Do your children have a favorite book they ask you to read every night, every day, over and over? I know mine sure do. They want to hear Little Red Riding Hood, then act it out with all the props we can make up. They love Sunshine on My Shoulders and Grandma’s Feather Bed as long as I sing while I read. They also love Eric Carle stories because they get to chime in, or correct me if I miss a word. Though none of these fall into the category of Christian Children’s Books, they can still be used to teach children to look at the world with Biblical eyes.

Let’s take Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Think about questions and comments you might use before, during, and/or after the reading. Here’s a few suggestions.

Read the Title –

• What’s a caterpillar?
• Have you ever seen a caterpillar?
• Where do caterpillars come from?Beginning –

Beginning –

• Awww, Look how little and cute.
• What’s the little caterpillar doing?
• Why?

Middle –

• Is there a problem? (Yes, he ate too much. Yes, he did the wrong thing.)
• What happened? (He got a stomach ache.)
• Have you ever eaten too much and gotten a stomach ache?
• Have you ever done the wrong thing and gotten a stomach ache?
• How are these two kinds of stomach aches different?
• How did you try to fix your stomach aches?
• How do you think the caterpillar will try to fix his?

Ending –

• How does the caterpillar try to fix the problem? (Eats good food. “Turns over a new leaf.”)
• What day of the week is it?
• How is the problem fixed?
• How does the cocoon look?(dead)
• What happened in the end? (became a butterfly)
• Can a butterfly ever go back to being a caterpillar?
• Would he want to be a caterpillar again?

These types of questions can be used during the reading if the child is familiar with the story, or after the initial reading, you can go back and talk about the story.

It is very easy to plant the gospel seed in a young child with this story. An older child may even be able to understand sin, conviction (stomach ache), repentance(dying to self), and salvation (butterfly, becoming a new creature).

If you would like to show your children the butterfly life cycle, catch a butterfly and place it in a terrarium (Our moth took almost 6 months to change. We almost tossed him out.) You can also order caterpillars which will change in a few weeks. caterpillars. Be sure to have a celebration to release the butterflies or moths. A changed life always deserves a celebration!

Blessings,

Gail