Nebraska Synod ELCA

Is your family looking for some books to read together after school, before bedtime, or even during the Husker game half-time? These children’s books cover a variety of subjects and will inspire conversation and action from everyone that reads it. Check out these staff recommendations and find a time to share these stories with the children in your life or read them for yourself!

I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared

By Julia Cook; Illustrated by Michelle Hazelwood Hyde

 One of the books that many of the elementary schools are using as a resource, is the book I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared! The main idea is to have a plan so that when there is an emergency, instead of panic, there is a plan of action that the children have learned and can act. If we have learned anything in these last three years, it’s that often times, our children are more flexible and resilient than the adults that are around them. This book gives parents, grandparents and families a way to talk about a very real fear in school, and how to turn that fear into an action plan. This book is a family conversation starter, but please be aware, it brought up many emotions in our home from both children and parents. These were difficult and scary conversations, but also necessary conversations that we no longer have the liberty to ignore. 

Recommended by Rev. Juliet Focken

Order ‘I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared’ today at: Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Gratitude is my Superpower

By Alicia Ortego

As a Mom and a pastor, I always am on the search to heal our hearts with gratitude. It’s called Gratitude is my Super Power. This is a book that we’ve been reading a lot lately, because it brings gratitude back into the conversation. This isn’t a book about glossing over feelings, but a realization that you can’t live in all your feelings without getting depleted, and one way to refuel is to find a way to bring your focus back to deep gratitude for the joy that is around you. Anxiety and depression are weighing heavy on many of our hearts and this simply illustrated powerful story tells of the hope that a girl and her turtle find in life around them. It is written for children, but it’s a reminder for all of us that sometimes simplicity is what our hearts most need.

Recommended by Rev. Juliet Focken 

Order ‘Gratitude is my Superpower’ today at: Amazon or Barnes & Noble

God’s Holy Darkness

By Sharei Green and Beckah Selnick; Illustrated by Nikki Faison

 God’s creative and redeeming work is beautifully on full display in this children’s book. What makes it stand out, is that it offers examples and “instances in the story of God’s people when darkness, blackness, and night are beautiful, good, and holy.” As a parent of two young girls, part of my discernment in purchasing new books for them is to find ones that represent the wider and fuller picture of God’s love for all of God’s people. This book does that and more with deep theological reflections from creation in Genesis to the very birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and then all of the creative work that continues even today. 

Recommended by Deacon Timothy Siburg

Order ‘God’s Holy Darkness’ today at: Amazon or Barnes & Noble