God, but he does give a loving adult an opportunity to help children talk about their fears and reassure them that God is always with them.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What things scare Squish?
2. Do you ever get scared?  What sorts of things make you afraid?
3. Why do you think that Squish wanted to find his friend Twitch?
4. What did Squish have to do to find Twitch?
5. The Bible tells us that God loves each of us very much.  Who do you think will be with you when you are scared?

This review is written by Union Presbyterian Seminary graduate Beth Lyon-Suhring.

We Would Love Your Input!!!

We’re beginning a redesign of the Storypath blog and are excited about trying to make it more useful to our wonderful readers.  We have some ideas from comments you’ve sent us earlier, but now’s your chance to make an impact in the early stages of redesign.

 

We are particularly interested in your responses to the following questions:

1.  How do you most often search for books/resources on this site?  By categories?  By themes (or tags)?  By Scripture passage?

2.  Are there ways of searching for resources that we don’t now offer?  How could we make it easier for you to find what you need?

3.  We primarily offer book reviews with optional discusson questions, bibliographies, some curriculum based on children’s literature and the Lectionary Links that connect books with three Scriptures on any given Sunday.  What other resources that connect children’s literature and faith would you be interested in seeing on this site?

 

We are open to any and all ideas  – and will keep our wonderful readers informed of our schedule for going live on the new site.  (You can reply to comments here or send an email to aknox@upsem.edu.)

Lectionary Links: Sunday, July 14, 2013

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year C:  July 14, 2013

First Reading: Amos 7:7-17

House Held Up By Trees by Ted Kooser

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: In hearing today’s text, a number of adults and children may ask what a plumb line is and how it is used. This simple tool used in construction projects would tell a builder whether or not their walls were vertical, implying a secure foundation.  Willis Jenkins points out that God’s use of a plumb line in the text from Amos “illustrates a fatal flaw in the community’s structure… [and] implies the unavoidability of Israel’s death, for faulty construction must be torn down.” (Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 3, p 220) In abandoning and ceasing to care for God’s ways, the community’s foundation has become cracked and unstable. House Held Up By Trees tells the story of once sturdy home that begins to crack and break after it is no longer cared for and left abandoned. Using this text and story, wonder together with your congregation about the things that make a community’s foundations faulty or strong.

Second Reading: Colossians 1:1-14

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

(Written for ages 12+)

Comment: Through their relationship with Epaphras, Paul and Timothy have been made aware that the Colossians share their love and faith for Christ. This guides them to see the Colossians as brothers and sisters, to pray for them, and to wish them lives of endurance and strength as they seek to live out their faith. There are times when we feel connected to communities or people we have never met, but know only through the witness of a shared friend or loved one. These connections often drive our prayers and our actions. In Part Four of The Book Thief, Hans chooses to protect Max because Max’s father saved his own life in World War I. Though Hans does not know Max personally, he is tied to him through the relationship he had with Max’s father. This text and story remind us that we are bound to people far beyond the reach of our local communities. Who are the beloved brothers and sisters in Christ that your community prays and cares for despite the fact that they have never actually entered the doors of your church?

Gospel Reading: Luke 10:25-37

The Cat in the Rhinestone Suit by John Carter Cash

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: “And who is my neighbor?” This question posed by the lawyer is one that many of us have pondered in our Christian journey. Through Jesus’ parable, we learn that sometimes our neighbors are the people we least expect. John Carter Cash has created a story parallel to Jesus’ parable with The Cat in the Rhinestone Suit. When Cat and his friends find themselves in a perilous situation a number of people pass them by. Finally they are saved by Cat’s enemy, the snake Del Moore. In this moment, their relationship changes. As the story ends, Cash answers the question of what it is to be a neighbor: “Greatest pals after all, they are seldom apart. To be a fine friend indeed is to lend to a friend in need. Let your good foot take the lead. Always give from the heart.”

The Lectionary Links this week were written by regular contributor Noell Rathbun-Cook.

