Jax’s Tail Twitches helps families learn to turn to God when something important goes wrong and frustration turns to anger.
It’s a big day for the Squirrel family—the acorns are finally ripe, and it’s time to collect them for the winter. Papa, Mama, Jax, and Caspian all work together until the two brothers start picking on each other. Then another family comes along and starts picking nuts from their tree, contrary to the Squirrel Handbook. One thing leads to another, and that’s when everyone’s tails start to twitch in anger! But Papa Squirrel remembers God’s kindness to those who break the rules, and together, they ask forgiveness, making room for love and restored relationships.
Edited by counselor David Powlison, Jax’s Tail Twitches offers concrete, grace-based help for dealing with anger and is part of the Good News for Little Hearts series, which brings gospel wisdom and biblical counsel to families. Based on CCEF’s model of hope and help, each story focuses on an animal family’s real-life issues, encouraging young readers toward a growing relationship with Jesus during challenging circumstances.
"These books are a uniquely different genre from classic children's bedtime reading. They are counseling books to help children. They provide a creative avenue for children to consider how their faith is intimately relevant to their struggles. This is what makes this series of books so significant."
David Powlison, (1949–2019) was Executive Director of CCEF and editor of the Good News for Little Hearts series
"When our children were little, we read to them constantly—and had these books been available, they would have been among the favorites. With the simplicity and engaging charm of the Peter Rabbit stories, yet with the quiet grace of Christian insight, these stories stamp themselves on young minds. Text and pictures support each other tellingly. These books are destined to become favorites for young families."
D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical School, Deerfield, IL; cofounder of The Gospel Coalition
"I love these books. My daughter Kim who struggles with a disability loves these books. She giggles all the way through them—catching all the subtle humor. I read them to my grandkids. We especially love the drawings. I buy copies for all my grandchildren. What more can I say? They are fun!"
Paul E. Miller, Director of seeJesus; author of A Praying Life and J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life
"So many Christian parents are looking for engaging, age-appropriate ways to help their young children learn what the Bible teaches about everyday struggles and challenging situations. This new book series edited by David Powlison and Ed Welch fits the bill! In the Good News for Little Hearts series, kids will be enthralled by relatable characters, charming illustrations, and gospel-centered lessons. These volumes would make a valuable addition to any family's library."
Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family
"Failure, anger, anxiety—for too long we have thought that addressing these typical life experiences is only for the 'teenage' or 'adult' years. How refreshing—and wise—to see them being addressed from a gospel-centered perspective for little children. This series, Good News for Little Hearts, has the potential to produce godly perspectives and habits from the earliest years of our children's lives."
Jonny Gibson, Assistant Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
"For years I wished there were resources that would help equip children to face the many trials and temptations that come in this life rather than waiting till they are neck-deep in the mire before throwing them the lifeline of biblical truth. The Good News for Little Hearts series is an answer to my longing. These books communicate life-changing biblical truths through beautiful illustrations and stories that connect with young hearts in meaningful ways."
Curtis Solomon, Executive Director, Biblical Counseling Coalition
"Jax's Tail Twitches is a tremendous resource for children and parents who struggle with anger. The endearing illustrations draw children in to a storyline that uncovers both the sin of anger, and our need for forgiveness and reconciliation. The story walks us through what a right response to our anger looks like and provides a great starting point for discussions with your children. Definitely a must-read in our family!"
Deepak and Sarah Reju, Capitol Hill Baptist Church (Washington, DC), Authors of Great Kings of the Bible and God Is Better Than Trucks
"Wow, what a series! Within these books you meet wonderfully relatable characters with feelings and experiences readily identifiable to children of all ages, clever and creative illustrations, excellent questions that will spark meaningful conversations with your child or grandchild, and simple scriptural connections that are easily understood. Can't wait to recommend them to our kids and read them to our grandkids!"
