A Big Change Happened: Helping Children Through Upheaval

Wallace Whale loves his home in the warm blue sea near the green island where he and Mama sing, eat, sleep, and play. But one day, Mama tells him about a big change--they're leaving for a long journey North! Wallace is worried and has so many questions: What will the North be like? Will he be okay? As they swim into the unknown, Mama gently reminds Wallace: Wherever you go, whatever you do, God's love follows you.

Counselor Darby A. Strickland uses the story of Wallace along with Psalm 139 to help parents and caregivers walk with children through big changes and the questions that come with those changes. A special section at the end of the book helps parents and caregivers guide their children through accepting their new situation and uses biblical truths to reassure children that God's love never changes.

Darby A. Strickland, MDiv, is a faculty member and counselor at the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation (CCEF). She is a contributor to Becoming a Church That Cares Well for the Abused and author of Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims, the children's book Something Scary Happened, and the minibook When Children Experience Trauma. She writes regularly for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Darby and her husband, John, have three children.

Kristen Howdeshell is an illustrator and one half of The Brave Union, a freelance illustration team. Their artwork is published in many children's books including Seeds and Trees; The Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible; and I Am the Storm. This husband-and-wife duo lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with their four children.

Kevin Howdeshell is an illustrator and one half of The Brave Union, a freelance illustration team. Their artwork is published in many children's books including Seeds and Trees; The Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible; and I Am the Storm. This husband-and-wife duo lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with their four children.