Books are always on my
Christmas wish list. Here are a few that may work well on someone
else’s.
FOR KIDS: From
two very talented LDS cartoonists with the same last name, who aren’t
related to each other, come some colorful picture books perhaps
targeted at, but certainly not limited to, children.
New is Val Chadwick
Bagley’s What’s Hidden in the Golden Plates,
a Seek and Ye Shall Find book from Covenant (2013, 34 slick, thick
pages in hard cover, $11.99). Beyond the amusing art with a list of
things to find, this book actually aims to teach children what the
Book of Mormon contains: “Most importantly, the Golden Plates
testify of Jesus Christ.”
Salt Lake Tribune
cartoonist Pat Bagley’s I Spy a Nephite was first
published by Whitehorse Books in 1999, in hardcover, but is just as
much fun (and a bit less money) as the original in its paperback
incarnation (about 30 pages, $9.95).
These sturdy pages are
more the busy style of the popular Where’s Waldo books,
but with more humor per page. Both of these “children’s”
books hold immense entertainment value, especially when shared
with kids.
FOR TEENS and YOUNG
ADULTS: Seminary teacher Stephen J. Stirling offers Shedding
Light on the Dark Side (Cedar Fort 2013,119 pages, $10.99 in
soft cover).Subtitled Defeating the Forces of Evil,
it speaks to youth and young adults, making the point that Satan and
his power are real and should never be toyed with.
It also declares that
Jesus Christ’s power far surpasses anything available to Satan.
Stirling offers solid
strategies for turning away from darkness and seeking the light. The
topic and his common-sense approach are interesting enough that young
people should read it, and the book short enough that they
likely will.
David M. R. Covey, son
of the late Stephen R. Covey, proves himself to be a powerful
motivational writer with The Highly Effective Missionary (Cedar
Fort 2013, 115 pages, $12.99). Though small, it packs a punch with,
as the cover suggests, “bold and innovative approaches to
hasten the work.”
From personal
experience as a young missionary to seeing his own sons serve, Covey
offers a toolbox of ideas that could make a real difference for
missionaries, current or prospective, who desire to make their
efforts more effective.
FOR ADULTS: When
the day comes that we can’t laugh at ourselves, we’re in
trouble. To avoid that hazard, consider picking up Salt lake Tribune
columnist Robert Kirby’s Family Home Screaming, a
1999 original (and I do mean original) re-issued from
Liecester Bay Books, along with Sunday of theLiving
Dead and Kirby Soup for the Soul. I once worked
at a newspaper with Kirby, and I can only say it was an experience.
What you get in these
books is the real thing, from a dad describing the angst of having a
teenager take a driving test to a day trying to enjoy a water park,
there’s stuff here we all recognize and relate to.
Seeing titles like
“Rise and Whine” and his assessment of grandparenthood as
“the second most fun part of procreation,” how could a
reader not smile? And to top it off, cartoonist Bagley’s
added his own witty takes on family life (125 pages, $11.95).
At the opposite end of
the spectrum is Emily Freeman’s Written on Our Hearts:
Invitations from the Old Testament (Deseret Book 2013, 180
pages in hard cover, $19.99).
“The stories and
lessons of the Old Testament have carried me through some of the
greatest challenges of my life,” she writes. “In those
moments, much-needed verses of scripture have been written on my
heart…It is within those pages that I have come to know
Jehovah, the Deliverer — Jesus Christ — in a way I might
not have before.”
She takes a single book
or groups books of the Old Testament together as she shares a related
thought or experience briefly, then offers an invitation — a
question or two that lead the reader to think how what’s
learned may be applied. It’s a different way of approaching
2014’s Sunday school course of study, one that promises to make
the Old Testament live and its teachings lively.
Laurie
Williams Sowby has been writing since second grade and getting paid
for it since high school. Her byline ("all three names, please")
has appeared on more than 6,000 freelance articles published in
newspapers, magazines, and online.
A
graduate of BYU and a writing instructor at Utah Valley University
for many years, she proudly claims all five children and their
spouses as college grads.
She
and husband, Steve, have served three full-time missions together,
beginning in 2005 in Chile, followed by Washington D.C. South, then
Washington D.C. North, both times as young adult Institute teachers.
They are currently serving in the New York Office of Public and
International Affairs
During
her years of missionary service, Laurie has continued to write about
significant Church events, including the rededication of the Santiago
Temple by President Hinckley and the groundbreaking for the
Philadelphia Temple by President Eyring. She also was a Church
Service Missionary, working as a news editor at Church Magazines,
between full-time missions.
Laurie
has traveled to all 50 states and at least 45 countries (so far).
While home is American Fork, Utah, Lincoln Center and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art have provided a comfortable second home.
Laurie
is currently serving a fourth full-time mission with her husband in
the New York Office of Public and International Affairs. The two
previously served with a branch presidency at the Provo Missionary
Training Center. The oldest of 18 grandchildren have been called to
serve missions in New Hampshire and Brisbane, Australia.