Below is a thumbnail description of books that we think have a message for children in these trying times. Many of the stories are about children overcoming challenges. We hope the books  encourage you  to think about other things, and appreciate the beauty around us. Each book has a link to a YouTube reading of the book, a group of wondering questions, and an activity. The full page for each book may be found in the QREC collection. Go to: Resources, Browse by Category, then Parenting section. We hope you find these books helpful.

Sparkling Still Working Group of FGC. A. Collins, S. Farneth, S. Hopkins, E. Mittag

A is for All the Things You Are by Anna Hindley. Illustrator: Keturah A. Bobo
Publisher: SmithsonianBooks.com Copyright: 2019. Concepts work for older elementary, and include empowerment, courage, compassion and social justice. http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/all-things-you-are-joyful-abc-book

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, art by Dom Lee, Scholastic, c. 1993. The story takes place in a Japanese/American Internment camp during WWII. It stresses resilience and courage. http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/baseball-saved-us

Flowers for Sarajevo, John McCutcheon, Illustrator:  Kristy Caldwell, Publisher:  Peachtree Publishers, Copyright:  2017. Written for older children, it is a story about kindness, gratitude, empowerment, and sharing our gifts.  http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/flowers-sarajevo

Good People Everywhere, by Lynea Gillen, Illustrator: Kristina Swarner, Publisher: Three Pebble Press, LLC, Copyright:  2012. This is the companion book about Sarajevo, but written for younger children. It is a story about kindness, gratitude, empowerment, and sharing our gifts. http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/good-people-everywhere

Lucky Beans by Becky Birtha, illustrator Nicole Tadgell, Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co. copyright 2010. The story takes place at the time of the Great Depression. It embraces the concepts of Resilience, Courage, Compassion, and Justice. http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/lucky-beans

Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence by Gretchen Woelfle, illustrations by Alix Delinois, Publisher: Carolrhoda Books, copyright. 2014. A true story from the early days of our country’s history, Mumbet’s story demonstrates Empowerment, Courage, Bravery.
http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/mumbet%E2%80%99s-declaration-independence

Quiet, written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Copyright: 2018. The book encourages us to appreciate the beauty of quiet moments in our lives. http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/quiet-0

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, illustrated by  Elizabeth Zunon, Publisher: Dial Publishing, copyright. 2012. The true story of a young boy whose creativity, empowerment, and resiliency changed the lives of the people in his village. http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/boy-who-harnessed-wind

What Do You Do With an Idea, by Kobi Yamada, illustrations Mae Besom, Publisher Compendium, copyright 2014. Written for young children, it inspires people of all ages to accept an idea and let it grow.  http://www.quakers4re.org/find-resources/what-do-you-do-idea

An Introduction

The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) is an international, cross-branch, grassroots network of Friends sharing a stewardship for lifelong Quaker faith formation through religious education. We formed in April 2014 and now serve more than 300 Friends in our network. We actively engage and support each other across languages and continents. We gather for regional and annual conferences and offer monthly Conversation Circles via an online conferencing platform. 

Steering Circle

We share leadership as part of our collaborative mission, making decisions using the Quaker ‘sense of the meeting’ process, sitting in expectant, worshipful waiting for the emergence of shared truth. Read more…

Working Circles

Hand Icon

Our work  takes place in ‘circles’ or small groups of Friends who labor on a common task, usually meeting by video conference due to the geographic diversity of the membership. Read more…

The Resource Library

Finders Guide, a sampling of the collection

The QREC Resource Library is a place to share lessons and other educational information in support of our work as Quaker religious educators. This library is a forum for curricula, articles, videos and other educational materials on Quaker themes. You will also find principles, policies and procedures to strengthen operation of your child, youth and adult religious education programs.

Children's Education

Adult Education

Family

African Quaker Library

Youth Education

Small Meetings

Young Adult Friends

Biblioteca QREC

Events

Find renewal, companionship, and help for nitty gritty issues in Quaker religious education, all the while opening spaces for Spirit to work and listening together for God’s way forward.

QREC holds an annual conference and retreat. In addition we hold online Conversation Circles and post other religious education events as we learn about them.

Conversation Circles

Online conferences for Quaker religious educators to share about their work. Conversations are scheduled for two sessions per topic to encourage international participation.  Join the conversation…

Other Events

Hand Icon

Religious education events of interest to Quakers from all parts of the world. Please let us know about upcoming online or in-person events happening in your area. See the list of upcoming events…

Love at the Heart

Spiritual Practices

Discernment

Active Caring

Quaker Family Culture

Finding the Light

Faith at Home

Home is the heart of faith formation for all families. This is especially true for Friends. As an experiential religion, Quakerism is best learned through living in loving community. Indeed, the vast majority of faith formation for our young Friends happens at home in the busy swirl of daily life.

Become a Member

Submit Resources

Get Announcements

Donate

Attend an Event

Contact Us

Get Involved

QREC depends on all of us sharing our gifts and skills as religious educators. Here are some of the ways you can get involved…