Jax's Tail Twitches: When You Are Angry

This is a a beautiful book. I didn’t realize that it was intended for older children before purchasing. I have a two and four year old. Each book has a lot of words. It’s going to be a while before we can actually get through the entire book. Right now the best thing to do is summarize each page so that my children don’t lose interest.

Everyone gets frustrated when something important to them goes wrong. In "Jax's Tail Twitches: When You Are Angry", the whole Squirrel family ends up out of sorts when acorn gathering doesn't go according to plan. Although Papa, Mama, Jax, and Caspian Squirrel all get angry, they also learn about the power of saying sorry, seeking forgiveness, remembering God's words, and praying together. Edited by David Powlison and charmingly illustrated by Joe Hox, "Jax's Tail Twitches" ends with a special section that guides parents in teaching children how the gospel of Jesus Christ changes how we respond when life goes wrong. Also included is a tear-out page of Back Pocket Bible Verses that will help children and adults remember to turn to God for help when they are angry. Intended for three-to eight-year-olds and centered on an animal family to help bring gospel help and biblical counsel to themselves and their families from a Christian perspective, "Jax's Tail Twitches: When You Are Angry" is unreservedly recommended for family, community, and Sunday School library picture book collections.

LIke the book before this - this was a huge help in teaching the boys about how to handle their anger and frustration. Life is hard. It does not always go the way we want it to. I love that these lessons are taught through scripture and with adorable animal characters.

This book is one of our new favorite books. My kids have dealt with other's opinions being pushed on them. It is a great reminder of how we need to be concerned with God's opinion of us - and not others. The boys loved this book - and they loved the animals. As a parent I loved how it tackled real world issues in a fun Godly way.

I’m striving hard to make my conversations around moral issues gospel-fluent and biblically faithful. Some of these stories, in needing to be simple enough to be grasped by the very young, can come across as “just pray, and you won’t be afraid anymore!” (I think what is intended is “when you are afraid, you should pray!”) Dealing with anger, repentance, seeking forgiveness, and reconciliation. Part of a new series of illustrated hardbacks from CCEF. As a parent of four young girls, I’m always on the lookout for reading material. Especially for my youngest, who still need/want/love to be read to. I’m very grateful for more and more New Growth Press has recently published a variety of really good options along this line. They are delightfully illustrated, cleverly told, engaging books that my youngest daughter asks for repeatedly, and my second youngest now picks off the shelf to read on her own (she’s a beginning reader.) These books provide great source material for dealing with hard topics (failure, anger, fear, ethnic diversity, and marveling at God’s creativity!) and provides parents with guides for discussion along these topics. My girls also love the tear-out pocket bible verses included in each. The best part about these stories is that they aim at pointing a child to Christ in faith, rather than simple behavior modification and moralism, in accessible ways. Oh, and the messages of the books are good reminders and encouragement for me, the parent, as well. :) A small nitpick with some of the books: I’m striving hard to make my conversations around moral issues gospel-fluent and biblically faithful. Some of these stories, in needing to be simple enough to be grasped by the very young, can come across as “just pray, and you won’t be afraid anymore!” (I think what is intended is “when you are afraid, you should pray!”) An attentive parent will be able to navigate around this, but I wasn’t always an attentive parent (and still sometimes miss here). I’m not sure how I’d improve the situation, but just something to be aware of. Perhaps just a gentle nudge that parents should pray hard about how to communicate to our kids that sometimes God does allow suffering to continue, even when we pray. Perhaps the hardest lesson of all.