Grandad's Prayers Of The Earth - Hardcover

Wood, Douglas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0744556481 ISBN 13: 9780744556483

Publisher: Candlewick Press, 1999

Synopsis

"Wood conveys a sense of something larger in the world, and gives voice to the human longing to understand." – KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)

Grandad is the boy’s best friend. Being with him always makes the world seem right. And how vast that world is: a world of tall trees that reach for the clouds and sun and moon and stars – and what else is reaching for heaven but a prayer? Each time he and Grandad walk in the woods, the boy listens for the prayers of the earth. And finally the boy asks: "Are our prayers answered?" One day, long after Grandad is gone, long after the boy is grown, he understands Grandad’s reply: "If we listen very closely, a prayer is often its own answer." Douglas Wood, author of OLD TURTLE, has written a wise and moving story for all ages, beautifully illustrated by the acclaimed P.J. Lynch.

About this title

About the Author

Douglas Wood is the author of numerous books for adults and children, including the highly acclaimed and bestselling OLD TURTLE, which won the ABBY Award for 1993 and was named IRA Book of the Year. Of GRANDAD'S PRAYERS OF THE EARTH, he says, "I feel I've been getting ready to write this book all my life, for it is about my wise and gentle hero, my Grandad. It's a prayer and a thankyou, a walk in the woods and a remembering smile; and it is for anyone who has ever had a woods to walk, a prayer to whisper, a hero to love." Douglas Wood lives with his family in a log cabin on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minnesota. This is his first book for Candlewick Press.

P.J. Lynch is the renowned illustrator of many children's picture books and has twice been awarded both the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Christopher Medal.

From Publishers Weekly

The comfortable conversations between a boy and his grandfather become the springboard for exploring ideas about prayer in this poignant picture book. On their walks together in the woods, Grandad tells the boy that trees, rocks and streams pray, as sure as people do: "The tall grass prays as it waves its arms beneath the sky, and flowers pray as they breathe their sweetness into the air." The boy listens hard to hear the natural world's prayers, but never quite hears them. Later, as he grieves the death of his grandfather, the slightly older boy comes to understand Grandad's messageAin a delicately handled epiphany, he seems to grasp that letting one's God-given beauty shine, and finding the beauty in others and in the world, is a prayer in itself. Readers may well draw other interpretations, but, in any case, will likely view the idea of prayer in a new light. Wood's (Old Turtle) reassuring tone and pleasing imagery serve as a framework for the powerful love between grandparent and child that lies at the heart of this story. These solid elements help make a difficult religious concept somewhat more concrete for children. As Wood's text (wisely) offers no definitive answer to the boy's queries about prayer, it could easily serve as a starting point for family discussions. And perhaps best of all, readers are treated to a peaceful nature walk in Lynch's (The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey) soft, careful scenes of man and boy enjoying rushing streams, quiet twilight skies and brilliant green leaves and grasses glistening in the sun. Ages 6-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0744556481
• ISBN 13: 9780744556483
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 30
• Illustrator: Lynch P. J.