The Best Thing To Do - Paperback

Jesus Was Coming to Dinner. And Everything Was About to Get Very Interesting.

Martha had so much to do. The house needed tidying. The food needed preparing. The table needed setting. Jesus was coming — and everything had to be just right.

But Mary was not busy at all.

Mary was simply sitting at Jesus’s feet. Listening.

The Best Thing To Do is a warm, gently humorous, and beautifully simple retelling of the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38–42, written by Steph Williams for preschool children. Part of the beloved Little Me, Big God series from The Good Book Company, this storybook helps the very youngest children discover a truth that is as relevant today as it was in that busy household in Bethany: listening to Jesus is always the best thing to do.

A Story Every Child — and Every Grown-Up — Needs to Hear

The story of Mary and Martha is one that resonates deeply across every age and culture. The tension between busyness and stillness, between doing and listening, between rushing around and simply sitting at the feet of Jesus — it is a tension that every Christian knows from the inside.

And it begins early. Even young children live in a world full of noise, activity, and distraction. The gentle, clear message of this story — that in the middle of all the busyness, the one thing that really matters is listening to Jesus — is one that preschool children can grasp, feel, and carry with them.

Steph Williams captures the warmth and gentle drama of the story with the skill and care that has made her Little Me, Big God books so trusted and loved. Martha’s busyness is portrayed with sympathy, not mockery. Mary’s choice is shown to be not laziness but love. And Jesus’s words — quiet, kind, and completely clear — land with the gentle authority of the one who truly knows what is best.

The One Thing That Is Needed

When Martha comes to Jesus frustrated — asking him to tell Mary to help — Jesus responds with words that are among the most tender and searching in the Gospels: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Steph Williams brings this moment within reach of preschool children, helping them understand in simple, memorable language that Jesus is not saying housework doesn’t matter or that being helpful is wrong. He is saying something far more important: that sitting with him, hearing his words, and knowing him — that is the one thing that is truly needed. Everything else flows from there.

This is a truth worth learning young. And this book teaches it beautifully.

What This Book Covers

• The biblical account of Mary and Martha, retold faithfully from Luke 10:38–42 for children aged 2–5
• Martha’s busyness preparing for Jesus’s visit — and her frustration at Mary’s stillness
• Mary’s choice to sit at Jesus’s feet and listen to him speak
• Martha coming to Jesus with her complaint — and Jesus’s gentle, loving response
• The central truth: listening to Jesus is always the best thing to do
• A warm, accessible portrait of Jesus as someone worth stopping everything to listen to

What Children Will Discover

• That Jesus is worth listening to above everything else — above busyness, noise, and distraction
• That sitting still with Jesus and hearing his words is not wasted time — it is the best use of time
• That Jesus is kind and gentle — he does not scold Martha but lovingly shows her what matters most
• That choosing to listen to Jesus, like Mary did, is always the right choice
• That the Bible is full of real people facing real situations — and that Jesus speaks into all of them
• A love for the stories of the Gospels and a growing sense that Jesus is someone to be known, not just heard about

Who Should Read This Book

• Parents of toddlers and preschoolers aged 2–5 wanting a gentle, gospel-centred Bible storybook
• Grandparents and family members looking for a warm and meaningful Christian gift for a young child
• Sunday school and crèche leaders wanting an accessible retelling of Luke 10 for the youngest children
• Children’s ministry workers building a gospel-centred picture book library for young families
• Disciplers and mentors wanting a resource to recommend to parents of preschool children
• Churches in India building a collection of quality Christian resources for young families
• Anyone wanting a beautifully simple gospel storybook for a toddler or preschooler
• Families already working through the Little Me, Big God series together

About the Author

Steph Williams is a children’s author who writes for The Good Book Company’s gospel-centred resources for young readers. Her work in the Little Me, Big God series reflects a genuine gift for retelling the stories of the Gospels in language that is faithful to the biblical text, warm and accessible for very young children, and rich enough to open up real conversations between parents and little ones about Jesus. Across her books — including The Boy Who Shared His Sandwich and The Man Who Would Not Be Quiet — she consistently brings the person and teaching of Jesus to the centre, helping the youngest children encounter not just a story but the living Lord the story is about.

About the Little Me, Big God Series

The Best Thing To Do is part of the Little Me, Big God series — a collection of gospel-centred Bible storybooks published by The Good Book Company for preschoolers and very young children. Each book in the series takes a story or encounter from Scripture and retells it in age-appropriate language, helping children meet Jesus in ways they can understand, enjoy, and remember.

Other titles in the Little Me, Big God series include:

• The Boy Who Shared His Sandwich
• The Man Who Would Not Be Quiet
• and more

The series is one of the most trusted and complete gospel-centred picture book collections available for the very youngest members of God’s family — used by Christian families, Sunday schools, and children’s ministries around the world, including across India and South Asia.