The Holy Twins, Benedict and Scholastica

Book:  The Holy Twins, Benedict and Scholastica

Author:  Kathleen Norris

Illustrator:  Tomie dePaola

Publisher: Puffin Books

ISBN:  978-0-14-241111-7

Audience:  5-8 year olds

Summary:  This story of a pair of twins is written with care and imagination.  The story captures the attention of the reader immediately and follows the twins through life.  They love each other very, very much, sharing life almost as one until it becomes time for them to separate as adults.   Northern Italy is the setting of their childhood, so it is appropriate that Benedict is sent to study in Rome and Scholastica is sent to a monastery in Nursia.  They each experienced different things, but the comfort and pull of God was apparent and strong for each of them.  Benedict began to wish for more time in the quiet presence of God and settled in a cave at the base of a cliff.  Benedict’s referent, holy life became known and that knowledge began to spread.  This caused other faithful followers to retreat to quiet, monastic places and Benedict founded a monastery for men to live in harmony with God.  Some of the local priests were jealous and attempted to end Benedict’s life – they were not successful.   Benedict and Scholastica determined to reconnect by meeting regularly and they realized immediately how much they had missed the other one and how strong their love was for each other.   As the years passed by, they both died, but left an amazing discipline for others to follow.  The Benedictine Rule is still followed today by many Christian monks and nuns all over the world.

The book is well written and beautifully illustrated.  The illustrations are colorful and dynamic, using the entirety of each page to carry the color throughout.  The story is wonderful in itself, but the illustrations allow the story to be more alive and vibrant.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This book is a historical biography of Benedict and provides the historical record of the Benedictine Order developed by St. Benedict.  The story is in a narrative form and tells a story showing the intensity of love between two siblings, as well as the importance of spiritual disciplines.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  The story emerges showing the love and importance of the nuns in the convents as well as the monks in the monasteries.  The work done by each of these groups is similar and portrayed to be of equal importance. In reflecting on differences in gender, our obedience and willingness to follow God and we are all one with God and God shows no difference in male or female.    There are equal opportunities in most Christian denominations. 

Theological Conversation Partners:   This story about two ordinary children who focused their lives and dedicated themselves to God at an early age.  This dedication continued and as a result, thousands of people have followed the example of St Benedict and the Trappist Order.  We are called to be obedient to Christ and that is what St. Benedict did.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Why was it difficult for Benedict and Scholastica to live apart that first year?
2. The book alludes that the storm happened at that specific time for a reason.  What is the reason?
3. What is the significance of St Benedict seeing the dove rising into the heavens?
4. What did St. Benedict leave to others?
5. Are there ways that the Rule of St Benedict can be followed without being a monk in a monastery or a nun in a convent?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Becky Albright.

Our Children Can Soar

Name of Book:  Our Children Can Soar

Author:  Michelle Cook

Illustrator:  Cozbi Cabrera, R. Gregroy Christie; Bryan Collier; Pat Cummings; Leo and Diane Dillon; AG Ford; E.B. Lewis; Frank Morrison; James Ransome; Charlotte Riley Webb; Shadra Strickland; Eric Velasquez

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Audience: 3-8 years old

Summary: This book highlights some key figures in the African American fight for equality. Their contribution resulted in bringing about change that has shaped American history. The author uses a chronological progression from our early ancestors who fought to present day Barack Obama who holds the most powerful office as president. The story illustrates that our children can soar because their future have been paved by the path our ancestors have taken.

Literary elements at work in the story:

Genre: Picture book collective partial biography featuring significant African American in history

Setting: Historical progression of some African American who have made significant contributions to our history.

Characterization: Each person is noted in one sentence for the contribution that each has made to bring about change.

Plot: The author follows along a chronological time line and attempts to show how each individual contribution impacted another leader that followed.

Theme:  The theme of this book is centered on the achievements of American Africans who helped to shape the future, brought about change and left a lasting impact on the generation to follow.

Point of View: Story begins with a first person pronoun “our” and then shifts to a third person point of view.

Style: Author uses a single sentence to sum up the contribution of each person that has been highlighted.  She begins the next sentence with the contribution made from the previous person and then the page turns.

Perspective on:

Gender: No gender stereotyping; Story is a collective biography of specific African Americans.

Race: African American focus.

