The Lost Son

The Lost Son is a kid-friendly version of the Prodigal son story. In this story, the prodigal son’s name is Jack. Like the Bible story, Jack gets fed up with all the work there is to be done on the family farm. He wants to go out in the world to seek his fortune. His father gives him his inheritance and Jack sets off on his own. Of course, he loses everything and comes back to his father, hoping his father will at least let him work on the farm for food. His father does much more than that; he welcomes his son back with open arms.
The Lost Son is part of the Zonderkidz I Can Read! series of books. It is also part of the publisher’s The Beginner’s Bible series. As such, a Bible verse is included at the beginning of the book for a reference to the story. The Bible verse given is Luke 15:20.
The illustrations, by Kelly Pulley and Lisa Reed, are bright and colorful and help to illustrate the text.
What I Like: I like having easy-to-read versions of classic Bible stories, so kids can read them and enjoy them on their own.
What I Dislike: The only thing I didn’t like was there was no mention of there being another brother who was left on the farm to do all the work (and who wasn’t happy seeing his brother return). I realize including this would have probably made the story too long for this line of books. So, I’m not really complaining; I’m just pointing this out.
Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal: 4-8.
Publisher Info: Zonderkidz, 2009; ISBN: 0310717817; Paperback, $3.99.
Buy now at ChristianBook $2.99! Or buy at Amazon.com $3.99.
Special Info: According to the publisher, this book is called a “My First” book. Although the sentences are short, this isn’t actually a beginning reader book. This book is intended for “sharing with emergent readers.” However, a child who is a bit older would probably be able to read this book by themselves.
Read our reviews of other books illustrated by Kelly Pulley and Lisa Reed. Read our reviews of other books in the Zonderkidz I Can Read! series. Read our reviews of other books in the Zonderkidz The Beginner’s Bible series.


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