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

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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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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

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!

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

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!