Culture:  Contributions of key African American figures during certain periods of America’s history.
Economic: African Americans struggling to gain equality

Ability:  No representation of anyone being handicapped

Scripture :  1 Kings 8:57-58

Theology talk: Ancestors and ancestry

Faith Talk Questions:

1.       Why are our ancestors important?

2.       The Bible points to some important ancestors for our faith. Can you name any of our biblical ancestors?

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Dee Osbourne-Smart

Eleanor, Quiet No More

Name of Book: Eleanor, Quiet No More

Author: Doreen Rappaport

Illustrator: Gary Kelley

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Audience: Ages 9-12

Summary: This is the story of a young girl who encountered many stumbling blocks along her life’s journey and a few removers of stumbling blocks, a few who let her praise the LORD with her life’s work.  This is the story of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Literary Elements at Work: One of the most intriguing literary elements used throughout this book is the voice of Eleanor Roosevelt.  There is a quote from Eleanor on each and every page of this book, including the front and back cover.  And it turns out that Eleanor herself is quite a remarkable wordsmith!  The two quotes Ms. Rappaport chooses to open and close story about this outstanding woman are perfectly delectable—“Do something everyday that scares you…We must cherish and honor the world ‘free’.”  Caught between her two sentences is the oftentimes degrading and demanding figures that are prominent in Eleanor’s life—her mother and her mother-in-law.  Along her journey however, while attending a French boarding school, Eleanor encounters a gifted teacher who challenges her to read, think for herself, and find important things to do.  Reading, thinking, and finding important things to do will become the hallmark of this woman’s life.  Another striking literary element illustrating the life of Eleanor Roosevelt is the beautiful and realistic paintings of Gary Kelley.  Mr. Kelley uses mood coloring, period dress and staging, facial expression, and perspective to bring to life the challenges Eleanor encountered in her world as well as the challenges her world encountered in life!  The pictures are gorgeous.

Scripture: Psalm 150-6; Matthew 18:1-7

Theology: The underlying theme for our church’s VBS this year was:  Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD!  (Psalm 150:6)  I have been pondering this verse over and over in my mind and find that I am increasingly struck by the word “let.”  It makes me think that sometimes we do not “Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!”  Rather, sometimes we become stumbling blocks.

Recently, Dr. Rebecca Davis noted in a reflection, “Have you noticed that the disciples tend to fuss? They fuss about the children coming to see Jesus. They fuss that there’s not enough food to feed the 5,000. This time they are fussing about who is the most important in the kingdom of heaven. Surely it would be one of them. After all, they gave up everything and followed Jesus. They went behind him, were sent ahead of him, surely the place of privilege would be theirs. They should have known Jesus better than that – they were, after all, the ones who supposedly knew him best.”

Additionally, I would add to Dr. Davis’ reflection: Have you noticed that the disciples are always trying to send someone away? They want to send away the children coming to see Jesus. (messy, loud, wiggly, giggly children) They want to send away the 5,000 (dusty, tired, poor, some sick, some demoniacs, hungry, some men, some women, and some children). They want to send away the Samaritan woman (a woman, a good Jew could not even look at a woman in public; a Samaritan, better said, a heretic), and on and on and on….
Again, Dr. Davis notes, “Jesus turned their understanding of privilege and power upside down. He put a child in the middle of a group of recognized leaders and indicated quite clearly that the greatest in God’s kingdom was the least in the world’s kingdom. A child in Jesus’ time was nothing more than a piece of property. Children had no rights, no status, no power. They could even be placed on the side of the road and left as garbage if the father didn’t want them. It was the legalized practice called exposing. Jesus was quite clear, that practice was not acceptable in God’s kingdom. In a rare sanction Jesus warns disciples not to put a stumbling block in the way of a child. If we do, we’d be better off dead – harsh words from a loving Savior but consistent with his commitment to the ‘least of these.’”

As well, I would add that Jesus continues to encourage his disciples to “Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! —children (messy, loud, wiggly, giggly children), the 5,000 (dusty, tired, poor, some sick, some demoniacs, hungry, some men, some women, and some children), the Samaritan woman (a woman, a good Jew could not even look at a woman in public; a Samaritan, better said, a heretic), and on and on and on… “Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!”

