Review: "all things happen for a reason." -- a fine book to boost a young child's curiosity !!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 10, 2014
“We do not always understand why things happen the way they do,But all things happen for a reason.Sometimes the reasons are understandable,Sometimes they are hidden,Sometimes they seem clear but in truth,They are not at all what we think.But always, always, whatever happens is for the best!”Anat Umansky has done it again! Her book for toddlers and small children entitled “Why Did the Leaf Fall? (A small story about big children’s questions)” really caught my eye. Ana writes with great sensitivity for young kids and grownups can happily bond with young children as they read this book together. Moreover, vocabularies of small children will be enhanced as they read this book and perhaps most importantly they will learn the lesson that curiosity about life is a good thing and that they will learn much about life if they simply ask “why?” I should also add that the illustrations by Yelena Al are warm, thoughtful and very carefully done which enriches the book even more and there’s even an audio book version of the story included with the Kindle purchase of this book.When the story begins, a young boy finds a leaf on the ground, a leaf that has fallen from a tree “standing by the roadside.” The boy asks the leaf why it fell and the leaf replies that it fell because the tree branch “suddenly…began to shiver and shake and I got so scared…until it threw me to the ground.” The leaf also tells the boy that it fell but it wasn’t the leaf’s fault! However, the little boy is not satisfied with just that answer; this is too little information for the boy and he asks the tree branch why it shook—and tree branch tells him that it shook because of the wind even though it was not autumn. The boy is still not satisfied; he wants to know even more about this chain of events and he discovers that an angel made the wind blow which shook the branch that made the leaf fall to the ground and the angel even tells the boy that in addition, “if (he has) more questions, why (doesn’t he) ask God? “Of course, there’s more to the story than just this but I’ll stop here to avoid spoiling it all for you! Suffice it to say, however, that the little boy discovers a most satisfying discovery and conclusion about the chain of events and the moral of the story is that asking “why” is a good thing. I love it!I highly recommend this fine children’s book for toddlers and young kids who will learn that when you become curious and want to learn more about life it truly allows you to discover great things about how nature works and just about anything else, for that matter. Anat Umansky truly has a gift for writing very well done books for toddlers and small children—keep these wonderful books coming, Anat; and thank you for some terrific illustrations, Yelena!