We received three books, A Boy and His Dog, Dying is Part of This World, and Don't Forget Me from Kayla Jarmon. My favorite of these, and the one I was most looking forward to, was definitely A Boy and His Dog, since I have two boys and their dog, but the other two books definitely have their place in your digital library, too.
In A Boy and His Dog, Kayla Jarmon tells a story as old as time. She relates the story of one day as experienced through the eyes of, you guessed it, a boy and his dog. If you have a son who has a dog, this book will make both of you (all three of you?) smile. The boy and his dog do all of the familiar things - they go exploring, play tug-of-war, climb trees, get filthy, and end the day exhausted, only to start the whole thing over the next day. In fact, the book ends exactly the way it begins, which is my favorite part. To a boy and his dog, every day is the same magical day as the one before. The book made me extremely nostalgic for simpler days when my boys were not teenagers. Even as teens, though, they love their dog!
The next two books are part of the Discussion Book Series. In Don't Forget Me, a baby develops in utero from conception through birth while listening to and interacting with the voice of God. The baby learns the voices of his parents, reacts to their actions and emotions, and, through it all, is told by God never to forget Him. Finally, at the end, the baby is born and his parents thank God for him. While this kind of book is not my favorite, I can certainly see it being an asset to some families who like discussion starter books like this one. I have always preferred organic discussions in my family, and my children always resisted more artificial discussion-type books like this one. However, the book is charmingly illustrated, and if you're looking for a book to introduce a new baby to the family, or to emphasize that God creates life in the womb and that all aspects of conception, development, and birth are ordained by him, you will really appreciate this book.
Finally, in Dying is Part of This World, Kayla Jarmon tackles the very difficult topic of death. I don't think many people are comfortable with the idea of death, as in, "Yes! Bring it on!" Even if we are certain of God's mercy and Jesus's grace, there is always a fear of the unknown. I'll confess that I was surprised by this book. I love that the author tackled so much more than I would have thought. For example, she addresses things like God being outside of our time, meaning that, for all we know, we all enter Heaven at the same time (therefore answering that age old problem of "How could I ever be happy in Heaven without my children?"). However, the book is decidedly and firmly Protestant in its presentation of how those left behind are to address the issue of those who have gone before. Ms. Jarmon acknowledges that it is only natural to talk to those who have died, especially, for example, our parents. She says that is just evoking their memory, though, and that God forbids trying to communicate directly with the dead...but Deuteronomy 18:10-11 is forbidding necromancy. He never forbids our talking to people who have died before us. In fact, scripture urges us over and over to pray for each other. I'm not going to hijack my own review, but please read here if you're interested in why Catholics talk non-stop to the people in Heaven (what you may know, somewhat erroneously, as "praying to the saints").
In any case, I can't recommend this third book to Catholics for obvious reasons, but some Protestants may find it informative or useful depending on their denomination and beliefs. My heart belongs to A Boy and His Dog! The book is charming and lovely and will resonate strongly with anyone who mothers both a boy and his dog!
Finally, although there are not currently audio files associated with these books, stay tuned because they are coming!
49 other Crew members read Kayla Jarmon's books. Click here to see what they thought!
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