The Little Boy Down the Road: Short Stories & Essays on the Beauty of Family Life

by Douglas W. Phillips

Book Overview

This book is a work of art . . . a triumphant testimony to how God uses the common things in life to build joyful, grateful families. The Little Boy Down the Road is one of the happiest reads of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1934554340
• ISBN13: 9781934554340
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Vision Forum
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Begins with a Bang

I was somewhat surprised but rather pleased to find The Little Boy Down the Road in my mailbox one morning. It was the first I had heard of the book. I was drawn to it by its pastoral cover and its simple premise--"Short Stories and Essays on the Beauty of Family Life." As the subtitle says, this is a collection of stories and essays that attempt to reveal the beauty of family life. It is, perhaps surprisingly, the first of Douglas Phillips' books that I've read. Let me share a brief overview of its chapters. "The Little Boy Down the Road" shares a son's joy in the return of his father and goes on to speak of the simple joys of parenthood. "The Woman Who Chose Life" is a remarkable story of God's providence in the gift of life while "The Art of Home School Opera" is a humorous look at the joys and importance of family eccentricities. I should note that in these early chapters I began to notice the repetition of certain words and phrases and felt like something was being said between the lines, that the author was building toward something, but was doing so using a lexicon that was unfamiliar to me. There was talk of homeschooling and patriarchy with many uses of the word multigenerational. But I digress. Phillips is at his best when he is telling stories and allowing the stories to share the joys and beauties of family life. "The Animal Fair," his chapter on the many animals that have been pets to his family is as humorous as it is poignant. He says rightly that "Pets tend to accumulate." Once parents have opened the doors to one pet, others will inevitably follow. This has proven true in the Phillips family. "From rabbits to goats, tarantulas to chickens, dogs, horses, cats, fish, cows, crabs, birds, reptiles, vultures, and even baby deer--at some point or another, they have all lived with, beside, and even on top of the Phillips family." Through the chapter he describes some of the best and some of the worst pets they've had, tells the awful truth about chickens, and pleads with the readers never, ever to trust a Llama (and especially so when it lowers its ears). And through the funny stories, he tells how pets have blessed his family, taught responsibility, and even forced the children to grapple with tough lessons on mortality. With its shades of James Herriot and Farley Mowat, this chapter is the book's finest. You can download it and read it here. "The Man's Library" warms the heart of this avid reader and challenges me with the importance of not only building my own library, but beginning to build one for my son (and daughters) as well. "The League of Grateful Sons" shares what Phillips learned from filming a documentary with survivors of the battle of Iwo Jima and the children of some who did not survive. As the book comes to its final chapters, it transitions from stories to essays and, sadly, becomes weaker. Here Phillips shows his hand, explaining more fully the emphases of his ministry. He espouses the importance of quiver full th

Inspirational

My husband and I both LOVED this book! It was heartwarming, encouraging, and inspirational--not because it was sappy or sentimental, but because it held up a beautiful picture of what family life can be like when parents are truly living for the glory of God by investing time and love into each other and their children. It contains stories of fathers guiding and inspiring their sons, the uniqueness of each family, families enjoying each other (and their pets!) and many of the lessons we learn from our families. We both loved the chapter about "homeschool opera"--our kids do that all the time but we never had a name for it. :) Definitely a keeper! We've already recommended it to several friends.