I bet your kids, and perhaps even you, have never heard most of the Bible stories that I am committed to telling. We tend to cycle through the greatest hits like David and Goliath or Noah and his ark, leaving vast treasures of scripture untouched in the shadows of history. I started the Children of the Word series because I was tired of the recycled renditions that reduce complex spiritual truths into simple fairy tales. These are the forgotten stories, the powerful and rarely told moments from Scripture that need to be brought to life in a way that kids can finally see, feel, and understand. One of the most striking of these narratives is the story of Balaam, a man who lived far from Israel but knew the voice of God, and who found himself in a battle of wills not with a king, but with his own donkey. When I sat down to write Balaam: The Donkey Who Spoke Up, I wanted to explore the peculiar humor and heavy conviction of a famous prophet being outsmarted by a beast of burden, and why that specific humiliation was actually an act of severe mercy.
The story of Balaam is fascinating because it is not about a villain in the traditional sense, but about a man torn between the truth he knows and the reward he wants. Balaam was a seer known for powerful words, a man whose blessings and curses were believed to carry weight, which is why Balak, the king of Moab, was so desperate to hire him. This setup feels incredibly modern to me. We live in a world that is constantly offering us the King Balak deal, the promise of honor, silver, and gold if we will just twist the truth a little bit, if we will just curse what we know we should bless, or if we will just compromise our integrity for a seat at the table. Balaam knew that the Lord, the God of Israel, was real and holy, yet his heart still reached for the reward. He represents the internal struggle every child and adult faces, the desire to be faithful warring against the desire to be famous and rich. I wrote this book to show that knowing the truth isn't enough, you have to submit to it, even when the price is high.
In the book, I detail Balaam’s journey from his home to the hot roads of Moab, a journey that exposes the dangerous drift of a heart that is technically obeying on the outside while rebelling on the inside. Balaam initially refuses the king's messengers, and then refuses them again, but when the offer gets sweet enough, he saddles his donkey and goes, telling himself he will only speak what God says. It is on this road that the story shifts from a political drama to a supernatural encounter. I wanted to capture the frustration of a man who thinks he is on a mission of importance, only to be thwarted by the one creature he thinks he controls. The donkey sees the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword, but Balaam, the great seer, is blind to the spiritual reality right in front of him. This irony is the heartbeat of the book. We often think we are the masters of our destiny, whipping the obstacles in our path, when in reality, those obstacles are the only things saving us from destruction.
The scene where the donkey speaks is one of the strangest and most wonderful moments in Scripture, and I wanted to treat it with the seriousness it deserves. When the donkey asks, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times, it is not a cartoon moment, it is a piercing question about cruelty and blindness. In my retelling, I focus on the relationship between the man and the animal to highlight how pride blinds us to the loyalty of those trying to help us. Balaam is so consumed with how he looks in front of the princes of Moab, embarrassed that his donkey is crushing his foot and lying down in the dirt, that he threatens to kill the very thing that is keeping him alive. This is a profound lesson for children, just because something is blocking your path doesn't mean it is bad. God’s protection often looks like a wall, a flat tire, or a closed door. I wrote this so kids would learn to pause when things go wrong and ask if maybe, just maybe, God is standing in the road.
To make this ancient story stick, I followed the structure of every Children of the Word book by pairing the biblical narrative with a modern parable because faith isn't taught by lectures, it is lived through stories. In the second half of the book, we meet Ethan, a young boy facing a dilemma that mirrors Balaam’s. Ethan wants to make the soccer team, but he wasn't selected, and his friend suggests he use his mom's connection to the school board to force the coach's hand. Like Balaam, Ethan is offered a shortcut to the honor he craves. I wanted to show how the voice of the donkey appears in our modern lives. For Ethan, it wasn't a talking animal, but a quiet no in his heart, a gentle hand resting on his shoulder turning him away from the easy path. Later, when he sees a chance to expose a rival in the science fair to get ahead, he feels that same check in his spirit. This connects the supernatural to the practical. The modern parable helps children realize that the donkey can be their conscience, a friend’s warning, or just an unexplained hesitation.
The modern section of the book, dealing with Ethan’s science project, a water filtration system, demonstrates that obedience often comes with a cost. Ethan chooses not to expose his rival, Paige, even when she wins with a project he knows she had help with. This is the hard truth I want to convey, doing the right thing doesn't always result in an immediate trophy. Balaam didn't get the gold from Balak, he went home with empty hands but a full spirit. Similarly, Ethan has to watch someone else get the glory. But then, in a twist that mirrors the grace shown to Balaam, Ethan ends up helping Paige fix her project when it breaks. He moves from rivalry to servanthood. This mirrors the transformation of Balaam, who goes from beating his donkey to blessing the Israelites. I want my readers to see that the ultimate victory isn't the gold medal or the king's reward, it is the peace of knowing you haven't sold your soul. Ethan realizes that he was spared from becoming the kind of person who cuts corners, just as Balaam was spared from the sword.
