Balaam and the Donkey Who Spoke

About this story

Maya notices tiny ants crossing a garden path. Join Eli, Maya and Mum as they explore the unusual Bible account of Balaam and his donkey. King Balak wants Balaam to curse Israel, but God has instructions of His own. On the journey, the donkey sees an angel before Balaam does. She turns into a field, presses against a vineyard wall and finally lies down in a narrow place. Then God makes the donkey speak. Balaam must face what he has missed and hear the angel’s instruction. Separate modern family scenes invite children to pause, notice, ask questions and make room for living things. This 29-page digital edition includes fourteen distinct illustrated scenes, Bible references beneath relevant story passages, seven discussion questions, My Little Caring Plan, a short prayer and two activities: Pause and Notice and A Kind Space. The selected retelling names Balaam hitting the donkey three times and includes an angel carrying a sword. Hitting and injury are not pictured. Grown-up notes identify threatening dialogue omitted from the child-facing retelling and discuss the difficult transition between God’s permission and anger. Children may question adults and seek help when something feels unsafe. The donkey’s speech is an exceptional event in this Bible account; animals do not ordinarily talk in human words. Activities involve observation or drawing with a grown-up. The PDF has searchable interior text. The matching fixed-layout EPUB preserves the illustrated pages and requires a compatible EPUB 3 reader.