Little Word
Intro
This is Time's Corner, a weekly newsletter by Christian Leithart. I’m the editor of Good Work magazine and the creator of Psalm Tap, a yearly colloquium for church musicians. By day, I teach, I make the most of summer break, and by night, I edit this newsletter.
This issue is a few days late, but I have a good reason for it, as you will see below.
Little Word
Behold! My friend Brian Moats and I have started a publishing company! It’s called Little Word. We create children’s books that teach Biblical symbols and patterns, particularly typological motifs. Read more on our website. (If you click on only one link today, make it this one.)
Years ago, I saw this posted on Twitter:
At the time, I had already toyed with the idea of creating a “Through New Eyes for Kids” book series, and when I saw this tweet, I realized a series like that would have an audience. I opened a notebook and started scribbling down ideas.
Later that same year, I happened upon Anne-Margot Ramstein’s picture book Before/After. There are no words in the book, nor any story. Instead, each page spread has two pictures side by side and you’re invited to figure out the connection between them. Despite the fact that there’s nothing to read or fiddle with, it’s one of the most interactive books I’ve ever read.
One of the most common connections between the two pictures is time—hence the name: Before/After. A beehive becomes honey. A jungle becomes a city. Sometimes, Ramstein highlights time’s cyclical nature. Day, night. Summer, winter. High tide, low tide. My favorite pages are where one object remains fixed while everything around it changes. Time acts more slowly on some things than others.
This struck me as powerful way to depict typology. Take Samson. Arms outstretched, one hand on each pillar, positioned in exactly the same way that Jesus was on the cross. Put Samson and Jesus on two facing pages and invite the reader to make connections between them. Even a child could do it—especially a child.
Aedan Peterson actually did something like this in Ken Padgett’s The Story of God Our King. Three sequential pages show Jesus in the same posture, arms oustretched, while the scene changes around him.
Pretty cool.
Meanwhile, in his home office, Brian had been editing hours upon hours of footage of Jim Jordan, Peter Leithart, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers talking about Biblical typology. He had taught youth Sunday school classes on Through New Eyes and The Lord’s Service and found his students extremely receptive to the ideas in those books. It was just a matter of time before Brian decided to adapt Jordan and Meyers for kids. He approached me about the idea and lo! Little Word was born.
I’ll keep you updated on our progress here at Time’s Corner, but the best way to stay informed is to follow Little Word on all the socials. Click for the ‘gram, the Tweetster, the Facity-Face, etc.
Upcoming
The second issue of Good Work has been sent to the printer! If you meant to sign up, but you got distracted by a flat tire or poopy diaper, go ahead and fill out the form. I’ll mail you a copy. (Remember that GW is a print-only magazine, which means that if you don’t subscribe, you ain’t gonna read it.)
Registration for the fourth annual Psalm Tap is open! Catch up on previous Psalm Taps here.
Up To
Reading: Just started The Hobbit as our new family read-aloud. It’s funnier than I remembered.
Watching: As you surely know by now, we aren’t very experimental when it comes to TV shows. Lately, we’ve been dipping into the mediocre later seasons of Community.
Listening: Rameau, played by Bob James
About
I’m Christian Leithart, a writer and teacher living in Birmingham, Alabama. I’m not active on social media, but you can read my blog here. Use the button below to share this issue of Time’s Corner, if you so desire. Thanks much for reading.