Singing at Midnight. Shaking at Dawn. A Story That Changes Everything.

It is the middle of the night. Two men are in prison — beaten, chained, and locked in the deepest cell. By any measure, things look bleak.

And then they start to sing.

The Prisoners, the Earthquake, and the Midnight Song is a fun, compelling, and vividly imagined retelling of one of the most dramatic stories in the book of Acts — the account of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail from Acts chapter 16. Written by master storyteller Bob Hartman for children aged 3–6, this is a storybook that brings the sights, the sounds, the shaking earth, and the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ to vivid life for the very youngest readers.

A Story Full of Surprises

The account of Paul and Silas in Philippi has everything a great story needs — and everything a young child finds captivating. Two men in chains. A midnight song that fills the prison. An earthquake that tears the doors open and breaks every lock. A terrified jailer. And a question that changes his life forever: "What must I do to be saved?"

Bob Hartman retells this story with all the energy, drama, and imaginative power that has made him one of the most beloved storytellers in Christian children's literature. He draws young readers into the sights and sounds of the Philippian jail, helps them feel the ground shake beneath their feet, and brings them face to face with the extraordinary truth at the heart of the story: Jesus's power to save did not stop when he ascended to heaven. It continues — through the proclamation of the gospel and through the presence of the Holy Spirit — right now, today, in every place his people carry his name.

More Than a Dramatic Story — A Gospel Truth

What makes this storybook distinctive is not just its dramatic retelling but its theological depth. Bob Hartman does not simply recount the events of Acts 16 as a thrilling adventure. He opens up the meaning behind them — helping young children discover:

That Paul and Silas sang because their joy in Jesus was greater than their suffering in prison
That they stayed when the earthquake opened the doors — not to escape, but to keep the jailer from harm and to share the gospel with him
That the jailer and his whole family came to faith that very night — because of the witness of two men who trusted Jesus completely
That this same Jesus — who saved the jailer — is still saving people today, through the same gospel and the same Spirit

This is not just ancient history. It is the living, ongoing story of what Jesus continues to do in the world.

Imagine the Sights and Sounds

One of the distinctive features of this storybook is its invitation to imagination. Bob Hartman — whose gift for oral storytelling has been shaped across decades of work with children — crafts the retelling in a way that draws young readers into the sensory experience of the story. Children are invited to imagine the darkness of the prison, the sound of Paul and Silas singing, the rumble of the earthquake, and the moment when the jailer falls to his knees and asks the question that echoes across the centuries.

This imaginative engagement makes the story not just something children hear but something they experience — and that experience stays with them.

What This Book Covers

The biblical account of Paul and Silas in the Philippian prison, retold faithfully from Acts 16 for children aged 3–6
Why Paul and Silas sang in prison — their joy and trust in Jesus even in suffering
The earthquake that opened the prison doors — and the remarkable choice Paul and Silas made to stay
The Philippian jailer's fear, his question, and his coming to faith in Jesus
The jailer's whole family hearing the gospel and believing — a household saved in one extraordinary night
The ongoing power of Jesus to save through the gospel and the Holy Spirit
An invitation to imagine the sights and sounds of the biblical world
How children themselves can tell others the good news of Jesus Christ

What Children Will Discover

That Jesus's power to save is real, ongoing, and unstoppable — even chains and prison walls cannot stop the gospel
That Paul and Silas trusted Jesus so completely that they could sing in the darkest circumstances
That choosing to stay when they could have escaped was itself a powerful act of witness and love
That one conversation about Jesus can change a whole family forever
That the Holy Spirit is at work through everyone who shares the good news of Jesus
That they too can tell others about Jesus — just like Paul and Silas did
A love for the stories of Acts and the early church, nurtured through compelling, imaginative storytelling

Who Should Read This Book

Parents of children aged 3–6 wanting a faithful and dramatically engaging Acts storybook
Grandparents and family members looking for a meaningful, story-rich Christian gift for a young child
Sunday school and children's ministry leaders wanting a vivid, accessible retelling of Acts 16
Children's workers looking for a resource that connects gospel truth to imaginative engagement
Churches in India building a library of gospel-centred picture books covering both the Gospels and Acts
Anyone wanting a storybook that helps young children understand what it means to share the good news of Jesus
Families working through the stories of the early church with young children

About the Author

Bob Hartman is one of the most gifted and widely-loved storytellers in Christian children's literature. He is the author of the Lion Storyteller Bible — which has sold over 130,000 copies in the UK and been translated into eleven languages — and of the Bible App for Kids on YouVersion, one of the most widely used children's Bible apps in the world. His storytelling gift is rooted in decades of experience bringing the stories of Scripture to life for children in schools, churches, and homes across the world.

What sets Hartman apart is not just his skill with language but his deep understanding of how children encounter story — what captures their imagination, what holds their attention, what stays with them long after the book is closed. In The Prisoners, the Earthquake, and the Midnight Song, he brings all of that gift to bear on one of the most dramatic and gospel-rich episodes in the book of Acts, making it come alive for even the very youngest readers in a way that is both faithful to the biblical text and irresistibly engaging.

About the Series

The Prisoners, the Earthquake, and the Midnight Song is published by The Good Book Company — one of the most trusted evangelical publishers of biblically faithful, gospel-centred resources for children, families, and churches. The Good Book Company's children's range includes the Tales That Tell The Truth hardback series, the Little Me, Big God preschool series, and a wide variety of resources for Sunday schools, children's ministries, and Christian families. Their books are consistently characterised by faithfulness to Scripture, age-appropriate accessibility, and high-quality design and illustration.