Light in the Darkness

Title:  Light in the Darkness

Author:  Lesa Cline-Ransome

Illustrator: James E. Ransome

Publisher: Disney Jump At The Sun Books

Publication Date: 2013

ISBN: 9781423134954

Audience: 5-8 years

Summary: Rosa’s mama wakens her in darkness and they slip out of the cabin quietly.  They are going to school, a pit school, a hole in the ground concealed by leaves and branches.  They are slaves, forbidden to read by their masters.  One girl who learned to read was whipped, a lash for each letter. Morris, the teacher, was taught by his mistress to read the Bible long ago and he has shared this knowledge with those brave enough to risk the danger. The pit is crowded with adults and children, all shaping letters with sticks and making their sounds. They don’t talk about the letters at work on the plantation.  One night patrollers come near the pit so school doesn’t meet for a while.  Two slaves are caught on another plantation and beaten and this nearly ends the school.  But Rosa won’t quit.  She wants the letters to make words.  Now she is the one to awaken her mother and insist they go to school.  At first they are the only two with the courage to come back; soon others return.  Rosa learns to spell her name then helps a new arrival learn letters.   “When we’re free,” says her mama, “We’re gonna need those letters.”

Literary elements at work in the story: The voice of the narrator is a young slave, possibly six or seven.  There is some attempt to use dialect-gonna, ain’t, alf-i-bet-but this slice of life is told primarily in a simple, almost poetic voice.  The illustrations convey darkness, points of light, confined spaces, fear.  The play of light on the faces of the learners is especially effective.  The author learned about pit schools when researching the life of Frederick Douglass.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? Race dominates this story of slaves who are an economic resource to be used and controlled.

Theological Conversation Partners: This story is a good reminder of the wonder of reading and the value of education.  Pit schools are a historical fact that we do well to remember and they give additional weight to the evils of slavery and the tenacity of the human spirit.  Although historically churches have established schools wherever they go because, like Morris’s mistress, they want everyone to be able to read the Bible, the United States in the days of slavery proved the exception to the rule.  Literacy is surprisingly low in many countries still.  The Presbyterian Church (USA) Mission Year Book gives literacy percentages for foreign countries that are frequently sobering. (Ethiopia, 42.7 %, 2012)  The book offers occasion to give thanks for the courage of slaves, for differences now in law and culture, for the wonder of books and reading, for teachers, and to ponder the connection between freedom and literacy.   Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” Psalm 36 reminds us, “In Your light we see light.” Light is a significant symbol for Christians.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Examine a page of a book and try to imagine that you cannot read it.  What are some things you cannot do if you cannot read?
2. Why would slave owners forbid reading to their slaves?
3. Slave owners said that slaves didn’t want to read and weren’t smart enough to learn.  What evidence in this book do you see that this is false.
4. Why would the slaves need reading when they were free?
5. What tools did the slaves have for learning to read?
6. What was the light in the darkness of slavery to which the title refers.
7. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” What does light represent? What would the world be like without light.
8. When the Christians follow Jesus faithfully they always establish schools.  Why?
9. Everyone is required to go to school in the United States.  Is this true everywhere?  Find out about schools today in other countries.
10. Give thanks for your teacher by name.

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

Extra Yarn

Title:  Extra Yarn

Author:  Mac Barnett

Illustrator: Jon Klassen

Publisher: Balzr + Bray

Publication Date: 2012

ISBN: 9780061953385

Audience: 4-8 years

Summary: One cold afternoon in a colorless town covered with white snow and black soot a little girl named Annabelle found a box full of colorful yarn.  Annabelle went home and knit herself a sweater; extra yarn was left.  So she knit a sweater for Mars, her dog and still there was extra yarn. She knit a sweater for a boy who made fun of her and for his dog.  Again extra yarn. She knit sweaters for all of her school class and the teacher so they wouldn’t be distracted by the bright colors she wore.  Soon all the animals in town wore sweaters as well as the buildings, the mailboxes, and a truck.  The town was changed.  Word of Annabelle and her endless supply of yarn spread and reached an archduke who was very fond of clothes.  He tried to buy the box of yarn and when Annabelle refused, he stole it.  When he opened it at home, he found it empty so he threw the box into the sea uttering his family curse on Annabelle, “You will never be happy again.”  But the box floated home to Annabelle, full of yarn once more, and she was.

Literary elements at work in the story: The wonder of this story is not the words but the pictures as Annabelle’s knitting clothes the town with color.  The brief text is just enough.  The book has the feel of an uncomplicated fairy story.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? These perspectives intrude very little in a story of magic.  Annabelle is a girl and the dominant figure.  One man stands in the snow with few clothes and will only accept a hat so some difference is celebrated.  The villainous duke is rich, casting a shadow on wealth. There is no ethnic diversity.

