Concerning & Potentially Concerning Content

The biggest thing for Christian parents to know is that this short title attempts to tackle a bit heavier subject, loss, in a light and kid-appropriate way. The context leads to a good bit of matter-of-fact discussion around farm animals dying. It starts nearly immediately. This becomes the backdrop of discussion of various types of loss through the eyes of kids. Louis (the main character) and his parents have a deep sadness due to his older brother Gus going off to join the Army. Nora (another key character) reveals her brother did not survive birth (something that nearly happened to Louis himself). The main plot revolves around Winslow (a donkey) who is sickly and is not supposed to make it. Nora’s dog passed away in the past. It is handled intentionally and carefully, but this may or may not be a good for your young reader. There is a small amount of ‘violent’ content, but it falls into the type of thing that happens regularly on farms. For example, Louis’ uncle tells them very matter-of-factly that a "coyote had taken one of the newborn lambs… Terrible, terrible sight what was left behind… Blood and mess and traumatized sheep”. Louis' friend Mack falls for Nora’s sister. There is a bit of content about this relationship. At one point Mack says they have been “smooching”. In frustration, Louis unleashes a string of comments like “stupid animal control”. A rude neighbor yells ‘shut up” many times. When Louis reaches the end of his rope, he unloads and yells back in a very disrespectful way. To make it much worse, Dad is right there and only makes very weak comments (“Now, now” and “Louis…”) with no discipline. A few other things to know about: One of Gus’ letters to Louis says “Don’t tell mom”. Later Louis is embarrassed and says the same thing to Gus. Neither are meant to be very deceptive, but obviously wish this wasn’t included. A ray of sunlight shows and Nora says, “That’s an angel at work… Everyone knows that.”