Character taught through story
Noël Justine Launches Children's Series Teaching Character-Building Through Artful Storytelling
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Key Points
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Justine says she wrote this for the whole room, with character not taught in a lecture but caught in a story.
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Illustration direction draws on Beatrix Potter and Charles Santore’s Aesop’s Fables, offering artwork a child will study long after the story ends.
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The ending is designed to land with genuine warmth rather than being a moralizing close.
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Kharis Publishing released The Shepherdess and the Lost Lamb as the first book in a new family-focused character-building series.
Kharis Publishing has released The Shepherdess and the Lost Lamb, a new children's book by Noël Justine that aims to teach responsibility through story rather than lectures. Laconia Daily Sun reports the book is the first in a planned family-focused character-building series set in early 1900s England.
The ebook is priced at $0.99 through July 31, making it an accessible entry point for families. The story follows a young farmgirl named Josephine as she tries to prove she can handle real responsibility on her parents' farm.
Story Over Sermon: How Josephine Earns Her Responsibility
The book centers on Josephine, a girl growing up on an English farm in the early 1900s. She wants to prove she is ready for real duties. The story unfolds as she searches for a lost lamb, testing her resolve along the way.
Justine says character is best passed on through story, not instruction. "Character is not taught in a lecture but caught in a story," she said. She wrote the book for the whole room — children, parents, and grandparents alike — aiming for cross-generational appeal that few children's titles attempt.
Illustrations Designed to Be Studied, Not Just Glanced At
Justine drew on two major influences for the book's visual style: Beatrix Potter and Charles Santore's Aesop's Fables. Both are known for rich, detailed artwork that rewards close looking. The goal was illustration a child would return to long after finishing the story.
The book is meant to be viewed as art as well as read. Each page is designed so young readers can find new details on repeat visits. That approach sets it apart from simpler picture books that rely on bold, minimal images.
Faith, Farming, and Family Shape the Author's Vision
Justine is a Christian wife, farmer, and mother of eight. Her life experience directly shaped the book's themes. The story weaves in values around stewardship, marriage, and motherhood as a high calling — but without turning preachy.
The ending is built for warmth, not moralizing. Justine said she wanted the close of the story to feel earned and genuine. That choice reflects her broader view that readers — especially children — respond to feeling, not finger-wagging.
$0.99 Launch Price Opens a New Series for Families
Kharis Publishing set the ebook price at $0.99 through July 31. That low price point is a deliberate choice to get the first book into as many hands as possible. The Shepherdess and the Lost Lamb is the opening entry in what Justine plans as a full character-building series.
Each future book in the series is expected to follow a similar format — grounded in historical settings, built around a young protagonist, and designed to carry a quiet moral message. No release dates for follow-up titles have been announced yet.
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