One of the unique features of the Children of the Word series is the Action Plan included at the end of each book. For Balaam, the action plan is about Training Your Ears for God’s Gentle Voice. I included this because I don't want kids to just read a story and close the book, I want them to have tools to live it out. The action plan teaches them that God’s voice is rarely a shout, it is a nudge. It encourages them to practice listening in the ordinary moments, walking to class, waiting in line, so that when the big decisions come, their ears are tuned to the right frequency. We discuss the power of the pause. Balaam was saved by a pause, Ethan was saved by a pause. I want to empower children to step back when the crowd is rushing forward. In a culture that values speed and instant reaction, teaching a child to pause and ask, Does this choice honor God, is a radical act of discipleship.
I also wanted to address the concept of the Bible Hero through the badge on the cover of these books. We label them Bible Hero: Real Non-Fiction Superhero because our kids are inundated with fiction, capes, masks, and powers that don't exist. Balaam is a complicated figure, perhaps an anti-hero who learns to be a hero, but the realness of his struggle is what makes him important. These are not fairy tales. They are accounts of real people who faced giants and greed and impossible odds. By presenting Balaam as a real person who had to learn that obedience is better than reputation, we give children a model that is attainable. They don't need heat vision or super strength, they just need the courage to listen when their donkey stops moving. The badge is a reminder that God is still raising up heroes today who look just like them, ordinary people willing to trust God’s word over the world’s promises.
Writing the section where Balaam finally blesses Israel was one of my favorite parts of the process. Balak takes him to three different mountains, trying to find a camera angle where the people of God look cursed, but Balaam finally realizes that he cannot reverse what God has established. God is not man, that He should lie, Balaam declares. This is a theological anchor for the book. In a world of shifting truths and broken promises, I want children to know that God’s word is granite. It is heavy and unmovable. When Balaam speaks the prophecy of the Star and the Scepter, he is seeing Jesus from centuries away. Connecting this Old Testament prophet to the future Messiah shows the continuity of God’s plan. It teaches children that their obedience today is part of a much larger story that God is writing, a story that spans generations.
The decision to include the specific details of Ethan's struggle, the soccer tryouts, the science fair envy, the moment of helping his rival, was deliberate. I wanted to capture the texture of a child's life. The peer pressure from friends like Jacob and Leo, who tell him to do it today and don't be weird, is exactly what kids face. If we only tell them to be like Balaam without showing them what that looks like in a hallway or a gym, we fail them. Ethan’s realization that obedience isn't about what I lose, it's about what I keep is the core message I want to impart. He kept his integrity. He kept his peace. He kept his connection to God. These are invisible treasures, but they are the only ones that last. By juxtaposing the ancient desert of Moab with a modern school playground, the book bridges the gap between then and now, making the Bible feel urgent and alive.
Ultimately, Balaam: The Donkey Who Spoke Up is a book about the mercy of God’s no. We often view God’s prohibitions as restrictive, but through Balaam’s eyes, we see that they are protective. The angel stood in the road not to hurt Balaam, but to save him from a path that would have led to his death. The donkey crushed his foot to save his life. I want children to look at the disappointments in their lives, the team they didn't make, the party they couldn't go to, and wonder if perhaps God is sparing them from something they cannot see. It reclaims the concept of interruption and turns it into intervention. This perspective shift is vital for building resilience in young believers. It teaches them to trust the character of God even when they don't understand His methods.
I am deeply passionate about this series because I believe we are starving for truth. With over 3,000 people named in the Bible, we have barely scratched the surface of the wisdom available to us. By the end of 2026, I plan to have over 160 books in this collection because I want to leave no stone unturned. Balaam is just the beginning. It sets the tone for a series that respects the intelligence of children and the complexity of faith. It invites families to read together, to discuss the hard choices, and to recognize that the God who opened the mouth of a donkey is the same God who is whispering to them today. It is my hope that as you read this book, you will find yourself listening a little closer to the quiet things in your life, ready to find the divine in the disruptions.
The journey of writing this book has deepened my own understanding of what it means to be a seer. Balaam was a professional seer, yet he was blind until he humbled himself. It serves as a warning to me as an author and to us as parents, we must never become so confident in our own spiritual resume that we stop looking for God in the humble places. The donkey was the true seer that day because she was the one looking at the reality of the road, while Balaam was looking at the fantasy of the reward. My prayer is that this book helps raise a generation of donkeys, humble, stubborn in the face of danger, and willing to speak up when the path ahead is unsafe. If we can teach our children to value the voice of God above the applause of kings, we will have given them a gift more valuable than a house full of silver and gold.
I wrote this book because I wish I had it when I was growing up. I wish someone had told me that God can speak through anything, that popularity is often a trap, and that the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will, even if it looks like you are losing. Balaam The Donkey Who Spoke Up is my attempt to give that gift to your family. It is a story about the noise of pride and the voice of wisdom. It is a story about a king who wanted power and a prophet who learned peace. But mostly, it is a story about how much God loves us, enough to stand in our way with a sword, and enough to use a donkey to tell us to stop, look, and listen.