After a frustrating and boring start to his day, twelve-year-old Brock Billings has no idea of the dangerous adventures that await him in a Papua New Guinea jungle…

A brush with a hungry crocodile, a kerosene fire, and getting lost alone in the jungle—at night—are the least of Brock’s worries when he’s captured by rival hunters.

With the help of his friends, Brock and his missionary family work hard not only to bring peace to the opposing groups, but to spread the love of Jesus and translate God’s Word. Will they succeed, or are pride and fear too strong to overcome?

Luci Brockway Tumas has authored three books: Mission Possible (Tyndale House, 1998), The Power of the Word (Wycliffe Bible Translators, 2000), and Jungle Hunt (Anaiah Press, 2023.)

For most of her years with Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International, Luci served as a writer in Communications, documenting real-life stories of the impact of Bible translation and literacy. Jungle Hunt is her first novel. Their family called the south Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea their home for 15 years. Luci and her husband, John, now live and work remotely in Longmont, Colorado.

Luci and her husband have served as missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators for over 40 years. Most of those years she's been involved in writing real-life stories about the need for Bible translation and literacy - relating the amazing impact on the language groups who finally receive their written alphabet, literacy materials and Scriptures in their language.

Her blog focuses on the unique country of Papua New Guinea: its 800+ languages, unique birds, plants, tropical climate, and other useful homeschooling info.

Learn more about her books when you visit her website at https://lucitumas.com

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The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

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"Welcome, Traveler. You are on the Serpent Quest!" Fleeing a neighborhood bully, Emmet and Nomi are pulled into an ancient quest, and now they must escape far more powerful enemies. Join them as they unlock secret riddles and follow the path of the Serpent Slayer.

One day on the way home, brother and sister Emmet and Nomi try to escape the neighborhood bully, but in the process end up coming across an ancient artifact that leads them on an adventure of a lifetime. On their quest to unlock secret riddles and follow the path of the Serpent Slayer, they will face for more powerful enemies.

The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles is a time travel adventure with a twist — middle school students will discover theological themes as they travel through God's Word. By placing the characters into Bible events, Champ Thornton and Andrew Naselli show the Bible is far from being a boring book full of instructions. Readers will discover life-changing truths they'll never forget.

"I want the Bible to come alive to younger readers because the Bible tells the most stunning story—of true love, a fearsome enemy, and a costly rescue! And in The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles the heroes meet these amazing realities face-to-face as they go adventuring through the Bible," Thornton shares.

Champ Thornton (PhD) and his wife, Robben, live in Newark, Delaware, have been married since 1996, and enjoy being parents to three energetic teenage children. He is an Acquisitions Editor at Crossway and is the author of numbers of books for kids and families, including The Radical Book for Kids, Why Do We Say Good Night?, Wonders of His Love: Family Advent Devotional, and Pass It On: A Proverbs Journal for the Next Generation. He also hosts "In the Word, On the Go," a ten-minute podcast for families.

Learn more about his books at ChampThornton.com

He can also be found on Twitter (@champthornton) and Instagram (@thorntonchamp).

Please share StoryJumpers with a friend if you enjoyed this episode. StoryJumpers is still growing, and your positive review and 5-star rating would help.

The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

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What would YOU do if your father, standing in the front hall next to the grandfather clock, suddenly vanishes? Your buddy's mom helps you file a police report—but everyone is too puzzled to be helpful. Then you take a walk in your down-and-out neighborhood and find a clock shop where there had only been an empty building the day before. You walk in, and...

Phyllis Wheeler set a goal at age 13 to write a children’s book, a journey with lots of detours that have taken many years. She’s written for daily newspapers, worked on airplanes as a mechanical engineer, and raised four children including triplet boys, doing some homeschooling along the way, writing and selling the first computer programming curriculum for homeschoolers.

She has lived in various places, including as a child in pre-Civil-Rights Mississippi. But for most of her adult life, she has called St. Louis home. Phyllis Wheeler tells stories that encourage us to step outside our comfort zones. She’s done it—she and her husband spent twenty years raising their family in a black neighborhood in segregated St. Louis.

