The Faithful Hands Series

Stories that grow capable hands, strong values, and hearts rooted in God

Warm, faith-filled children's books about family, meaningful work, and the wisdom passed from one generation to the next.

Cover of What Builders Grow: a boy and his grandpa mending a fence on a ranch

Book One

What Builders Grow

Eight-year-old Jacob can't wait to help Grandpa repair a broken fence at Riverstone Ranch. But real work doesn't always go according to plan. The wire snaps, tools slip, Trouble the cow lives up to her name, and Grandpa's hat goes flying.

With a pair of oversized hand-me-down gloves and Grandpa's patient guidance, Jacob discovers that building takes more than strong hands. It takes patience, listening, and the courage to keep trying.

Filled with farm humor, family warmth, and timeless faith, it celebrates meaningful work and the wisdom passed from one generation to the next — because capability is lovingly taught, and no one is born knowing.

Ages
Ages 4–9 (read-aloud 4–7, independent 7–9)
Themes
Perseverance · Faith in everyday life · Grandparents & grandchildren · Meaningful work · Stewardship
Format
Hardcover with dust jacket · 40 pages, full-color illustrations
Price
$22.99 softcover · $32.99 hardcover
Buy the book
Jacob handing Grandpa a fencing tool along the fence lineTrouble the cow wearing Grandpa's straw hat by the pasture fenceJacob and Grandpa on a tailgate looking at the finished fence

What Faithful Hands Stands For

Faith lived out every day

Woven naturally into ordinary moments — never added as a forced lesson.

Meaningful work

Children who contribute, persevere, solve problems, and do real work with real tools.

Wisdom passed down

A grown-up slows down and shows a child how. That is where capability begins.

Stewardship

Caring well for what God has placed in a family's hands — land, work, and each other.

Free Download

The Faithful Hands Family Guide

12 Skills and Stories Worth Passing Down

Conversation starters, a family interview page, and a place for children to record something a parent or grandparent taught them.

You'll also receive the Faithful Hands Letter — short notes about family, work, and new stories. Unsubscribe any time.

Meet the Faithful Hands Series

Book One · Riverstone Ranch

What Builders Grow

Eight-year-old Jacob can't wait to help Grandpa repair a broken fence at Riverstone Ranch. But real work doesn't always go according to plan. The wire snaps, tools slip, Trouble the cow lives up to her name, and Grandpa's hat goes flying.

Book Two · Coming soon

Sticks with Promise

A bundle of bare little sticks doesn't look like much of a gift. But an orchard begins with someone willing to plant what they may never sit under.

Ahead

More stories are taking root

The same family, the same land, new seasons of work worth doing.

The Author

Rachel Van Essen

Rachel writes stories about children learning to do real things with people who love them. Farming runs through her family, and she has a soft spot for lessons learned while hands are busy. She and her husband, Jerry, help family businesses get organized so the next generation is not left guessing — the same instinct behind these books. They split their time between Minnesota and Texas and have three grown children and eight grandchildren. Rachel has made yearly family photo books for years, and thinks a Rubik's Cube is a perfectly reasonable thing to teach a grandchild.

More about Rachel

From Readers

Endorsements from parents, grandparents, homeschool families, Christian educators, and rural readers will appear here as What Builders Grow reaches its first families.

Read it early and share your thoughts