Dave Harvey, President of Great Commission Collective; founder of RevDaveHarvey.com; author of When Sinners Say I Do and I Still Do: Growing Closer and Stronger Through Life's Defining Moment
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The Good News for Little Hearts series is one of my favorite collections on my son’s bookshelves. I currently have the three books in the series. Jax’s story is lengthy, but I kept my son’s attention by taking short breaks. We discussed all he saw in the vivid illustrations and remembered from the story up to that point. Jax’s story is based on a real life issue: anger. Sadly, that is something we are dealing with right now … both in mommy and child. The story will encourage your child (and mine, as well) toward a growing relationship with Jesus as he or she faces his or her failures. My child is currently responding in anger. This book has been a great help in helping him to ask for help and have patience instead of responding in anger. Yeah, it’s helping mommy, too. The book provides ways for you, the parent, to have meaning, yet age-appropriate, conversations with your child. Tear out Bible verses about anger are included in the back of the book. The book includes Scripture references of various translations.
This book was a great writing and compelling to read with that also come with a creating a great story of Squirrel family that had got mad and angry when something got wrong but with a kindness and forgiveness of God, then said “sorry”. This boo will be helping you and your child finding a way to respond with you are angry and irritated. I highly recommend to everyone must to read this book. “ I received complimentary a copy of this book from I read with Audra Bloggers for this review ”.
This book was a great writing and compelling to read with that also come with a creating a great story of Squirrel family that had got mad and angry when something got wrong but with a kindness and forgiveness of God, then said “sorry”. This boo will be helping you and your child finding a way to respond with you are angry and irritated. I highly recommend to everyone must to read this book. “ I received complimentary a copy of this book from I read with Audra Bloggers for this review ”.
As the father of two young children, I am constantly on the lookout for good children’s books to teach the truths of the Gospel, the Bible, theology, and so forth to my children. Though my children are both under 4 and not yet reading, I am continuing to gather excellent resources to use with them now and in the years to come. Time and time again, I have been impressed with and thankful for the books that New Growth Press is putting out, not only for adults, but for children as well. And their newest series — Good News for Little Hearts — is no exception. This new series consists of 3 books, two written by David Powlison and one by Ed Welch. The series is intended for children three to eight years old. Each book centers on an animal family and brings Gospel help and biblical counsel to children and families. Whether the topic is failure, anger, or anxiety, or the animal is a rabbit, a squirrel, or a mouse, each of these books does an incredible job at combining biblical help and hope to issues that every child and family faces with excellent, brightly colored and fun illustrations and engaging prose and story telling. In each story, children are not offered mere moralism and rules to obey, but are offered practical ways to follow Jesus through difficult situations that they face. This story introduces us to a squirrel named Jax whose tail twitches when he gets angry. As the squirrel family is preparing to collect acorns for the winter, everyone in the family is on edge and wanting different things. As the story progresses, each member of the family has an outburst of anger for which they must apologize. The father leads the charge, admitting his failure and reminding the family that we all get angry when we don’t get our way or don’t get something that we want. He then leads them, one by one, to confess to one another where they did not get what they wanted that day and ask for forgiveness for their anger. Again, every child deals with anger when he or she doesn’t get his or her way. You can see this at a very early age, even in infants, and it only continues throughout the rest of our life. Through this story of Jax’s Tail Twitches, parents are able to help their children understand why it is that they get angry in the first place, how they are to repent and ask forgiveness for that anger, and how they can avoid that anger festering in the future. In each of these stories, parents are given the opportunity to have meaningful, important Gospel conversations about important issues in their children’s lives through the help of a fun and engaging story about animals. At the end of the each story is a guide for parents to help your child with the topic at hand. While the story is the engaging part for the child, this guide at the end of each book may be the most helpful part about these resources, as they offer short, helpful recommendations and encouragement to assist parents in engaging in biblical counseling with their children. I would wholeheartedly recommend every Christian parent get a copy of each of these three books. There is not a parent out there whose children has not or is not struggling with anger, fear, or failure. These book will be a great help to all parents seeking to help their children deal with these common issues in a Biblical, Christ-centered, Gospel-focused way. In accordance with FTC regulations, I would like to thank New Growth Press for providing me a review copy of these books in exchange for a fair and honest review.
