Review: The Boy and the Ocean

the boy and the ocean is a children's picture book written by Max Lucado.

the first thing you realize about this book is that the paintings are to die for.

T. Lively Fluharty has an incredible gift to paint a picture that shows both a child's day dreams and the reality of the adult's point-of-view. but as an adult it allows me to feel connected to that imagined world and see things from the boy's perspective.

now, i am a sucker for kid's books. even as a 25 year old, i have a pinterest board dedicated to children's books, so i may have a biased opinion that most don't share. i feel a need and desire to remain connected to the imaginative ways of a child in order to stay relevant and hopeful.

the story, like many children's stories has a repetitive nature that will allow the child to learn to repeat/read the book back after having heard it a number of times. i think this is the goal, as the book instills lessons of finding awe in God's creation and this constant presence in our lives. these are great lessons for us to be teaching our kids. 

the book allowed both the mother and the father to have an active presence in the teaching and an equal hand at learning from the boy.

at the very end of the book, the boy speaks and repeats the most important lesson of all back to his mother and father. he leaves us with a final reminder. the only awkward part of the book (which my mother pointed out to me after she too had read it) was that there is then one more page inserted after this profound one. it seems that after the boy talks, the book can end and i would say that it would be just as powerful without the last page.

a good book to add to the children's collection! enjoy!