Faith Talk Questions:

This book is fun to read in two voices.  Find someone to serve as a narrator and someone to serve as the voice of Eleanor.  Practice reading the story together.  Invite the children in your neighborhood or Sunday school or your friends’ children or your children’s cousins over and have a dramatic reading.  After the reading, the children can act out the parts.  Some of the more prominent parts are Eleanor, her mother, her father, her teacher, Franklin, Americans in need, and soldiers.  In the story Eleanor’s mother calls her “ugly” and “granny” in front of other people.  Ask the children what names they have been called.  Notice I said “ask the children what names they have been called” as if I know they have been called names.  They have been.  Ask the children what names they have called other children.  Again, they have.  Tell the children the names you have been called.  Tell the children the names you have called others.  Write a prayer of confession together.  In the story, Eleanor says that her teacher, “…shocked me into thinking.”  Ask the children, “What does she mean?”  Tell the children about a time when you were shocked into thinking.  Eleanor discovers during her lifetime that there are people in the world who suffer.  Who?  How do they suffer?  What does she do?  Who are the people in our world who suffer?  How do they suffer?  What can we do?  How can we and our children “let everything that has breath praise the LORD!”?  Eleanor says to “do something everyday that scares you.”  What scares you?

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Kim Lee

Harvesting Hope

Name of Book:  Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

Author:  Kathleen Krull

Illustrator:  Yuyi Morales

Publisher: Harcourt

Audience: 10+

Summary: At the age of 10,  Cesar’s family had to migrate to California in search of farm work after being displaced from their ranch in Arizona due to a severe drought which resulted in their inability to pay their bills.  Cesar quits school after the eighth grade to work on the farms and help support his family. The working conditions on these farms were harsh and poor with low wages.  Cesar feels that the workers are being treated as less than human.  When he could no longer tolerate the conditions, he organizes the first National Farm Workers Association and in a non-violent protest he fought for justice.  He organized a strike and a non-violent march from Delano to Sacramento the capital, a total of 340 miles to ask for government help.  As a result of the march, Cesar’s protest against the grape company became well publicized. The National Farm Workers Association was recognized and a promise of better pay and working conditions was the result.  Cesar celebrates this victory but he states that “it is well to remember that there must be courage but that in victory there must be humility.”

Literary elements at work in the story:

Genre: Picture book partial biography of a Mexican American Cesar Chavez

Setting: Inhumane working conditions on the grape farms in California during the life of Cesar Chavez

Characterization: Cesar Chavez portrays courage, determination and hope of changing the inhumane conditions in which the farm workers had to work. He organized the first farm workers union.

Plot: The author gives a chronological account of Chavez’ life to the point where he organizes a non-violent protest to bring about change and justice to a group that was disenfranchised by wealthy land owners.

Theme:  The theme of this book is centered in having the hope, determination and courage to bring about change and justice through a non-violent protest.

Point of View: Written from a third person point of view

Style: Beautifully illustrated with warm colors that draws the reader in and brings the story to life.

Perspective on:

Gender: No gender stereotyping; Story is specifically about Cesar Chavez;

Race: The main character is Chavez a Mexican America who sought change for Mexican American Farm Workers

Culture:  Mexican American working for predominantly white farm owners in California during a specific time period

Economic:  Suppress a specific ethnic group—Mexican American Farm Workers by wealthy land owners.

Ability:  No representation of anyone being handicapped

Scripture :  Jeremiah 33:15-16

Theology talk:

1)      The Lord raises people up for a purpose

2)      Righteousness and justice

Faith Talk Questions:

1)      How does it make you feel when certain people are treated incorrectly because of how they look?

2)      How does God expect us to treat each other?

3)      What other leaders or heroes used non-violent resistance to create change?

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Dee Osbourne-Smart

My Brother Martin

Name of Book:  My Brother Martin

Author:  Christine King Farris

Illustrator:  Chris Soentpiet

Publisher: Aladdin Paperback

Audience: Age 10+

Summary: Christine Martin’s sister highlights some of the events she remembers while growing up with her younger brother. She talks about how close her siblings were while they were growing up on Auburn Street in Atlanta Georgia. They had integrated play with the neighborhood children. One day they were awakened to the reality of the cruelty of segregation when they could no longer play with the two boys whose parents owned the neighborhood store.  Martin says to his mom: “One day I’m going to turn the world upside down. Martin learned a lot of lessons about how to stand up for what he believed in from his father, who was the minister of Ebenezer Baptist church.

Literary elements at work in the story:

Genre: Picture book memoir biography featuring Martin Luther King

Setting: Early childhood of Martin Luther King growing up on Auburn Street in Atlanta Georgia during the period of segregation.