While I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, it is one I would’ve gladly purchased. Here’s why: The Good News for Little Hearts series is one of my favorite collections on my son’s bookshelves. I currently have the three books in the series: Buster’s Ears Trip Him Up by Edward T. Welch #childrensbook Zoe’s Hiding Place by David Powlison #childrensbook Jax’s Tail Twitches by David Powlison #childrensbook Jax’s story is lengthy, but I kept my son’s attention by taking short breaks. We discussed all he saw in the vivid illustrations and remembered from the story up to that point. Jax’s story is based on a real life issue: anger. Sadly, that is something we are dealing with right now … both in mommy and child. The story will encourage your child (and mine, as well) toward a growing relationship with Jesus as he or she faces his or her failures. My child is currently responding in anger. This book has been a great help in helping him to ask for help and have patience instead of responding in anger. Yeah, it’s helping mommy, too. The book provides ways for you, the parent, to have meaning, yet age-appropriate, conversations with your child. Tear out Bible verses about anger are included in the back of the book. The book includes Scripture references of various translations.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It not only talks about children getting angry, but adults as well. We let little things grow into big problems that make us angry. Papa squirrel was angry because he felt that his neighbors weren’t following the rules. Jax was angry because Caspian seemed to always win at everything. It made me think of how we let something get hold of us and our anger comes out. Poor Mr. McNuffle was just trying to feed his family, but Papa squirrel didn’t want to share. He was too busy being angry because rules were not being followed. I loved how the book reminds us that there are times we don’t follow God’s word but he doesn’t get angry at us. The book is very well written with gorgeous illustrations. It will be a great book to read to children to teach them about anger.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It not only talks about children getting angry, but adults as well. We let little things grow into big problems that make us angry. Papa squirrel was angry because he felt that his neighbors weren’t following the rules. Jax was angry because Caspian seemed to always win at everything. It made me think of how we let something get hold of us and our anger comes out. Poor Mr. McNuffle was just trying to feed his family, but Papa squirrel didn’t want to share. He was too busy being angry because rules were not being followed. I loved how the book reminds us that there are times we don’t follow God’s word but he doesn’t get angry at us. The book is very well written with gorgeous illustrations. It will be a great book to read to children to teach them about anger.
Most everyone has issues at some point in their life with anger and managing it. Jax's dead giveaway is his twitching tail. The story is how Jax gets angry and how he learns to manage the anger with God's help. This a delightfully cute and sweetly illustrated series and children and parents will certainly love the illustrations by Joe Hox. The critters that populate the pages of the stories are charming and beautifully drawn with a pallet of colors that delight the senses. The text or story line is sweet and deeply infused with Biblical teaching that guides the critters through emotional mindfields helping them to understand reliance on God for help and control. The books are intentionally Scriptural and centered around Christian counseling. The books are all a bit preachy but that is o.k. since the story line is intentionally designed to use children's story picture book venue to provide Christian Counseling. I think the books would be ideal for Christian school libraries, preschools, and Church libraries. Personally, I would take care about introducing these stories to children who do not exhibit these emotions or traits - anger, failing, and anxiety.
Most everyone has issues at some point in their life with anger and managing it. Jax's dead giveaway is his twitching tail. The story is how Jax gets angry and how he learns to manage the anger with God's help. This a delightfully cute and sweetly illustrated series and children and parents will certainly love the illustrations by Joe Hox. The critters that populate the pages of the stories are charming and beautifully drawn with a pallet of colors that delight the senses. The text or story line is sweet and deeply infused with Biblical teaching that guides the critters through emotional mindfields helping them to understand reliance on God for help and control. The books are intentionally Scriptural and centered around Christian counseling. The books are all a bit preachy but that is o.k. since the story line is intentionally designed to use children's story picture book venue to provide Christian Counseling. I think the books would be ideal for Christian school libraries, preschools, and Church libraries. Personally, I would take care about introducing these stories to children who do not exhibit these emotions or traits - anger, failing, and anxiety.
One of three in an excellent series of books for 5-10 years olds that deal with the heart issues that affect us all: anger, pride and fear. They are beautifully illustrated by Joe Hox, who brings animals engagingly to life with captivating touches. Buster learns literally that pride goes before a fall, when he trips in the big running race he was sure he would win. Zoe’s worries keep her from trusting that God cares for her and will take care of her. Jax’s family learn how anger can affect them all, and that they need to turn to God, apologise and forgive. One great feature of these books is the strong parental figures. They guide their children in the truth, acknowledge their own faults and listen well (Zoe’s mama “had good listening ears”). They bring their children back to God’s word as they guide and instruct, and are corrected by it themselves. Each book contains notes and guidance to help parents as they teach children about managing fear, failure and anger, which many parents will appreciate and hopefully realise to apply to themselves as well. There are also tear out bible verses for kids to keep in their pocket to remember God’s truths.
