North Texas mom turns everyday moments with her kids into a faith-based children's book series

What started as quiet moments on the couch with her three kids has grown into a mission reaching families far beyond the Brooks home.

This Christmas, North Richland Hills mom Sarah Brooks is helping parents and children slow down, read together, and talk about faith and character through her new children's book "A New Ewe," the first in her growing series called VirtEwes.

Before she became a stay-at-home mom, Brooks spent years as a teacher.

"I've always loved reading and being with kids," she said. "When I had my oldest daughter, Emery, I knew I'd want to be home with her."

But even after leaving the classroom, the teacher in her never went away. When her daughter was little, Brooks realized she couldn't find the kind of faith-based, character-focused resources she wanted to read with her.

Then came the idea, sparked, she says, during a quiet moment holding her baby girl.

"I had a little idea about creating resources to teach God's sheep about character development and faith," Brooks said.

That spark became VirtEwes, a faith-based children's series centered around a curious little lamb with a big message.

Brooks says her love for sheep and their symbolism in scripture helped shape the world she's creating.

"In the Bible, over 500 times God uses the word 'sheep,'" she said. "It lit something in me. I wanted to teach my own little lambs how to hear, know and follow Jesus."

Her new book, "A New Ewe," follows Emmy the Ewe, a little lamb who gets into a "fleece fiasco" the night before picture day. In an effort to impress her friends, she ends up at the "BaBa Shop," where she hears about a perfect lamb, Jesus, who talks with her about new hair, a new heart, and what it means to follow Him.

The story is filled with bright illustrations and even a companion plush toy, but Brooks says the real impact goes deeper.

"If you dig below the surface, it's about the heart, who we are as people and our need for a savior. I think it can stir some really powerful conversations," Brooks said. 

Before launching VirtEwes, she tried running an embroidery business, one that, as she says, "didn't exactly take off."

"I was scared to try something new because I was scared to fail again," she said. "But I didn't want to regret not going after a dream that was in my heart."

So she wrote, found an illustrator, and built a character, a book and eventually a brand inspired heavily by her own children.

"The heart and premise of the story came from actual conversations I was having with my kids," she said. "Questions they would ask me."

As copies of "A New Ewe" spread across North Texas and beyond, Brooks says her hope is simple: that families will slow down, curl up together, and have conversations about the things that shape a child's heart.

Just in time for Christmas, she said she hopes the book becomes a way for families to reconnect.

Brooks is already writing book two, titled "A Discerning Ewe." She's also dreaming up a full character-based curriculum to help families and churches guide kids through big questions and everyday choices.