Characterization: Martin is characterized in the way his older sister remembers him.  She recalls Martin telling his mom that one day I’m going to turn the world upside down.

Plot: Christine recalls events in the life of her brother Martin as they were growing up and how they came to the realization of what it means to grow up in a racially segregated society.

Theme:  The central theme is centered on children recognizing the cruel injustice of segregation.

Point of View: Christine shares her point of view.

Style: Author uses block paragraph to represent individual events or memories in their childhood. She uses short simple sentences.  Beautiful illustrations help to bring the story to life.

Perspective on:

Gender: No gender stereotyping; Story is a partial biography of Martin Luther King.

Race: Story is about an African American boy growing up in the segregated south.

Culture:  America in the south during the 1960’s.
Economic: Suppression of African American economics as a result of segregation

Ability:  No representation of anyone being handicapped

Scripture : Judges 7:13

Theology talk: Prophetic speech/prophetic dreams

Faith Talk Questions:

1)      Martin told his Mom “One day, I’m going to turn the world upside down.” What does this mean to you?  Could this be considered prophetic speech?

2)      Prophets were people who spoke up against conditions in society that were wrong.  Can you name some of the prophets in the Bible?

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Dee Osbourne-Smart

Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx

Name of Book: Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx

Author: Jonah Winter

Illustrator: Edel Rodriguez

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Audience: Ages 4-10

Summary: Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge grows in the Bronx is the life story of Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor’s rise from her very humble beginnings, living in the projects in the South Bronx, New York City, to her confirmation as the first Latina woman on the Supreme Court.  However, this is not Sonia’s story alone.  This is also the story of a mother’s love.  Author Jonah Winter, along with Sonia Sotomayor herself make clear that it is Sonia’s mother’s dedication, hard work, nurture, love and warmth that provide the ground for her daughter’s outstanding development.

Literary Elements at Work: There is an interesting interplay of prose and poetry throughout this biographical narrative.  Writer Jonah Winter, also a poet and a painter, frames the story of Sonia Sotomayor’s life within the context of a budding moonflower, and in so doing prepares the reader/listener for a story of extraordinary beauty and growth in surprising soil.  The book opens with the line “Sometimes the most beautiful moonflower blossoms in an unexpected place—on a chain link fence, near broken glass, next to an abandoned building, watered by someone whose name you might not even know.” It closes with the charge: “You never know what can happen—especially when you water a flower.”  Yet amidst this poetic picture, mother as gardener and daughter as flower, Jonah chronicles with stark realism the harsh realities of lives lived in poverty, with loss, with disease, at times socially outcast, and always culturally different.  Another important literary element is that the book is written in English and Spanish.  Each paragraph is first presented in English and followed by its Spanish counterpart, making this an ideal book in welcoming our Hispanic brothers and sisters into our mostly English speaking churches.  How good and comforting it must be to see and hear one’s native tongue!  Illustrator Edel Rodriguez keeps pace with Mr. Winter’s poetic and stark rendering by presenting simple and contrasting art, juxtaposing delicate images of flowers, green grass, and beautiful brown children with over-turned trash cans, old abandoned tires, hard, tall, concrete-block homes, and barbed-wire fences.  There is beauty and realism on each page.  Isn’t that just like life?

Scripture: Hebrews 11 – 12:3 :  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.  (Selected verses, RSV).

Theology: I think it is appropriate here as a Presbyterian to rely on the words of John Calvin. Calvin defines faith as “[a] firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence towards us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”  3.2.7.

God has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ to break the bonds of sin and death so that we may live into the fullness for which we have been and are created.  Resting securely in this knowledge, we fling ourselves along with the Israelites into the dry seabed on our pilgrimage to the Promised Land, even when we can’t see it, even when we can’t hear it, even when we can’t feel it, even when we can’t smell it, and even when we can’t taste it!

