The Little Pot [Hardcover]

Dawn Stephens (Author, Illustrator), Cindy Huffman (Editor)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

How do you teach young children about the value of patience and the loving omniscience of their Creator? Introduce them to The Little Pot, a wise and winsome tale. Soon after a potter lovingly forms a new pot and declares that he has important plans for his creation, the little pot begins to wonder what its purpose will be. Will it be used to hold important documents? Great riches? Beautiful flowers? As various expectations prove wrong, the little pot is cautioned to wait and see. Gradually, Little Pot comes to realize that its creator knows best and has the most wonderful of all uses planned for it. Young readers will realize that the same is true for them: that, like the little pot, they were designed to be vessels that bear fruit. Anyone who has ever had trouble seeing God working in his or her life will realize that, while His work may not always be evident, it is always there. The author's warm illustrations beautifully enhance this charming allegory about patience and fulfillment. A valuable teaching tool for parents and educators, The Little Pot is a simple yet profound story about inevitable reversals. Its timeless message will be enjoyed by many generations to come.

Editorial Reviews

Review

May the lessons learned by the little pot enrich all our lives! A bright and charming book to teach eternal truths. --Angela Elwell Hunt, author of The Tale of Three Trees

A wonderful story for children (and adults) reminding us how special we are when we allow god's hands to shape our lives. --Bill Myers, best-selling author and awards-winning film maker

This delightful tale digs deep to the root of God's plan for our lives. It's a wonderful piece of pottery praise. --Troy Schmidt, co-author and screenwriter of the Hermie and Friends series, writer at Walt Disney World

About the Author

Author/illustrator Dawn Stephens gained her love for books as an elementary school teacher and as a mother of three daughters. She has helped several school systems develop curriculum and teaching material for state-tested standards in fun and developmentally appropriate ways. Convinced she would be a teacher forever, she found herself thrust into the business world. The Little Pot was written as Dawn tried to determine God's plan for her own life. Just as the little pot was given task after task, Dawn found herself changing career paths and continually searching to understand their purpose in her life. Through serving God in many different capacities, she sees her true purpose is to bear fruit from whatever The Potter gives her.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: bPlus Books; 2009 edition (March 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193398211X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933982113
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,601,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dawn Stephens works every day as the Principal of a Christian Elementary School. She is also teaches an adult Sunday school class, is married and the mother of 3 teenage daughters. Her home is in the Tidewater area of Virginia. She has helped several school systems develop curriculum and teaching material to teach national standards in fun and developmentally appropriate ways. She has owned and operated a business where she provided schools across the country with materials. She has worked for Publishing Houses, Book companies, and the gourmet food industry in product development and sales. She designs, writes, and illustrates materials that make learning fun for students at every age. She is a published author and illustrator of educational tools and children's books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Lesson For Young and Old, November 10, 2009

By 

tom hannah (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Little Pot (Hardcover)

A very colorful book that should keep childrens attention while reading. This is a nice story about trust and patience that is a parable for young and old. Everyone should come away from this book with the thought that i can be more and give more of my life to others. The little pot is a book we will read to our little ones and will always remember at the end that we are all a vessel waiting to be filled over and over again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Pot by Dawn Stephens, September 1, 2010

By 

Donna K. Perugini "Donna Perugini" (Alger, WA, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Little Pot (Hardcover)

I am a children's picture book author also and wanted to do a review of Dawn's book, "The Little Pot". She and I formed a relationship through blogging as children's authors. When I found out about her book, I read the short preview and thought, "I would have loved to have written that!"

I'm also a potter and understand so much of where the book is coming from. It was a very thoughtful move not to put the potter's face in the illustrations. The hands are such an important part of the potter as he lovingly has already thought about the Little Pot and what his plans for it will be. The Little Pot is constantly guessing what it will be due to what it 'had become' by having differnt things put in it. How often do we think 'this is what God's plan for me' because of something that's taken place in our life? But God's plan for our purpose was in action long before we were being 'formed'.

From a potter's view...a potter will already know what they are going to create before sitting down to the pottery wheel. The potter has a plan for its creation and the plan includes it's use even before it is created. The pot goes through a process of drying to a point of being able to trim it. In this portion of the pot's creation, the outside of the pot is trimmed to 'reflect the inside'. I love that! I could go on about 'pottery', but this review is about Little Pot.

The patience of Little Pot is amazing. I remember as a young Christian being 'fixated' on specific things...mostly wanting to know what I was and was going to be; then wanting to get on with it! Little Pot has more patience than I did, but which I eventually learned to 'let grow and show'.

This book would be great for any child, women's conferences, Sunday School, visits to nursing homes, visits to hospitals, etc.

Dawn went through a time in her life recently where she went to the Potter (God) about herself and her purpose. After that time with 'Him', she ended up recently as the Principal of Central Christian Academy, Portsmouth, Virginia. All this took place 'after' she wrote "The Little Pot". This is where she has now been placed to be His 'fruit pot' amongst an ever-growing, ever-increasing population of children. How awesome is that??

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have, June 9, 2011

By 

Lori L Fleener - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Little Pot (Hardcover)

The colorful pictures kept my 5 year olds attention and the story is wonderful. A must have for parents who want to teach their children a good life lesson in a way they can understand.

I highly recommend this book.