"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief," Text by James Montgomery, Illustrated by Sarah Merkley. Granite Publishing and Distribution. $19.95 (Currently on sale for $8.99).__IMAGE1__When I first brought the art book "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" home I didn't think that my children would find it very interesting. It was, after all, based on a 19th-century hymn, and the vocabulary is a bit impenetrable for small children. Or so I thought.It turns out that Sarah Merkley's paintings are so compelling and sensitively created that it drew my kids in. The interpretive paintings brought life to the hymn in a way that not only captivates children, but that also engages adults in a transformational encounter with the Savior.The hymn itself is particularly familiar to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a favorite of Hyrum Smith and is noteworthy because it was sung in Carthage Jail by President John Taylor right before Hyrum and his brother Joseph were martyred.The complicated vocabulary is no harder to understand than the scriptures. Explaining the words to children while pointing to the illustrations made the book interactive. It isn't that difficult, either, to substitute more familiar words while reading — something you might want to do in any book. Of course, singing the book is also a way to enjoy it.And, most surprising of all, is that a hymn that is famous for being long could seem so short. I even had to check the hymnal to make sure all the verses were there. They are.This is book that will feel equally well on a child's bedroom shelf or on a living room coffee table.
A Kid's ViewBy Ellie De Groote (age 6)This book is where this man keeps helping people and the real people he was helping was Jesus. And so Jesus told him it was really him, even though he couldn't tell. It's a really good book. One picture looks like this boy — he walks in and he was like perishing for want of bread. And then the man gives him all. And he blesses it and so he gives him part back again. The crust is manna to his taste. __IMAGE2__And my favorite picture, my favorite story-like picture, is when the boy is perishing for want of bread. He's like by a white post and the Guy That Keeps Helping People, he's holding out the tray with the bread and giving it to the boy. He's like, "here."Another one of my favorites is when the boy is giving back part of it to the other person. And it looks like he's saying "Thank you."And another two of my favorite pictures are when this man is trying to get his cup into the water. And he looks and his strength is gone. And the other picture is, the Man Who Keeps Helping, is giving it to the other person. And he's like "Thank you."Every night my mom reads it to me because it's like the best book ever. She just read it to me last night and she's going to read it tonight. And I even wish she would do it more often. And sometimes she sings it to me.There's lots of hard words. Like, here's one: "Condemned" and "honored" and "hurrying" and "wayfaring." My mom and my dad explain them. "Wayfaring" means "wandering." "Condemned" means "punished." The whole book is good. In one, The Man Who Helps Everybody, he has a wound concealed. It's his own hurt, himself, but nobody knows about it.And at the end he sees Jesus and tells him that it was like this disguise, but he couldn't tell who it was.She did a good job on the paintings. You should buy this book because it is so good.
E-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com