Faith Talk Questions:

Sit down beside your child, let her hold the book and turn the pages.  Ask her to point to the characters and places as you read.  Repeat this process on each page, considering the following:  In the story, Sonia blossoms like a moonflower.  Ask your child, “What does that mean?  How can a girl bud and open like a flower?”  Ask your child, “What is your favorite flower?”  Tell your child, “You are blossoming like a verbena (or whatever her favorite flower happens to be)!”  If you are able, read some of the paragraphs in English and Spanish.  Many young children today know some Spanish thanks to Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer.  Ask your child to consider what it would be like living in a place where most people speak Spanish.  Ask her, “What if you needed to go to the bathroom and you didn’t know how to ask where it was?”  “What if you needed help and you couldn’t say help in Spanish?”  “What if you went to Puerto Rico and they didn’t have chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?”  “Have you ever eaten asopao de gandules, (pigeon peas) or bacalaitos, crunchy cod fritters or surullitos, sweet plump cornmeal fingers or empanadillas, crescent-shaped turnovers filled with lobster, crab, conch, or beef?” Go out and try some. The story takes place in New York City.  Find it on a map.  Google it.   Consider how places are alike and different.  Say, “In the story, Sonia’s mother reads and works and cooks so hard.” Ask your child “Why?”  Consider and list all the things children need to blossom, letting your child say what it is that she thinks she needs to grow and blossom.  Tell her what you think she needs—hugs and kisses, prayers and stories, songs and worship, school and friends, pets and walks, flowers and vegetables, teachers and doctors.  In the story, Sonia and her family play music and games.  Ask your child what kind of music and games they play.  Consider what kinds of music and games your family plays.  How are they alike?  How are they different?  In the story, Sonia wants to be one thing when she grows up and then has to change direction.  Why?  Sonia’s mother works hard day and night even though she does not know what her daughter will grow up to be.  In the story Sonia works hard day and night even though she does not know that she will one day become a Supreme Court Justice.  Is that like faith?  If so, why?  If not, why?  In the book of Hebrews, the writer lists a long account of the faithful acts of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses and others, read their stories.  How are they like and/or unlike Sonia’s mother?  Sonia?  You?  Consider as a parent where you are in each story.  Listen to your child tell where she is in each story.  Children do often step out in faith.  For example, shots hurt but children trust that parents and their doctors know what is best to prevent disease or cure an infection.  Broccoli and peas taste yucky but children trust that you know best what will make their bodies strong and healthy.  Eight o’clock bedtimes come awfully early but children trust that you know how much sleep a growing child needs.  Faith is a response to the gift of God in Jesus Christ.  Start a dialogue defining faith.

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Kim Lee

Elizabeth Leads the Way

Name of Book: Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote

Author: Tanya Lee Stone

Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Audience: Ages 4 – 10

Summary: This is the remarkable story of a remarkable woman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  From a very young age Elizabeth felt strongly that ALL people should matter, ALL people belonged, ALL people should have rights and protections, and ALL people should have choices.  This is the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s life, loves, ambitions, and her campaign for a woman’s right to vote.

Literary Elements at Work: There are two important literary elements at work in this story: the extraordinary life and ambitions of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the artistry. Tanya Lee Stone tells the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton in a straightforward and interesting narrative, unlike many other biographical early readers!  Ms. Stone tells us that Elizabeth learns for the first time at age four that boys are treated and thought of superiorly to girls.  And this injustice will set Elizabeth off on a lifelong journey to prove that girls are just as brave, just as smart, just as physical, and have just as much value as boys.  The climactic moment comes when Elizabeth realizes that the only change that will prove useful for the betterment of all women is the right to vote.  Interestingly, it was Elizabeth Cady Stanton that wrote the initial language that would later become the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women the right to vote.  It took FORTY-FIVE years from the first time the legislation was introduced in Congress to become law!  Elizabeth did not live to see women obtain the right to vote.  The illustrations are bright and colorful, just as is the woman they portray!  Each illustration gives context for Elizabeth’s life and the injustices she railed against during her various life stages.  Rebecca Gibbon pays particular attention to historical detail, giving each illustration an authenticity to the plight of women and slaves.  Ms. Gibbon uses period dress, lighting, housing, transportation, and other everyday common items consistently throughout this narrative, taking the reader/listener back to the early to late nineteenth century.  Tanya Lee Stone and Rebecca Gibbon make a delightful team in telling the spirited story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Scripture: Genesis 1:27,  Isaiah 43 selected verses : “Thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine…Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.”  Galatians 3:28 ; Adapted from Matthew 10: Jesus summons his twelve; gives them authority to cast out unclean spirits, cure every disease and sickness; and sends them out with these instructions: go to the lost sheep, proclaim the good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.  (NRSV)

