Just in time for Christmas, TOBET is releasing another storybook entitled Happy and Whole. Author Amy Dedman shares delight in God’s design of the human body with much humor, for pre-school through kindergarten children. When I read Happy and Whole to my special needs nephew, Nicky, he laughed and laughed at phrases such as
My body feels tickles, tastes pickles,
And giggles and wiggles.
Sometimes I laugh so hard,
My whole tummy jiggles!
Yet, not only will children be drawn to the rhyming poem, their imaginations will be formed more deeply in St. John Paul’s Theology of the Body. In a culture that often separates the body from the person—in what Pope John Paul diagnosed as detachment—this book guides children in the truth that they are body and soul:
God made me a person—
Body and soul.
I thank Him for making me
Happy and whole.
Our familiar, talented illustrator, Karol Kaminski, captures the joy of family life so children will be strengthened in knowing they belong and are loved. This penultimate page is my favorite.
Cover of our NEW Level K Story Book
Happy and Whole
Meant as a literary complement to our kindergarten lesson book entitled The Body Is Good, Happy and Whole will undoubtedly be poured over and over by its young readers. My formation at the University of Dallas taught me that literature is, as the late Dr. Louise Cowan would often remind us of a “mode of knowledge” with a powerful impact on the person. That’s why The Body Matters has these complementary storybooks. I hope you enjoy Happy and Whole, along with Nick’s Night at the Zoo, and Lizzy’s Greatest Gift.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monica Ashour