One Hand, Two Hands

 I read this book with my kids tonight.  (Like their mom,  they are always excited for new libros...)  The jacket of the book boasts "whimsical words" and "joy-filled illustrations" that teach a message of servant hood.   On that level, the book delivers. 

The kids enjoyed the beginning of the book with it's emphasis on silly movement and a slight gross-out factor (reference to "stinky cheese") peeking their interest.  Colorful pictures also helped.  My three-year- old did not grasp the illustrator's use of pretend play.  She thought the little girl in the story befriended live animals in her back yard, and so the giant bear doing a cannonball into a kiddie-pool caused some concern... Thankfully, she was able to suspend her disbelief.

When the story turned from silliness to service, it sparked a discussion that made me wish Lucado had devoted more than the last few pages of the book to his major point.  The "everyday" things I do to help out really do matter.   They are seen.  They are crucial to God, to others, and to ourselves.  My six-year-old's favorite part of the book was the end where readers are given space to ponder what their hands can do to serve.  "More books should give you space to think," he said.  Who can argue?

Abi wanted to know why the book mentions prayer, since our hands are still when we pray.  She remarked, "that doesn't fit."  Oh, little one, maybe it does.  Maybe, just maybe, the most formative conversations we have with the Almighty are intimately connected with the acts of love and kindness we share.