Children get anxious. And angry. And they can get frustrated when they fail.
As adults, we often struggle with these same emotions, and sometimes we don’t do all that well with handling them. Which makes it that much the harder for us to teach our children what to do.
That’s why this series of pictures books, from the Christian Counseling and Educational Fund (CCEF) are a welcome resource. Not only are they a tool for parents to help children, they can help us adults too. There is good advice in these pages, pointing us straight to the One who can really help.
Zoe’s Hiding Place: When you are anxious
edited by David Powlison
illustrated by Joe Hox
32 pages / 2018
The story is about a little mouse named Zoe who’s worried about a school trip to the art museum. The last time the class went, she became so fascinated by one painting that she lost track of where the rest of the group went. Then, when she looked up, no one was around, and “It felt like I was alone forever!” She’s scared it will happen again. So now she’s retreated to her hiding place – under the covers in her bed.
How can Zoe deal with her fear and worry? Her mom begins by listening. That’s a good start. Then she explains to Zoe that what she is feeling is understandable. But when worry makes us feel like we’re all alone, that’s not true – God is always with us, and will never forsake us. Mom tells Zoe she can “turn each fear into a prayer” because God will help her. Her mom also helps Zoe think through ways she can stay with the group and not get separated.
In the back of the book, the moral of the story is developed further with a two-page message to parents on “helping your child with anxiety.” There the editor of this book, David Powlison – a very well-respected biblical counselor – has included a list of 10 “things to remember that will bring comfort to you and your child.” Thoughts include:
- Recognizing that in this world “We have good reason to be anxious and worried.”
- The most frequent command in the Bible is ‘Don’t be afraid.’
- Reminding your child that the Lord has listening ears.
This is a wonderful book, meant for kids, but helpful for adults too. And the absolutely stunning pictures make this a pretty special morality tale. Yes, this is more an educational tool than an entertaining read. But it is a pretty entertaining read too. And the pictures are so fun to look at, a couple of my daughters have been paging through it regularly. I’d recommend Zoe’s Hiding Place to any parents trying to help a child through worry or fear. With its firm grounding in Scripture, this will be a real help to both the child and the parent. For a 10-page preview of the book, you can check out this link here.
Two others
There are two other books in the CCEF’s “Good News for Little Hearts” series, on failure and anger. 
Buster’s Ears Trip Him Up is about dealing with failure. Buster is a speedy rabbit who thinks that winning is everything, so when his long ears trip him up and he loses the big race, he doesn’t know how to deal with it. Fortunately, he has a big sister, and a wise father, who both know how to help him deal with failure. They remind him that God loved us before we had ever done anything so it really isn’t about our accomplishments, but rather what Jesus accomplished on the cross. You can read a 6-page sample here.
Jax’s Tail Twitches is about when we are angry. Jax is a squirrel whose big brother is pestering him and that makes him mad. What’s worse, the neighbors next door are taking their nuts without asking, and that makes his dad mad. But even when there is good reason to be angry, our anger is, most often, the wrong response to this wrong situation. This is a lesson that mom and dad can certainly benefit from, even as we share it with our children. You can read an 8-page excerpt here.
I’d recommend all three of these book as wonderful tools for parents to read with and discuss with their children. The stories are solid, the artwork incredible, and what it teaches is biblical, helpful, and accessible.
Jon Dykstra and his siblings blog on books at ReallyGoodReads.com.
