The Story Behind Dr. Blueberry
One Parent’s Determination to Find Captivating Bible Stories for her Children
MEET DR. BLUEBERRY
FOUNDER OF FAITH CENTERED MEDIA
Dr. Kimberly Thornbury
Dr. Blueberry was created out of inspiration to retell the works of Ethel Barrett.
Faith Centered Media began when Dr. Kimberly Thornbury wanted to teach the Bible to her two young girls. Some books worked well. But many did not keep their attention. Then she found special Bible stories written by Ethel Barrett. Those stories made a big difference
“When I was a mother with small children, I tried many devotional books for family devotions. Some books were instant hits (e.g. “The Jesus Storybook Bible” by Sally Lloyd Jones) while other stories failed to grab my girls' attention.”
She remembered special Bible stories written by Ethel Barrett. These books are no longer printed. When she was a little girl, she listened to Barrett’s stories on records.
She searched online and bought many of Barrett’s used books. Each night, she read a few pages to her daughters.
Each story ended with a cliffhanger that made them excited for more. Ethel Barrett told Bible stories in a fun way. Because of that, her girls even asked to have devotions every night.
ETHEL BARRETT’S LEGACY
Ethel Barrett was a Christian writer, speaker, and storyteller, whose popularity peaked between the early 1950s and the mid-1980s.
Ethel Barrett (1913-1998)
Ethel Barrett wrote over 40 books published by Zondervan, Gospel Light, and Regal Books. Her Biblical Character books include Abraham, Jonah, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, David, Joseph, Joshua, Daniel, Moses, Ruth, Peter, Paul, and the early church.
She began her career as a Sunday School teacher for sixth grade boys.
She was surprised by how loud and restless the boys were. They were not interested in the usual Sunday School lessons. So she decided to find a better way to tell Bible stories in a way they would enjoy and understand.
Ms. Barrett believed the Bible is not boring. She told Bible stories in a way that was fun and powerful. Her way of sharing them worked very well.
It has been more than 30 years since her books were printed again. Because of this, many children have grown up without getting to read these wonderful stories.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
I am most grateful to her grandchildren Mike and Sean Barrett, for allowing me permission to retell her stories. The gifted Cameron S, with his incredible creative mind, turned her books into our screenplay as well as the team at Failure Island who filmed, produced, and edited all episodes.
I hope that your family enjoys each episode. If you like the stories, donations to Faith Centered Media will help us fund future projects by Ethel Barrett.
Thank you for stopping by!
Dr. Kimberly Thornbury
Faith Centered Media seeks to provide faith based educational resources. The first initiative of Faith Centered Media, Dr. Blueberry's House, provides online video episodes of Biblical characters to be used for teaching, study and worship.