Silence

Jerome W. Berryman, Illustrated by Lois Kilberg

Aug/2020, 40 Pages, PAPERBACK

ISBN-13: 9781640652958

This illustrated book for children captures the mindfulness, measured pace, and pauses that children experience in the Godly Play® circle or a supplement to any child’s bookshelf.

Silence is important for children; it is the stillness—both internal and external—that children need in today’s frenzied world. Godly Play founder Jerome Berryman offers children (and those who love them) a means to contemplate words and images, to develop a comfort level with silence that creates a foundation for wonder and the creative process. “Contemplative Silence” is a core component of Godly Play as found in all sacred story, parables, and liturgical action lessons presented to children. In each lesson, children encounter silence during entering, the lesson, wondering, art and material responses, the feast, and saying good-bye.

This companion to the Complete Guide to Godly Play volumes will find a home in all Godly Play rooms as well as other formation settings for children: homes, churches, Episcopal schools, and hospitals.

Age range: 3 - 8 years old

An Inside Look:

Silence intro

Jerome W. Berryman is the founder of Godly Play and has wide experience working with children ages 2-18. Writer, lecturer and workshop leader, Rev. Berryman is Senior Fellow of the Center for the Theology of Childhood. He is the author of The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Teaching Godly Play, Children and the Theologians, and The Spiritual Guidance of Children: Montessori, Godly Play and the Future.

LOIS KILBERG is a realist artist working primarily in watercolor and also fluent in digital art, charcoal, and pencil techniques. She lives in Hudson, New Hampshire, and her art is found in many private collections in the U.S. She has received numerous commissions and has participated in public art projects, including creating art for the Iron Rangers at the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation, Massachusetts. The lyrical and harmonious qualities found in Lois’ artwork reflect her life-long interest in music. She earned a BA in Music Composition from Wheaton College, Illinois before she pursued her career in fine art and after attending the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She is a member of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, Nashua Area Artists Association, and NH Made. Visit loislegacyart.com. 

"A beautifully illustrated exploration of the enigmatic nature of silence, Silence is a book to return to over and over again with the children you love. Adults with ears to hear may be surprised by what they learn from the story and the children they share it with."
—Mary Hunter Maxwell, President, Godly Play Foundation Board of Directors and Godly Play Missioner


"Silence is a koan, a mysterious and inviting path into the holy. Jerome Berryman invokes silence and holiness like no one else can; he is always thinking outside the box when it comes to drawing us into wonder. In picture book format, the simple prose and inviting illustrations of Silence lead the reader into a deepening place, an interior space—and then back out into the noisy world with a quiet center. For those who are willing to walk (or crawl) and watch and listen in the silence, this little book can be a daily companion."
—Kathy Bozzuti-Jones, PhD, Associate Director, Faith Formation & Education, Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City

Keywords

  • Attention
  • mindfulness for children
  • contemplative silence
  • spiritual practices for children
  • Godly Play

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