She’s been a journalist, an engineer, and a homeschooling mom. Now she’s thrilled to be following her dream of authoring books for young people.

Homeschoolers will be interested in her Youtube channel, Bringing Up Booklovers which features interviews with authors of middle-grade books, and reviews of books for homeschoolers.

Learn more about her books and get a free short story when you sign up for her occasional newsletter at PhyllisWheeler.com

Please share StoryJumpers with a friend if you enjoyed this episode. StoryJumpers is still growing, and your positive review and 5-star rating would help.

The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

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The Dead Sea Squirrels tells the story of Merle and Pearl, two 1st Century squirrels from Israel who’ve been preserved in sea salt in a cave alongside the Dead Sea. When 10-year-old Michael discovers them 2000 years later and sneaks them home in his backpack, hijinks ensue after the salty couple reanimate and take their new friend on adventures full of action, humor, music, and character-building lessons.

Enjoy this reading of Squirreled Away – part of The Dead Sea Squirrels series by Mike Narwoki, co-creator of VeggieTales and voice of Larry the Cucumber!

Mike Nawrocki is the co-creator of VeggieTales and the voice of the beloved Larry The Cucumber. He has been making entertaining and wholesome content for kids since 1993. Mike created, wrote and directed most of the extremely popular “Silly Songs with Larry” segments, and lent his screenwriting and directing talents to VeggieTales episodes as well as their movies Jonah and The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.

Mike also developed and wrote for 3-2-1 Penguins! and authored a number of VeggieTales Books and CD projects. Mike serves as Assistant Professor of Film and Animation at Lipscomb University and co-hosts the weekly podcast, “The Bible for Kids.”

Learn more about his book and animated series projects at DeadSeaSquirrels.com

You can find The Dead Sea Squirrels series of books on his website or at Amazon.com

Please share StoryJumpers with a friend if you enjoyed this episode. StoryJumpers is still growing, and your positive review and 5-star rating would help.

The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

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School can cause kids to feel nervous and stressed out, not just about schoolwork, but about friendships. Feeling left out of conversations, feeling lonely, hearing hurtful words, and unsure how to break out of the cycle of friendship struggles.

In their devotional, Let’s Be Friends: A Tween Devotional on Finding and Keeping Strong Friendships (Harvest House, October 2023), mother-daughter authors Blythe Daniel and Calyn Daniel, want to give girls tools. This interactive book helps girls know how to find true friends, how to leave friendships respectfully, and what friendship with God looks like.

"Sometimes we need a little time to see if the people around us are friends for us or may be friends for someone else. But sometimes the people we don’t think will be a good friend can turn out to be a best friend if we just give them a chance to share who they are," says Calyn.

It’s hard for girls to know what to say when they face certain friends. Remaining respectful, standing up for themselves, leaving an unhealthy friend group, and making new friends when shy or unsure of yourself are areas addressed.

Let’s Be Friends contains 30 devotions with journaling space for the reader to share her responses, check off what’s most important to her, a prayer to pray and words to speak over herself.

Topics include fitting in, rejection, what friends show you about yourself, body confidence, when to walk away, taking your pain to God, thinking on God’s word, and pressing on when life is hard.

Calyn enjoys spending time with her friends and family, including older sister, Maris, and her twin brother, William. Calyn is a competitive gymnast, an oboist, and likes to cook. She has included some of her favorite recipes and activities to do with friends in her book. Calyn believes teen girls need to know who they are in Christ, how to navigate friend groups and how to not lose sight of who God has made them to be.

Calyn Daniel and her mother Blythe Daniel want to help teen and tween girls find their voice in conversations with friends and develop friendships with others and with God. They have co-authored Let’s Be Friends: A Tween Devotional on Finding and Keeping Strong Friendships.

Learn more about the book at https://connectingheartsandconversations.com

Please share StoryJumpers with a friend if you enjoyed this episode. StoryJumpers is still growing, and your positive review and 5-star rating would help.

