Grandad's Prayers of the Earth

"Wood conveys a sense of something larger in the world, and gives voice to the human longing to understand." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Grandad is the boy’s best friend. Being with him always makes the world seem right. And how vast that world is: a world of tall trees that reach for the clouds and sun and moon and stars — and what else is reaching for heaven but a prayer? Each time he and Grandad walk in the woods, the boy listens for the prayers of the earth. And finally the boy asks: "Are our prayers answered?" One day, long after Grandad is gone, long after the boy is grown, he understands Grandad’s reply: "If we listen very closely, a prayer is often its own answer." Douglas Wood, author of Old Turtle, has written a wise and moving story for all ages, beautifully illustrated by the acclaimed P.J. Lynch."The deeply naturalistic watercolors portray the wild exquisitely, and the boy and grandfather are timelessly rendered in jeans, corduroys, and plaids. Some of the spreads are stunning: a close-up of the boy in the grass with a tiny clover in his fist, and only Grandad’s knees visible; or a ground-level view, looking up, past the upturned faces of the pair to the sun shining through the trees above. This is a depiction of the spiritual that is without reference to a particular faith or tradition, and that doesn’t lapse into greeting-card platitudes; Wood conveys a sense of something larger in the world, and gives voice to the human longing to understand." —Kirkus Reviews