The Little Man Whose Heart Grew Big - Paperback

He Was Little. But What Happened to His Heart Was Very, Very Big.

Zacchaeus ran as fast as his little legs could run. He climbed as high as his little arms could reach. Because Jesus was coming — and Zacchaeus was not going to miss him.

What happened next changed everything. Not just for a small tax collector in a sycamore tree in Jericho. But for everyone who has ever needed someone to notice them, seek them out, and make a way for them to come home.

The Little Man Whose Heart Grew Big is a warm, joyful, and beautifully simple retelling of the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19:1–10, written by Steph Williams for preschool children. Part of the beloved Little Me, Big God series from The Good Book Company, this book helps very young children discover one of Jesus’s most tender and personal encounters in the Gospels — and the extraordinary truth at its heart: Jesus came to save people whose hearts are small and to make a way for them to be friends with God.

A Story Every Child Can See Themselves In

What makes the story of Zacchaeus so perfect for young children is its combination of the immediately relatable and the genuinely surprising. Zacchaeus is small — something every young child understands from the inside. He is trying hard to see — straining, running, climbing, doing everything he can to get a glimpse of Jesus. He is not expected to be noticed. And then Jesus stops, looks up, and calls him by name.

For young children, this moment carries an emotional and spiritual charge that is felt before it is fully understood. Jesus sees people others overlook. Jesus seeks people who are lost. Jesus goes to the home of someone nobody else would visit — and everything changes.

Steph Williams captures all of this with the gentleness, simplicity, and warmth that has made her Little Me, Big God books so trusted and loved by parents, Sunday school leaders, and children’s ministry workers around the world.

Small Hearts. Big Saviour.

The central truth this book places before preschool children is both simple enough for a two-year-old to grasp and deep enough to sustain a lifetime of faith: Jesus came to save people whose hearts are small — and to make a way that they can be friends with God.

Zacchaeus’s heart was small. Not because he was short. But because he was selfish, dishonest, and cut off from the people around him. And when Jesus came to his house, something happened. Something changed. The small heart grew big — big enough for generosity, big enough for repentance, big enough for the friendship with God that had seemed impossible before.

This is the gospel in miniature, offered to the very youngest children with all its beauty and hope intact.

Helpful Notes for Parents

Recognising that the story of Zacchaeus raises real questions — Who was he? Why did people dislike him? What does it mean to have a small heart? — the book includes notes for parents at the back that explain the details of the account from Luke 19:1–10. These notes give parents and carers the context and confidence to talk with their children about what happened and why it matters — turning a picture book into a genuine discipleship conversation about Jesus, sin, and the grace that changes everything.

Ideal for Toddler Groups and Children’s Ministry

One of the distinctive features of this book — explicitly noted by the publisher — is its suitability for use in church toddler groups and children’s ministry outreach settings. Its warm, non-preachy tone, accessible language, and gospel clarity make it an ideal resource to give away or use with children whose families may have little or no church background.

The story of Zacchaeus — a social outsider welcomed and transformed by Jesus — is precisely the kind of story that speaks to every family, whatever their background. And The Little Man Whose Heart Grew Big tells it in a way that is accessible to all and preachy to none.

What This Book Covers

• The biblical account of Zacchaeus, retold faithfully from Luke 19:1–10 for preschool children
• Zacchaeus’s smallness, his determination to see Jesus, and his tree-climbing solution
• Jesus calling Zacchaeus by name and inviting himself to his house
• The crowd’s reaction — and Jesus’s response to them
• The transformation of Zacchaeus — his heart growing big through his encounter with Jesus
• The central gospel truth: Jesus came to save people whose hearts are small and to make a way to be friends with God
• Parent notes explaining the details of Luke 19:1–10 to support discipleship conversations at home

What Children Will Discover

• That Jesus notices and seeks out people others overlook or exclude
• That Jesus came not for people who have it all together but for people whose hearts are small
• That an encounter with Jesus changes people — from the inside out
• That being friends with God is not something we achieve but something Jesus makes possible
• That the Bible is full of real people whose lives were changed by meeting Jesus — and that we can meet him too
• A love for the stories of the Gospels nurtured through warm, simple, and beautifully told storytelling

Who Should Read This Book

• Parents of preschoolers and toddlers aged 2–5 wanting a faithful, warm Gospel storybook
• Church toddler group leaders looking for a gospel-centred resource to use with or give to young families
• Sunday school and crèche workers wanting an accessible retelling of Luke 19 for the youngest children
• Children’s ministry workers looking for a resource suitable for families with no church background
• Grandparents and family members wanting a meaningful and lasting Christian gift for a young child
• Churches in India building a library of quality gospel-centred picture books for young families and outreach
• Disciplers and mentors wanting a resource to recommend to parents of preschool children
• Anyone wanting a simple, beautiful, and evangelistically accessible gospel gift book for a toddler or preschooler

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 across the Little Me, Big God series — including The Boy Who Shared His Sandwich, The Man Who Would Not Be Quiet, and The Best Thing To Do — reflects a genuine and consistent 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 who Jesus is and why he matters. In The Little Man Whose Heart Grew Big, she brings that gift to one of the Gospel’s most tender and hope-filled encounters — helping the very youngest children discover that Jesus came for people just like them.

About the Little Me, Big God Series

The Little Man Whose Heart Grew Big 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 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. The series is ideal for use in church toddler groups, Sunday schools, crèche settings, and Christian homes — and several titles are specifically recommended as outreach and give-away resources for families with no church background.