Touching Children’s Books (Kayla Jarmon review)

Last week, I reviewed a set of children’s books with a strong digital tie-in (the week before, too, now I think of it). Today, the books I want to tell you about are from author Kayla Jarmon and are “just” books – though my copies are electronic (that’s the only digital tie-in these books have). As a wife, mother, screenwriter, and director, telling stories is near and dear to her heart. As of the date of this posting, she has three books on her website (A Boy and His Dog, Dying is Part of this World, and Don’t Forget Me), and I’ll talk a bit about each of them. 

Discussion Book Series and A Boy and His Dog by Kayla Jarmon

A Boy and His Dog

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A991A3E0-00C3-4F00-BA73-7203A20FDB76This is a cute story with whimsical illustrations telling the story of the relationship a boy has with his best friend, his dog. It opens with them waking up together, giving each other a big “good morning” hug. Then they go about their day together, doing things such as eating breakfast, playing tug-of-war, and chasing squirrels. For each activity, the book shows how the boy goes about things and how the dog does it. For example, when they climb a tree, the boy helps the dog up, but the dog gets scared when his third paw leaves the ground, so he ends up just watching the boy climb. At the end of the day, once they’ve bathed to get clean from their busy day, the two go to bed together. The final pages of the story repeat the first pages – with the friends waking and hugging. I thought that was a really sweet way to wrap up the story.

I am definitely not a dog person (I truly can’t stand the creatures – my apologies for probably disagreeing with you on this), and I still enjoyed the book. It really shows a sweet relationship between “man and beast.” I also appreciated that the activities the pair do together were all fun, outdoors things – not a screen or digital device in sight.

The paperback edition is available for $14.99 on Amazon.

Don’t Forget Me

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This one was my favorite of the three. As book 1 of The Discussion Series, it’s designed to read to your kids and get them thinking about how life works and how God designed it all.

595205CC-B0AF-4891-A3A8-EED38801A37EThe book tells the story of an unborn baby and his conversations with God. It opens with conception, and how the new embryo is so comfortable in his new environment. At this, God speaks up and reminds the baby that He is there too, at which the baby is even more comforted and glad to have Him around. The conversations continue as the baby grows, and he and God talk about things like how much the baby likes the sounds of his mother (and later, father), what it feels like to grow, and what will happen when Baby leaves this room (Mom’s womb) for a new one (his nursery). Frequently along the way, God reminds Baby that He is always there. 

About two-thirds of the way through the book, the conversation shifts a bit as the baby is getting ready to be born. God reminds him that through this time of pain (because really, contractions can’t be comfortable for babies either), He is still there. And that the pain will be worth it in the end because Baby will get to meet his parents at long last. At the last moment before birth, God reminds Baby, “Don’t Forget me.” The final pages of the book are the parents telling the baby (while still in the hospital) about how God brought him to them and would he like to hear about God. The baby thinks, “Yes, please. I don’t want to forget Him.”

I’ve read this book a few different times during the course of the review period (including right now to refresh my memory as I write), and it makes me tear up a bit every single time. It is such a beautiful story, and I absolutely adore the theme of always remembering God and where we came from.

The paperback edition is available for $14.99 on Amazon.

Dying is Part of This World

8CCC8756-0837-4051-A9F4-9B8E95095107This is book 2 of Discussion Series, and a really good follow up to Don’t Forget Me. While the first book focuses on the beginning of life (conception and birth), this one is more about the end. It is written as a conversation between a child and her mother, with no other narration at all. After a trip to visit her grandfather, the child comes back sad, thinking about her mother dying after having watched the news report. In each chapter (the other two are picture books, but this one, despite being a similar page count, has chapters), the mother explains how death is simply a part of life. She’s very sympathetic to her daughter’s distress over the subject, but she still never backs down from the idea that it will happen, eventually. 

Each chapter is a different portion of their conversation, and it ranges from “we’ll see each other again in Heaven” to “if you (the child) die first, you’ll be too happy with Jesus to be sad about missing me” to how we get our parents (God gives them to us) and why we have to die (sin). At the end of the chapters are discussion questions to help spark a conversation between you and your child.

Overall, it’s a very well done book, and not one that I would feel even a moment’s hesitation in sharing with my children, especially if they’re dealing with a situation like this in real life (the death of a grandparent, for example). My kids aren’t, but I will keep this book in my “hip pocket” for such an occasion.

The paperback edition is available for $11.99 on Amazon.

I haven’t actually read any of these books to my kids yet, because I only have access to (password protected) online versions, and since we don’t have internet access at the house it’s just not really possible for me to read the to the boys at this time. Even just reading them to myself, though, I can absolutely recognize their good qualities and how each and every one of them would be a fantastic addition to any family’s library.

Blessings,

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Discussion Book Series and A Boy and His Dog {Kayla Jarmon Reviews}
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