Author uses creation to help students understand Advent waiting

Waiting can be a challenge for children, but author Gayle Boss led them to a new understanding Nov. 10 when she visited St. Helena School, Edison, to talk about the new children’s edition of her book, “All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings.”

Two hundred children from pre-K3 through eighth grade filed into the auditorium for an hour and a half session by Boss, who employed a red fox puppet named Sylvie, French for “from the forest,” with whom she talked intermittently and who whispered back, much to the delight of the children. The book features illustrations of animals with brief text, designed to be children friendly. It uses animals of the northern woodlands as a way of understanding Advent, the Christian season of waiting for Jesus.

“Animals change in amazing ways going into winter. They live outside all the time. We learn a great deal from them,” said Boss. The twenty-four animal stories included in the book are designed to be read one day at a time in the spirit of Advent, ending with the same refrain: “The dark is not an end. It’s a door. It’s the way a new beginning comes.”

Boss focused on the many different reasons animals also have to wait, including the painted turtle, who gets heat from the environment and holds its breath for months in cold weather, waiting until it can safely breathe again. She also spoke of the wood frog, which slowly freezes completely in ice and then waits, until it unfreezes in the spring.

These stories are meant to help readers grow in respect for their animal kin and, throughout the book, they build until Dec. 25, with the appearance of Jesus, who was born in an animal shelter. “All creation waits for Jesus and for us to be at home with all of our animal kin,” said Boss.

Boss held the young audience in rapt attention throughout her presentation. Upon opening it for questions, on-going discussions with students ended only in preparation for dismissal.

The event was organized by Father Anthony Sirianni, St. Helena pastor; school principal Felician Sister Mary Charles Wienckoski, and Mary Kay Cullinan, parish director of religious education.

Father Sirianni commented, “The excitement of the children when Gayle read a story from her book connecting nature to Advent was truly a gift. It made me look forward to Advent.”

Sister Mary Charles acknowledged, “Our students were mesmerized by the stories Gayle read from ‘All Creation Waits.’ Hearing how the animals learn to wait for seasons to change and how they prepare for the changing seasons was a perfect example of how they must learn to be patient during Advent. It ends with the birth of Jesus surrounded by the animals. What better way to end a story! Great book with a story for every day of Advent.”