Stories that aid in moral formation is a really important part of parenting.

And unless children are formed morally and know the difference between right and wrong,

they won't understand what sin is and they won't understand their need for the gospel.

Welcome to the Crossway podcast, a show where we sit down with authors each week for thoughtful

interviews about the Bible, theology, church history, and the Christian life.

I'm Matt Tully, and today I'm talking with Betsy Childs Howard.

Betsy is an author and currently serves as an editor for the Gospel Coalition.

Her newest book is one written for kids called Arlo and the Great Big Cover Up from Crossway.

Today, Betsy and I discuss stories and the importance of moral formation for children.

We talk about why stories are such a powerful tool for instilling deep biblical truths in our kids, how the world

catechizes our children every day, and why intentional moral formation and an emphasis on the gospel

of God's grace are not mutually exclusive. Let's get started. Betsy, thank you so much for joining me on the Crossway podcast today.

It's great to be here, Matt.

Thank you.

So when I brought home this new book that you've written, it's called Arlo and the Great

Big cover-up, I got to bring home an early copy of the book to my kids.

I have three kids, three young kids, and we sat down on the couch

after work, and I pulled it out of my bag, and I opened it up and read it to them. And I have to say,

as soon as I finished reading it, the first response from all three of the kids was again.

And then I read it again to them. And they said again, and I read it

again. And they literally asked me to read it three times in a row, even the one-year-old. And that's,

that's kind of continued. It's interesting to see the staying power of the book that it's had

...