“The HOLE Story” a book review with Sarah and Rebecca Shaw

[rating=5] Let me start this review by stating that books are not my specialty, theater is. However, I have grandchildren who truly love to read, and a good friend who has an aunt who writes books geared for children. Thus, a perfect match! Ruthie Darling is the author. A former teacher has written several books; books that inspire little ones, and so I asked her if I could have my grand-kids take a gander at her thoughts put to paper with beautiful illustrations by Tricia Cottengaim. These ladies love to create for children. In fact, they are inspired to do what hey do because of children and their desire to explore and learn

My grand daughters that read this particular book are the local ones, the Shaw girls, Sarah who is 7 and Rebecca, who just turned 5. Sarah read the book first, and while she enjoyed it, she did feel that she may be a bit older than the age it was meant to be read by. She did enjoy the way they “hole” itself is described and how many different “holes” are in our lives. More than one can ever imagine.

Younger sister, Rebecca, loved the book, from start to finish. She loved the way the book started, probably because she is a donut lover, herself. I remember as a child, many,many years ago, reading a statement on a donut box that said “when feasting on a donut, make sure you keep your eye on the donut and not upon the hole”. That adage stuck with me over the years and in some ways , relates to some other important sayings, like “look where you are going, not where you have been!” and “crawl before you walk, and then walk before you run”. What seemed like foolishness in these silly statements makes sense as we become more logical. If you look back instead of forward, there are more chances you will bump into somebody or something and if you try to get to the finish line to early, you are bound to make mistakes and fail.

Children’s stories all have a moral and the words of Ms Darling stay true to this pattern. There are indeed a lot of “holes” in our lives and they are indeed very different in what they are, represent or are used for. This particular study has other motives for the readers. As Rebecca said, your shoes have holes so your feet won’t smell, your clothes have holes so you can put your body parts through them, your bathtub has a hole so the dirty water can go to the sewer and your donut has a hole so you can put your finger through and eat without making a mess. This is from a five year old!

As I said, Sarah felt that this was more for younger kids and then when we got home and I offered to put the book in her room as a memory, we found that Sarah already had a copy of the book. One that she had received as a birthday gift, back when she was 4 years old in 2012. She thought it was familiar and later remembered enjoying it very much when she was a little girl.

The book is available in every library and book store to read, or even better to buy. Once your child (or grandchild) has read the book and learned the valuable lessons contained within, they can either pass it on to a cousin or sibling, or maybe even hold onto it until they themselves begin their family. What a treat to be able to share the messages of one’s youth with the kids they bring to this world.

The book is published by ARK Publishers in Palm Desert California and if you want to see what else is available from Ms darling, visit www.RuthieDarling.com or contact her directly at RuthieDarling8@aol.com