Most Unusual Friends is an exciting, humorous story about three exceptionally different little pond animals, Dont Touch Froggy, Eek the Snake, and a hearing-impaired salamander named Sal the Man-Deer. Dont Touch Froggy and Sal the Man-Deer are faced with grave uncertainty in a rescue attempt to save their friend Eek the Snake from imminent danger. Farmer Pete is about to burn his cornfield where Eek is asleep in the scarecrows jacket pocket. The situation looks bleak. Then out of the blue, some supersized toads attending a nearby toad convention come to the rescue and help the two friends reach Eek just in time. Later that evening, the three friends meet with a butterfly named Truth who listens to the happenings of their day. Truth parallels their days adventure with the Bible story about the Good Samaritan. He teaches them to be kind to others and to love all their neighbors who are different from them. The story is a unique blend of fantasy with Biblical trutha modern-day parable for children of all ages to enjoy.

Learn about funny and fascinating animal friendships around the globe.

It is exactly like Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid . . . ” Written by National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships documents one heartwarming tale after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways. A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster. The well-documented stories of Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten; and the hippo Owen and the tortoise Mzee. And almost inexplicable stories of predators befriending prey—an Indian leopard slips into a village every night to sleep with a calf. A lionness mothers a baby oryx. Ms. Holland narrates the details and arc of each story, and also offers insights into why—how the young leopard, probably motherless, sought maternal comfort with the calf, and how a baby oryx inspired the same mothering instinct in the lionness. Or, in the story of Kizzy, a nervous retired Greyhound, and Murphy, a red tabby, how cats and dogs actually understand each other’s body language. With Murphy’s friendship and support, Kizzy recovered from life as a racing dog and became a confident, loyal family pet. These are the most amazing friendships between species, collected from around the world and documented in a selection of full-color candid photographs.

Can something as simple as friendship have a transformative impact in a divided world? Through a series of richly textured historical portraits and reflections on personal experience, this book shows that boundary-crossing friendships in Christian mission have shaped theologies, built organizations and partnerships, facilitated mission work, and changed attitudes and ways of thinking. This is true in settings as varied as eighteenth-century French women’s work, twentieth-century urban Boston, colonial India, the Jim Crow South, and twentieth-century rural Congo. In all these settings and more, friendship has mattered. Boundary-crossing friendships are, however, not easy. Despite their power, such friendships are complicated by race, gender, ability, class, nationality, and other elements of identity, as this book also demonstrates. Friendships are not immune from the divisions in the world, nor a simple cure-all for them. Still, friendship stands as a powerful testimony to the gospel. Therefore, the book calls for more attention to friendship in the study of mission history and more living out of friendship as a practice of mission. In this way, this book pays honor to Dr. Dana L. Robert as a pre-eminent mission scholar and exemplary friend and mentor to others in the fields of missiology and world Christianity.

A new book from the New York Times bestselling series. Enhanced with beautiful full-color photographs, these true stories of camaraderie, affection, and remarkable bravery are from the author of the New York Times bestsellers Unlikely Friendships, Unlikely Loves, and Unlikely Heroes, as well as other books and calendars, with nearly two million copies in print. Meet Rex, a German shepherd who learned to love and trust again through the improbable friendship of a goose. The pit bull named Dolly, whose antics with her best friend, Sheldon the tortoise, include games of tag. For the millions of dog lovers, this heartwarming and inspirational book celebrates 37 stories of unusual canine companionship.

Based on a true story, an orangutan living at a wildlife preserve in South Carolina forms an unlikely friendship with a lost dog who comes to live there.

With the guidance of an angel, fifteen-year-old juvenile offender Jason discovers the rewards of working with and helping Kelly, who is in a wheelchair.