The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

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Coloring eggs, wearing a lovely bonnet, joining in the fun of an egg hunt, and attending church with family are special things that are a part of Easter.

In this bouncy rhyming board book, Bunny is determined to find out if Easter is all about special breakfasts, chocolate bunnies, and fancy new bonnets, or if it might be about a little bit more.

Laura Sassi has a passion for telling stories in prose and rhyme. She is the author of five picture books including the best-selling Goodnight, Ark, which was a 2015 Christian Book Award Finalist.

In addition to books, she’s published over one hundred poems, stories, crafts, and articles in various children’s publications.

Laura is a graduate of Princeton University and UCLA. She had a successful teaching career before becoming a children’s author. She’s been a homeschool mom, children’s ministry director, historic museum interpreter, and more. She writes daily from her home in New Jersey and finds special joy in sharing her love of reading and writing with the next generation at school visits and other book events.

Learn more about her writing at https://laurasassitales.wordpress.com

Please share StoryJumpers with a friend if you enjoyed this episode. StoryJumpers is still growing, and your positive review and 5-star rating would help.

The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

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Twas the Morning of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus through the eyes of Mary Magdalene. The beautifully illustrated story uses the familiar language and rhythm of the Clement C. Moore classic ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas!"

Enjoy this reading of Twas the Morning of Easter by Glenys Nellist, author of multiple children's books, including 'Twas the Evening of Christmas.' Glenys Nellist was born and raised in a little village in northern England. Her writing reflects a deep passion for helping children discover joy in the world.

Using the classic cadence of Clement C. Moore’s iconic poem, “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” this gorgeous picture book shares the true story of Easter with little ones through read-aloud rhymes and engaging illustrations by Elena Selivanova.

The eye-catching cover decorated in shining foil and embossing makes this book perfect for any Easter basket. Reading the story together is sure to be a treasured Easter tradition for years to come!

Learn more about her books at http://www.glenysnellist.com

Please share StoryJumpers with a friend if you enjoyed this episode. StoryJumpers is still growing, and your positive review and 5-star rating would help.

The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

Feedback, or Show Ideas? Send an email to podcast@wearethebridge.org

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Who is the Easter Bunny?

Let him tell you the tale of how everything has changed, even himself.

Follow a little rabbit, as he discovers a familiar voice in a garden one night. The man is God in the flesh, of this he is sure, and he cannot help but follow Him, as He is captured and put on trial.

The little rabbit is confused at what he sees, but as he hides and waits he discovers true transformation. Now he can't wait to tell you and his friends about the good news he has found.

Will you help to share his tale?

This creative retelling of the Easter story presents the Gospel message in a sweet and kid-friendly manner.

"With warm and endearing illustrations, An Easter Bunny's Tale offers biblical truth and reminds us of God's love and grace." ~ Crystal Bowman, award-winning, best-selling author of more than 100 books for children.

Author Valerie Fentress writes children's books for all ages, seeking to challenge her readers to look at the world around them and find God's love reaching out to them. She hopes to communicate biblical truths through simple stories. Valerie wants everyone to look at familiar things and find the truths and secrets hiding within them. Beneath the Hood is her debut children's book.

Valerie lives in Texas with her husband and three boys, who challenge her daily to find joy between imagination and chaos. While in college, Valerie trained a service dog. She loves both Star Wars and literary classics like Pride and Prejudice equally. She is an amateur gardener!

You can find more of her books and thoughts at ValerieFentress.com

Please share StoryJumpers with a friend if you enjoyed this episode. StoryJumpers is still growing, and your positive review and 5-star rating would help.

The Bridge Podcast Network is made possible by generous support from The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and Victoria’s Restaurant on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Open 7 days a week, year-round - Learn more at https://boardwalkplaza.com

Feedback, or Show Ideas? Send an email to podcast@wearethebridge.org

Download The Bridge Mobile App to get the latest podcast episodes as soon as they are published!