Review: Imaginative and enlightening
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 21, 2012
Thoughts: Imaginative and refreshingly magical. This is a collection of short story written by a father through the eyes of his child. The first story is the title of the book where little Nell is adamant that she has seen a zebra in the stables but once her parents get there all they see is a regular old horse. She is sad about it and wants to go back each day of until the final day something magical happens, they see the Sun Zebra. It is a book for adults but written in a child-like manner to give a sense of how simple and matter of fact life is for a child. It has in its essence the purity and innocence of youth. It covers topics of life, death, charity, and love. It is a great reminder to remember the simplicity and honesty of youth. At one point the father has to explain death to the child and where people go and he states that as adults we carry the burden of truth for them because they aren't quite capable of dealing with it themselves. However, after seeing the world through Nell's eyes, I think they are able to deal with things a lot better than adults. Nell's honesty and realizations are beautiful.  My favorite story is the Christmas Tree, where Nell has entered a tree decorating contest and goes around looking at the other entrants until she comes to this scrawny ugly tree with random stuff on it. Nell tells the owner that his tree is ugly and that her tree is pretty. His reply stumps her when he asks her the meaning of her tree. I really liked the life lesson in this story. Overall, this is a cute read for anyone that wants a touch of that childhood magic, even just for a moment.3.5 starsI received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.