Theology: God creates us, forms us, redeems us, calls us by name, honors us, and loves us.  Why?  Because we are precious in God’s sight.  This good news seems throughout history to be relegated only to a few, sometimes whites only, sometimes males only, sometimes Germans only, sometimes heterosexuals only, sometimes Americans only, sometimes the rich only, sometimes the healthy only, etc.  And…yet…the Bible tells us that God created ALL people—male, female, black, white, short, tall, rich, poor, sick, healthy, American, African, on and on in the image of God.  Thus, we need a constant reminder that God creates, forms, calls, honors and loves us and EVERYONE else.  We are to go and do likewise.  Or, as Jesus says, we are to go to the lost sheep, proclaim the good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

Faith Talk Questions:

Sit down beside your child, let her hold the book and turn the pages.  Ask her to point to Elizabeth as you read.  Repeat this process on each page, considering the following:  In the story, Elizabeth wants to ride horses, raft across a river, learn French, religion, math and science, earn money, and vote.  What does her father tell her? What do her friends tell her?  What does her husband tell her?  What does her school tell her?  What does her culture tell her?  What does the law tell her?  What does Elizabeth do?  How does Elizabeth answer her father?  Her husband?  Her friends?  Her school?  Her culture?  The law of her land?  What if someone told you, “No; you cannot learn to read!  No; you cannot ride horses!  No; you cannot run fast, jump high!”?  And you ask, “Why?”  And the answer is, “Because you are a girl!”  What do we do when the Bible tells us one thing (that we are created, formed, called, loved, honored by God and precious to God), and the world tells us something else (that we are not honored, valued, precious, loved, called)?  Does that mean God does not love you?  Form you?  Call you?  Honor you?  That you are not precious to God?  Wait for responses.  LISTEN (without interrupting) to what your child thinks. Can you think of other people that God loves and values but the world does not?  Consider African Americans, Native Americans, folk with mental illnesses, folk with physical illnesses and/or deformities, homosexuals.  List others.  Say, “God creates, forms, loves and calls all people all the time because you and I and they are precious in God’s sight!”  Say a prayer thanking God for all those that God forms and loves and calls.  Say a prayer of intercession for those who hear so often from the world, “NO; you cannot!”  What did Jesus say?  What did Elizabeth do?  What can we do?  Who does God love, form, call, honor?  Who is precious in God’s sight?

Additional thoughts:

Terezin

I was once a little child

Three years ago,

That child who longed for other worlds.

But now I am no more a child

For I have learned to hate.

I am a grown-up person now,

I have known fear.

By Hanus Hachenburg, a teenager imprisoned at the Nazi camp, Terezin[1]

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Kim Lee

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[1] Qtd. Rubin, Susan Goldman. Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Fiedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin. Holiday House: New York, 2000, p. 25.

Henry’s Freedom Box

Name of Book: Henry’s Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Audience: 3 – 99

Summary: Henry’s Freedom Box is the poignant, harrowing and true story of Henry Brown, an African American slave, who in the mid-nineteenth century escaped slavery by mailing himself to freedom.  Henry traveled 350 miles in a large box, sometimes upside down and always cramped, from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, garnering national and international attention for the plight of slaves.  Henry’s story is not his alone.  The impetus for Henry’s escape is the selling off of his beloved wife and children.  His story is illustrative of the horrors families in slavery faced and the ways in which these families longed to love and grow together in peace and freedom and yet most often, if not always, encountered violence, degradation, humiliation, and separation.  The story gives voice to our human condition: the desire to know that we belong, that our lives matter, that the lives of our loved ones matter no matter how seemingly insignificant we or they are.

