New additions to the Good News for Little Hearts help children with feelings of guilt and embarrassment.
The popular Good News for Little Hearts series, a favorite of children and parents alike, has grown again with the addition of two new releases, Henry’s Big Mistake: When You Feel Guilty and Zoe’s Time to Shine: When You Want to Hide (October 3, 2022).
Henry’s Big Mistake: When You Feel Guilty, edited by Lauren Whitman, offers concrete, grace-based help for understanding why we feel guilty and what to do when we feel it. When Halle gets new braces, she has trouble saying some words. This irritates her brother Henry and one day he teases her in front of their friends and really hurts Halle’s feelings. Now Henry has this nagging feeling inside that he can’t make go away. He tries to just be nice to Halle, but that doesn’t help anything. When he learns from Mrs. Bixby about guilt and what God wants us to do after we sin, he gains the courage to make things right with God and with Halle.
Henry’s Big Mistake helps young readers learn that confessing your sins to God is the only way to make guilty feelings go away and stay away. Children will learn alongside Henry Hedgehog how they can go to God for forgiveness and also go to the one they have hurt—instead of trying to be better or covering up their mistakes.
Zoe’s Time to Shine: When You Want to Hide, edited by Edward T. Welch, helps children learn alongside Zoe Mouse how to overcome shame and embarrassment. Zoe Mouse loves to sing. She sings everywhere all the time. There is just one problem—she can’t carry a tune. One day she tries out for the school musical and tells all her friends she will definitely get the lead role. But instead of getting a part, her drama teacher asks her to help with the lighting. Zoe wants to hide! Papa finds her in the closet hiding under her blanket and helps her remember that Jesus is with her and will be her protector and helper when she goes back to school. Zoe learns that when Jesus is near, you don’t have to hide. You can face your friends and shine a light on them.
With Zoe’s Time to Shine, parents and caregivers will be guided in how to talk with their children about hiding and feeling ashamed and how to connect the Bible to their children’s struggles. Children will learn to turn to Jesus and depend on him to cover them with his love and give them the strength to face others after they have experienced embarrassment.
Each of the stories in this series of hardback, full-color books (written for children four to seven years old) focuses on an animal family facing real-life issues. With colorful illustrations by Joe Hox, young readers will be captivated by stories and situations they can identify with. By overcoming each struggle or hardship, the animal characters model hope in Jesus. Published in partnership with the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), the Good News for Little Hearts series aims to provide grace-based and biblical counsel to families.
Parents and caretakers are encouraged to enter into meaningful conversations with their kids, teaching them to live by faith in the details of everyday life, just like the animals did. After the story, each book contains information for parents on how to use God’s Word to help children apply biblical, gospel-based truths to the specific problem addressed in the book, as well as Scripture to remember in times of trouble. The Bible verses referenced in the book are also available as a tear-out page.
Visit newgrowthpress.com/good-news-
Henry’s Big Mistake: When You Feel Guilty
edited by Lauren Whitman
Print ISBN: 978-1-64507-282-9
Zoe’s Time to Shine: When You Want to Hide
edited by Edward T. Welch
Print ISBN: 978-1-64507-284-3
All books illustrated by Joe Hox
October 3, 2022 / Retail Price: $15.99
RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Children
Barbara Juliani, New Growth Press Vice President and Editorial Director, is the spokesperson for the Good News for Little Hearts series and is available for interviews.
About the Editors: Lauren Whitman, MA, is a counselor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), where she has served for over a decade. She also serves as the developmental editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling and is the author of A Painful Past: Healing and Moving Forward and A Biblical Counseling Process as well as the minibook, Mom Guilt: Escaping Its Strong Hold. She is the editor of Henry’s Big Mistake: When You Feel Guilty. Whitman, her husband, and their two children make their home in the Philadelphia area.
Edward T. Welch, MDiv, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He earned a PhD in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and has a master’s of divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed has been counseling for nearly forty years and has written extensively on the topics of depression, fear, and addictions. His biblical counseling books include Shame Interrupted, When People Are Big and God Is Small, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave, Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness, Crossroads, Running Scared, When I Am Afraid, Side by Side, A Small Book about a Big Problem, and A Small Book for the Anxious Heart. He edited Buster’s Ears Trip Him Up, Henry Says Good-Bye, Caspian Crashes the Party, Gwen Tells Tales, and Zoe’s Time to Shine in the Good News for Little Hearts series.
About the Illustrator: Joe Hox was raised on a farm in southern Iowa, where he doodled whenever he wasn’t spading thistles or feeding pigs. Everyone knew by his crooked hay rows that he would choose art over farming. Hox earned his BA in Art and Education from Dordt College, and his MA from the University of Nebraska. Today he lives with his wife and four children in Pella, Iowa, where he illustrates and teaches art. He has illustrated all of the books in the Good News for Little Hearts series, The Moon is Always Round, and Who Is Jesus? (written by his wife, Kate).
For review copy and interview information, contact:
Audra Jennings – audra@newgrowthpress.com – 903.874.8363
Suggested Interview Questions:
About the series:
- Can you tell us about the Good News for Little Hearts series? What is the age range the books were written for and what kinds of lessons do they teach?
- There are now twelve books in the Good News for Little Hearts series. Can you tell us more about the topics addressed in books that have already been released in the series? What are the two latest books?
- What sparked the inspiration for the Good News for Little Hearts series?
- Following the story, what does each book have in the back to help equip parents to talk more with their children?
- Could the books used in a church classroom or Christian school setting?
- How would you encourage parents to recognize or watch for the challenges addressed in the Good News for Little Hearts stories in their own children (guilt, embarrassment, etc.)?
- How would you encourage parents who struggle with the same challenges they see in their children, and how can they—together—apply biblical truth to specific situations?
Henry’s Big Mistake
- Please introduce us to Henry’s story. When he first realizes that he hurt his sister’s feelings, how does he try to make things right?
- How does Henry’s teacher describe guilt in a way that the young animals can understand?
- How does the section in the back of the book help children understand the difference between true guilt and false guilt?
- It’s hard for parents to confess when they do wrong too. What are some ways they can model confession and seeking forgiveness in the home for their children to see?
Zoe’s Time to Shine
- Tell us a little bit about Zoe’s story and the challenge she faces.
- What does Zoe’s dad share from the Great Book that helps her find the courage to face her friends instead of being ashamed?
- Are feelings of shame always associated with a sin? Do we still address shame the same way whether or not our shame is due to sin?