Theological Conversation Partners: This is a book to read for fun; don’t immediately try to extract a moral from it. Any adult will recognize in this story unexpected bounty, a generous spirit, the effect of beauty and the sterility of greed, all important topics in the Christian life. This book will be read many times and some of these observations may emerge in discussion.  Annabelle is a model of good stewardship as she shares the gift that has come her way and makes her surroundings beautiful. John the Baptists reminds us of what to do with extra gifts in Luke 3:10.  Selfish greed cannot receive such a gift. We are, of course, recipients of such bounty every day, not by magic but by God’s providence. Psalm 104 and Matthew 6:26-30, Genesis 1 may help readers to name some of these gifts. Beyond material gifts we have spiritual gifts.  John 14:2-27; Galatians 5:22.  The story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath is a similar story in the Bible. I Kings 17:8-18.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. How did Annabelle get the box of yarn.  Where did it come from?
2. How did Annabelle’s knitting help the town?
3. Why did the Duke want the yarn?
4. Why was the yarn gone when the Duke opened the box?
5. Have you ever received an unexpected gift? What did you do with it?
6. What gift or gifts have you received that you can share without having any less?

This review was written by graduate and regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

Lectionary Links: Sunday, July 7, 2013

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year C:  July 7, 2013

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14

Daisy Plays Hide-and-Seek by Ellie Sandall

(Written for ages 3-6)

Comment:  In this text from Second Kings, Naaman seeks a cure for his leprosy. When he meets the prophet Elisha, he is given a cure that seems much too simple. Naaman expected the cure he sought to be more difficult. In this story children will hone in on the hopefulness of finding something. While Naaman was trying to find a cure, Sandall’s storybook presents a form of seeking and finding that is more familiar to most children. While Naaman expected his search to be difficult, Jake expects his will be easy. For the majority of the game Daisy proves hard to find but in the end makes it easy for Jake to see her. Wonder together with your congregation about the things they have sought and found.

Second Reading: Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16

Ben Rides On by Matt Davies

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right… whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all…” In his words to the Galatians, we recognize that what Paul is asking is difficult, yet with Christ, not impossible. In Ben Rides On, Ben has a experience of choosing to do what is right after his bicycle is stolen. Rather than letting the thief perish on the side of the cliff, he rescues him. In the end, Ben reaps what he sows when the bully returns his repaired and like-new bike. This text and story call us to do the right thing, even when it is hard. Invite the people in your community to reflect upon their own experiences of choosing to do what was right, or being the recipient of such behavior.

Gospel Reading: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas

(Written for ages 7-11)

Comment: This text highlights a level of hospitality shared both by those who welcome travelers, as well as the travelers themselves. To the seventy he sends out, Jesus advises that their peace rests with anyone who shares peace with them. In being welcomed, they are given the message that this is a place that is receptive of the good news and work of the gospel. Always Room for One More is a story based on a Scottish folk song. In the story, the family always offers hospitality and room to travelers. When it seems the room has run out, the travelers work to expand the space of welcome. In this sharing of hospitality, we see a picture of the kingdom of God coming near. This text and story invite us to ponder a radical hospitality that doesn’t require wealth, but is rooted in love.

The Lectionary Links this week are written by regular contributor Noell Rathbun-Cook.

Happy

Title of Book: Happy

Author: Mies Van Hout

Illustrator: Mies Van Hout

Publisher: Lemniscaat USA

ISBN: 9781935954149

Audience: Ages 2 and up

Summary: Happy is a picture book that illustrates various emotions.  The story takes you through various emotions such as happy, sad, curious and nervous.  The emotions are expressed by colorful fish.

Literary elements at work in the story: This is a picture book therefore, the illustrations are essential to the telling of the story.  The end pages are bright yellow, presenting an uplifting feeling at the beginning and end.  The fish illustrations are drawn with chalk on a black background, making the emotion central to the viewer.  The illustrations bring out the emotion written on the joining page, which pairs well with highlighting the emotion.  Finally, the illustrations are very colorful and inviting for the reader.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/abilities/disabilities/economic:  This book is  inclusive of all races, gender, cultures, abilities, disabilities, and economic status.  People of all walks of life can relate to experiencing the emotions highlighted in this book.

Theological Conversation Parnters:  Ecclesiastes 3; Philippians 4:6-20.  God is concerned with our emotional wellbeing. As we seek God in prayer with every concern God will “guard our hearts and minds” and provide peace in every situation.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Which fish do you like the most? Why?
2. What time or situation does this fish remind you of?
3. What happened?
4. How did this make you feel?
5. Which fish do you dislike the most? Why?
6. What time or situation does this fish remind you of?
7. What happened?
8. How did this make you feel?
9. Did you know God is concerned with your feelings?
10. How do you tell God how you feel?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Phanta Lansden.