Literary Elements at Work: There are two important literary elements at work in this story: artistry and the straightforward narrative of Henry’s life and plea as representative of all life and everyone’s plea: I am a human being, and I long to be free. The paintings throughout this book are inspired by a mid-nineteenth century anti-slavery artist, Samuel Rowse.  Mr. Rowse’s original paintings of Henry were used to raise funds for the abolitionist movement.  Mr. Nelson uses crosshatch pencil lines, and layers of watercolor and oil paint for each painting, giving an aged, almost folk art feel to each scene.  These paintings are visually stunning; this is a beautiful storybook. Mr. Nelson’s facial expressions, use of color, and scene context provide a thoughtful engagement with the emotion of Henry’s story as well as a thoughtful understanding and interpretation of the word story Ellen Levine tells.  Ellen Levine tells the story of Henry’s life, from a young boy in his mother’s lap to his rending away and separation from his boyhood family when he is given to another master; and again in his later life, from his courtship and marriage to Nancy, resulting in three children, to his own family’s rending away and separation from him.  Throughout Henry’s tale, Ellen Levine cleverly gives voice to many of the atrocities that all slaves faced: agelessness, slaves did not have birth dates; namelessness, slaves did not have ancestral or recorded names; disconnectedness, slaves’ marriages were not honored and families were separated; powerlessness, slaves had no human voice, no economic voice, no political voice, no social voice, and yet, in the midst of social, political, economic, and personal isolation, slaves scratched, clawed and created a cultural and spiritual identity and network that enabled some to escape to freedom.  Interestingly, Henry gives himself a birth date when he arrives in Philadelphia.  Henry’s freedom date becomes his birth date, giving Henry in particular, and therefore slaves in general, a beginning grounding point. 

Scripture: Exodus 20:2 , Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Galatians 3:23-29

Theology: It is clear from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible that the Lord God has created us (all of us—red and yellow, black and white) for freedom—freedom to worship, rest, provide hospitality and live faithfully.  Worship, rest, providing hospitality and living faithfully are not ways we seek to be free, rather we are free.  In freedom, we live as citizens of God’s kingdom and citizenship implies participation.  We participate in God’s kingdom when we worship, rest, provide hospitality and live faithfully.  The truth about Henry’s life and all life is that God intends, wills, and works for us to be free!  When we enslave one another, then no one is free.  I heard Bill Clinton say at Rosa Parks’ funeral that when he and his friends heard that black people no longer had to sit at the back of the bus, then he and his friends knew that they no longer had to sit at the front of the bus.  The old saying is true: as long as one human is not free, then all humanity is not free.  And that is not the way God intends our lives, wills for our lives, and works for, in and with each of our lives.  In Christ, we are heirs of the promise—freedom.

Faith Talk Questions:

Sit down beside your child, let her hold the book and turn the pages.  Ask her to point to the characters as you read.  Repeat this process on each page, considering the following:  In the story, Henry does not have a birth date; ask your child, “Can you imagine that?  Not having a birthday party?  Not knowing how old you are?”  You can ask a lot of “what if” questions about birthdays, imagining no presents, no parties, no friends or families to sing and celebrate with.  Tell your child, “Think about Henry’s mom, Henry, Henry’s wife, Henry’s children, Henry’s trip,” ask, “What do you think his mother is feeling?  Henry?  Henry’s wife?  Henry’s children?  What do you think about Henry’s trip?” Read other books on slavery and slavery’s after effects—Coming On Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport, Coming Home: from the life of Langston Hughes by Floyd Cooper—just to name a few.  Take a trip to the Harvey Gantt Museum for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte, or look for a local museum or African-American cultural center in your community.  Consider and list other groups of people who have been treated this way in the past or are currently treated this way. Some groups who may appear on the list could include: Native Americans, children, Jews, homosexuals, and women. Explore our world with reference to slavery.  Talk about intercessory prayer.  What would an intercessory prayer look like, sound like, feel like for these—the enslaved?  Think of someone you would like to pray for.  Imagine that person.  Close your eyes and say a prayer from your heart.  Ask your child to say a prayer from her heart.   Paint, draw, write, sing your prayers from the heart.  This could prove to be a lifelong conversation.

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Kim Lee

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Name of Book: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children

Audience: Ages 6 and up

Summary: The story of a particular slave, Harriet Tubman, who escapes from slavery and is called by God to go back for the purpose of saving and rescuing her fellow slaves into freedom through the Underground Railroad. 

Literary elements at work in the story: A partial biography and historical fiction book set in the 1800s. It is the story of a woman’s faith in and conversations with God, as well as her interactions with her fellow slaves and also the White people who are involved in the Underground Railroad.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability make a difference to the story? The protagonist is an African American female. Because the book is set during the time of slavery, the story is primarily about oppressed and abused African Americans who must rely upon the generosity of both southern white families and also northern freed African Americans in order to continue on the journey to find freedom.

