About the Book

Book: A Little Christian’s Animals (The Little Christian Learning Collection Book 2)

Author: Lila Noffsinger

Genre: Christian Children’s Picture Book

Release Date: February 20, 2024

A Little Christian’s Animals is the newest installment of the Little Christian Learning Collection, which teaches preschool level learning concepts with Bible stories! In A Little Christian’s Animals, children journey with sing-songy rhymes through ten animal-centered Bible stories. Children will be captured by Lucy Shin’s adorable illustrations, and parents will enjoy nourishing their kids’ hearts and minds. Big Biblical truths are packed into this bite-sized book, the perfect length for little attention spans. Little animal enthusiasts will love Jonah’s whale, Daniel’s lions, Egypt’s frogs, and many more animals! A Little Christian’s Animals is sure to become a family favorite of kids and parents alike!

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Lila Noffsinger is a Christian, wife, and mama to three. Her kids are her inspiration for writing, and she loves creating for them books that are cute, fun to read, educational, and biblically enriching. When she isn’t writing or playing with her family, she loves to read, craft, and hike. Lila lives with her family in San Jose, CA.

More from Lila

I don’t need to look far to find inspiration for my books. Literally. My little inspirations are usually physically touching me. My three kids (ages 3 and under) bring joy, laughter, and a lot of books into my life. As a mom, I want books for them that are fun for me to read, engaging for them to look at, and enriching for their hearts and minds. What sprung up from that desire was The Little Christian Learning Collection, now including A Little Christian’s 123s, A Little Christian’s Animals, and the accompanying coloring & activity books.

It continues to fill me with joy when my kids pick these books off the shelf to read. My youngest daughter will toddle through the house with A Little Christian’s Animals in her hand, yelling “Am-mi-mals!” as a request to read it. If I accidentally skip the frog on the first page, she will turn back to it so she can point it out. Frogs have become her favorite animals, and, based on Lucy Shin’s adorable portrayal of them, I can’t blame her.

I’ve been so honored by the reports of these books being similarly loved in other households. It brings me so much joy to know that kids are asking to read these Bible stories over and over again.

I love the work that goes into constructing these books. The rhymes are fun to ponder over as I rock babies or cook dinner. I love the research that goes into making the illustrations historically and geographically accurate. Illustrator Lucy Shin is a joy to work with, and the way she turns my notes and scribbles into something adorable seems like magic to me.

I’ve also really enjoyed putting together the coloring and activity books. It’s yet another way to let kids engage with Bible stories, learn something new, and have fun doing it! I’ve been surprised by what a hit they’ve become, and I’m so glad that kiddos around the country are enjoying them. If you want a taste, ALL of the coloring pages are available for free here: https://www.seedlingsbooks.com/color

Overall, writing these books has been a huge blessing, and I’m continually honored to hear how they’re being enjoyed by little readers. Keep your eyes open for more in the Little Christian Learning Collection! There’s more to come.

Interview with Lila

What is your real-life work schedule like when writing?

While I would love to say that a few times a week, I settle in at a desk that overlooks a lake, drink a hot cup of coffee, and spend hours working on my books, for me that’s not real life. I have three kids, ages 3.5, 2, and 4 months, so my real-life schedule is unpredictable, giggly, and a little chaotic. As a result, the work of writing books shares space with the work of normal life. Ideas form and rhymes are strung together while doing dishes, folding laundry, or picking up toys. If I’m able to come up with something I like, I grab my phone and use the Notes app to write it down. The books are beta tested on my kids while cuddling on the couch. My real-life work schedule is more “real-life” than work, but I’m big on embracing the season I’m in, and I’m loving enjoying my kids while they’re little.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I began writing my first book shortly after my second daughter was born. It was the Spring of 2022, and I was 32 years old. My daughter struggled to sleep without being held, and I struggled to hold her without falling asleep – so I created games for myself. I thought of adjectives to describe people for every letter of the alphabet. My older daughter is adorable, bubbly, creative, and so on. After nights of exhausting that game, I turned to the Bible. Could I think of something from the Bible for every letter of the alphabet? Abraham, Boaz, Caleb, Debrah,  and so on. Meanwhile, in the daytime, I was reading endless books to my older daughter and became frustrated at not finding books that were cute, Biblically enriching, and educational. I realized that my midnight Bible alphabet game could turn into a cute children’s book, but all 26 letters and rhymes were a lot to hold in my head in the midnight hours, so I transitioned to numbers. 1 true God, 2 people in the garden. . . and so was born A Little Christian’s 123s. I’ve been grateful for its reception, as other parents also seem to joy books that are fun to read (over and over!), and enriching spiritually and educationally for their kids.

What does your family think of your writing?

My husband is endlessly supportive. He brainstorms with me, lets me run ideas by him, and plays with the kids when I need a bit of time to string together cohesive thoughts. He also reminds me what a cool thing it is that I have two books (and two workbooks!) published, especially when I get discouraged in the weeds of sales or marketing. My kids are big fans of the books! That feels like high praise because they don’t really understand that I wrote them. My 2 year old loves the frogs in A Little Christian’s Animals, and can be seen regularly carrying the book across the room saying, “Read am-mi-mals!”. My 3 year old loves that her name is in the front of the books. I feel so blessed to be writing books that my kids can enjoy, and so honored that they do enjoy them!

Do you base your characters on real people?

Yes! The characters in both A Little Christian’s 123s and my newest book, A Little Christian’s Animals are taken straight from the Bible. What’s fun is that not only are the characters based on real people, but the backgrounds and details are based on real places, real history, and real archeological finds. The illustration on the frogs page of A Little Christian’s Animals, for example, was drawn based on research into what the houses near the Nile looked like then, as well as Egyptian clothes, haircuts, and jewelry. That was a very fun illustration to do research for, because Egypt has such a dry climate and thus many of their artifacts were preserved and available as reference. The rooster page was based on the high priest Caiaphas’ courtyard where Peter’s conversation likely happened. The lion illustration was influenced by the fact that Babylon has a very high water table and as a result, Daniel’s lions’ den was unlikely a pit in the ground and more likely a man-made room, and so that’s how it’s depicted in my book. I could go on and on about the realness depicted in each illustration! It’s important to me to have illustrations based on reality with elements of historical and geographical accuracy, because I believe it helps to convey to our kids that these events really happened.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Thanks for asking! You can subscribe to the Seedlings Books newsletter here: www.seedlingsbooks.com/join or follow along on Instagram here: www.instagram.com/seedlingsbooks

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, August 9

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 10

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 11

For Him and My Family, August 12

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 13

Girls in White Dresses, August 14

Life on Chickadee Lane, August 15

Lots of Helpers, August 15

By the Book, August 16

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, August 17

Stories by Gina, August 18 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, August 18

Labor Not in Vain, August 19

Cover Lover Book Review, August 20

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, August 21

Book Zone, August 22

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lila is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon Gift Card with the entire Little Christian Learning Collection!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2dbdb/a-little-christian-s-animals-celebration-tour-giveaway