Book Review: The Donkey Who Carried a King

Apr 2, 2012 by desiringvirtue

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:3-5-8 ESV)

As adults, we have grown accustom to the fact that life provides many opportunities to be wronged, overlooked, and disappointed. Children, however, are smack dab in the middle of the process of learning these stinging truths, truths that hurt and leave wounds. Such is the case for little Reilly, a boy we and our children are introduced to in R.C. Sproul’s new book The Donkey Who Carried a King. Reilly has, once again, been chosen last to play games with his friends and is left feeling unwanted. As in other children’s books by Sproul, Reilly’s Gradpa is enlisted to share a deep and practical truth about our Lord Jesus Christ with his little grandson–a truth that will change the way Reilly thinks about being wronged by others.

His Grandpa proceeds to tell the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry and subsequent death, from the vantage point of a donkey, a donkey named Davey. Now Davey isn’t just any donkey, he is a donkey who knows just how Reilly is feeling. He too desires to be picked to do something great, he too desires to be admired by others rather than overlooked. One day, Davey gets that opportunity. Out of the blue he is chosen to carry Jesus into Jerusalem. As he watches the people around him lay down their coats and palm branches down for him walk on and hears them shouting out “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; even the king of Israel!” he realizes that he has been chosen for a very important task, for he is carrying the King.

{To read the rest of my review at Redeemed Reader click here.}

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

1 Comment

Reading Little Stories

Oct 13, 2011 by desiringvirtue

Before I was even married I used to walked blissfully through the children’s section of Barnes and Noble dreaming of the day I would buy my own children such marvelously illustrated and poetically worded books. I couldn’t wait to have a “reason” to fill up my shopping cart with these delicious little works of art. Now that I have little ones in my home it is a joy to be able to fill up my Amazon shopping cart and anxiously wait for our package of fun to arrive in the mail!

Both of our little boys love to be read to and it is such a privilege to be their mommy, the voice of all their favorite characters. What a joy it is to watch their minds grow and their passion for stories come alive!

A love for reading is one characteristic I hope to impart to my children. Though their library is limited as of now to Dr. Suess, Eric Carle, Baby Einstein and such I know that the minutes, hours, and days we spend with our noses in books will one day open the door to Spurgeon, Piper, J.C. Ryle, and the like.

These little books, read over and over, smudged, bent, and torn will be remembered with fondness and hopefully spur on a love for the written word.

So what are our little readers absorbed in these days? What are the hits that keep being pulled out over and over again? Here are the Hutto boy’s top 10:

1. Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis

2. Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess

3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle

4. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown

5. Hand Hand Fingers Thumb, by Al Perkins

6. Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton

7. There’s a Wocket in My Pocket by Dr. Suess

8. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom  (Lap Edition!) by Jr. Bill Martin

9. Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton

10. The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

What books are your little ones obsessed with? Do they favor the “classics” or the newer books available?

If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.

1 Comment