Scripture: Moses story as told in Exodus

Theology: God’s abounding grace through Jesus Christ is our salvation. We are made right with God and one another, through faith in Jesus Christ.  In being made right, we are turned back toward God and therefore toward one another. God also gives us the gift of faith so that we can trust that our relationships with God and one another are made right by Jesus Christ. God often uses ordinary people to remind us of our salvation and bring us to a life of faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Does Harriet seem scared in the story?
2. Have you ever been scared before?
3. Do you talk to God when you are scared?
4. Has God ever used anyone to help lead you out of a bad situation?
5. How is God with us when we are in situations where we are being hurt?
6. How does God help people when they in situations where they are being hurt?

Review prepared by Union-PSCE in Charlotte student  Mason Todd

Coming Home

Name of Book: Coming Home

Author: Floyd Cooper

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Publisher: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers

Audience: Intended audience is 4-8 years, but could be used with all ages.

Summary: “Can I get a witness?” to “Can I give a witness?”  Coming Home tells the story of the life of Langston Hughes.  Langston Hughes heard stories all of his life, stories from his grandma, stories from preachers and choirs, jazz musicians and teachers, Booker T. Washington and the Bible, the Brothers Grimm and chickens, trains, librarians, Des’s barbershop and Market Street.  Langston grew up in the Midwest during the early part of the 20^th century.  Though he lived primarily in segregated towns, he attended an all-white school.  A prolific noticer of sound—music, story, language, city and country life—Hughes became a prolific mime of sound in story, poetry, prose, and plays, describing African American life and culture.  This book would make a lovely confirmation gift as it details the life of one who hears the stories and in turn tells them.

Literary Elements at Work: Coming Home is Floyd Cooper’s biography of Langston Hughes.  Using art and language, Cooper places the reader in Hughes’ boyhood home, town, mind, church, heart, family, and consequently, his soul.  For example, we hear the clackedy, clackedy, clackedy of the old rusty rail cars as they pulse through Langston’s neighborhood; we see his grandma’s heroes as she dons her dead husband’s bullet-riddled shawl, and hear her tales of the bravest of the brave as she witnesses to the lives of great black men and women—black just like Langston; we feel the trembling and shaking earthquake in Mexico as it cracks Langston once and for all from his father; we sense the hurt and feel the anger as his mother surprises him by dragging him up on stage one evening at St. Luke’s Church; we taste the warm and plentiful food as he peruses the dinner table at Auntie and Uncle Reed’s; we hear and feel the rhythms of the singing and preaching at the Baptist church in Kansas City; and we smell the smells of home as he finally finds rest at Auntie and Uncle Reed’s.

Scripture: The Bible is filled with stories that witness to God’s glory and love.  In turn, the Bible is filled with stories that witness to human sin, love, and glory.  Jesus witnesses to the name and work of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Isaiah witnesses to the Kingdom of God and the power of servanthood when he tells the story of the Suffering Servant.  Jeremiah witnesses to the power of hope when he buys a field.  Cain witnesses to the power of envy when he slays Abel.  Stephen witnesses to the power of love when he tells the story of Jesus Christ.  Pick a story and read it aloud!

Theology: God is a story God who has created us as story people.  We know God through God’s self revelation in Jesus Christ, as witnessed by scripture and proclaimed by the church—stories.  We know one another as witnessed by scripture and proclaimed by each other—stories.  Furthermore, in Practicing Our Faith, Dorothy C. Bass writes, “Through hearing and reading the story of the Jews, African Americans come to understand their own story.  Their great and powerful origins on the continent of Africa, enslavement, the suffering of their people, the protests of their prophets, and the present-day yearning for the full justice God has promised—all of these greatly resemble the biblical paradigm of the ancient Israelites, who testified to God as the One who had led them out of the house of bondage.”[1]

Faith Talk Questions:

Ask your child each day to tell you his or her story.  For example, say, “Tell me your dreams last night,” while you tell them yours.  “Tell me your hopes for today,” while you tell them yours.  “Tell me your fears for today,” while you tell them yours. “Tell me what you want for breakfast,” while you tell them what you want.  “Tell me your favorite part of your day,” while you tell them yours.  “Tell me your least favorite part of your day,” while you tell them yours.  “Tell me your troubles,” while you tell them yours.  “Tell me your sorrows,” while you tell them yours.  “Tell me about your heroes,” while you tell them about yours.  “Tell me about your friends,” while you tell them about yours.   Write, paint or color your stories.

Review prepared by Kim Lee,  MACE, Entering Cohort Fall 20

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[1] Bass, Dorothy C. Practicing Our Faith. Josey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1997, p. 96.