"Books written for children are usually affirmative…there is passionate concern for the broken, the lost, the hurt.  All my life through stories, those I read and those I write, I have been building (intuitively, rather than consciously) a theology."
Madeleine L’Engle
Trailing Clouds of Glory: Spiritual Values in Children’s Books

Discipleship includes

…asking hard questions

about life
Delton, Judy. I’ll Never Love Anything Ever Again	0-8075-3521-4
	A boy’s allergies force him to give away his beloved dog.

Demi. The Empty Pot	0-8050-4900-2
	A young boy in ancient China is rewarded for his honesty.

Girard, Linda Walvoord. Alex, the Kid with AIDS	0-8075-0247-2
	A 4th grader with AIDS makes a new friend and learns about being one of the group.

Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust	0-590-37125-8
	Free-verse poems tell a young girl’s life during the dust storms of the 1930’s.

about war
Buntin, Eve. Terrible Things: An Allergy of the Holocaust	0-8276-0325-8
	Animals in the forest are carried away perhaps because they did not stick together.

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Lily’s Crossing	0-440-41453-9
	A young American girl and a Hungarian refugee boy become friends during World War II.

I Dream of Peace: Images of War by Children of the Former Yugoslavia. Preface by
	Maurice Sendak. UNICEF	0-06-251128-9
	Pictures and text by children who have experienced the horros of war.

about death
Jordan, Mary Kate. Losing Uncle Tim	0-8075-4758-1
	When a beloved uncle dies of AIDS, Daniel struggles for reassurance and discovers he’s been left a legacy of joy and courage.

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. New York: Avon Books, 1972.
	The story of a special friendship between a boy and a girl.

Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say	0-399-226-71-0
	Two young soldiers captured by Southern troops during the Civil War.
Simon, Norman. The Saddest Time	0-8075-7204-7
	Explains death as the inevitable end of life and provides three situations in which children experience the loss of someone close.

…living in hope
Albert, Richard. Alejandro’s Gift	0-8118-0436-4
	Lonely in his house beside a road in the desert, Alejandro builds an oasis to attract the many animals around him.

Alberts, Nancy Markham. Elizabeth’s Beauty	0-8192-1677-1
	A young girl cares for an injured butterfly.

Fox, Mem. Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge. New York & California: Kane/Miller
	Book Publishers, 1985.	0-916291-04-9
	A small boy tries to discover the meaning of "memory" so he can restore that of an elderly friend.

Henson, & United Nations. My Wish for Tomorrow	0-688-14455-1
	Words and pictures from children around the world about their wishes for things that would make the world a better place.

Lentz, Alice Boggs. Mountain Magic	0-8499-5841-5
	A family’s legacy of faith.

Wild, Margaret. Let the Celebrations Begin. New York: Orchard Books, 1991.
	A child, who remembers life at home before life in a concentration camp, makes toys with the women to give to the other children when liberation comes.

Yolen, Jane. Owl Moon. New York: Philomel Books, 1987.
	On a winter’s night under a full moon, father and child trek into the woods to see a great horned owl.

…building community with all God’s children

Fox, Mem. Whoever You Are	0-15-200787-3
	A book that acknowledges in the simplest of terms our common humanity.

Hamanaka, Sheila. All the Colors of the Earth	0-688-11131-9
	Despite our outward differences children everywhere are essentially the same and lovable.

Cowen-Fletcher, Jane. It Takes a Village	0-590-46573-2
	Yemi watchers her little brother, and finds the entire village is watching him, too.

Rabe, Berniece. Where’s Chimpy?	0-8075-8927-6
	Text and photographs show Misty, a little girl with Down Syndrome, as she and her father search for her stuffed monkey.

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach	0-517-58030-6
	A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home.

Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg. In God’s Name	1-879045-26-5
	In poetic text and vibrant illustrations, this modern fable celebrates the diversity and, at the same time, the unity of all people.

Say, Allen. Emma’s Rug	0-395-74294-3
	A young artist finds that her creativity comes from within.

Say, Allen. Grandfather’s Journey	0-395-57035-2
	A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather’s journey to America and the feelings of being torn between two countries.

Tan, Amy. The Moon Lady. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.
	Nai-Nai tells her granddaughters the story of her outing, as a seven-year old girl in China, to see the Moon Lady and be granted a secret wish.

…Bible study and prayer

Cooper, Floyd, Cumbayah.	0-688-13543-9
	All over the world people laugh and pray and sing, "Come by here, my Lord."

Hague, Michael, illus. A Child’s Book of Prayers	0-8050-0211-1
	A collection of short prayers and devotions to share with young children.  The illustrations make this a keep-forever book.

Le Tord, Bijou. Sing a New Song	0-8028-5139-8
	Graceful watercolors accompany this book of Psalms for children.

Nursery Bible, The	0-88070-665-1
	Captures the essence of 45 Bible stories in forty words or less; ideal for children 2 and under.

Wensell, Ulises. They Followed a Bright Star	0-399-22706-7
	Retells the story of how an angel led the shepherds and kings to Bethlehem.

Lindbergh, Reeve. The Circle of Days	0-7636-0357-0
	From Canticle of the sun by Saint Francis.  Rhyming text gives praise and thanks for all of creation.

Baynes, Pauline. Thanks Be to God: Prayers from around the world	0-02-708541-4
	Prayers of praise and thanksgiving have been collected and beautifully illustrated.

Wildsmith, Brian. Exodus	0-8028-5175-4
	The story of Moses and his leadership of the people of Israel toward the Promised Land.

Wildsmith, Brian. Joseph	0-8028-5161-4
	A retelling of the Old Testament story of Joseph.

Bibliography combiled by
Martha Bess DeWitt, DCE
Westminster Presbyterian Church
3900 West End Ave.
Nashville, TN 37205

615-292-5526
mbdewitt@aol.com