Small Talk By Amy Julia Becker Book Review + Giveaway 12/7 US/CAN

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Every day, one of Amy Julie Becker’s children says something that prompts her to think about life in a new way. “Mom, does Santa love me?” William asks, after his mother explains the meaning of Christmas…In a chat with her dad about the children who died in the Sandy Hook shootings, Penny asks, “Did they go to heaven?” …”You was a jerk, Mommy?” asks Marilee one morning in the car.

These conversations deepen Amy Julia’s relationships with her children, but they also refine her understanding of what she believes and what God is doing in her own life.

In Small Talk, Amy Julia draws from the wisdom and curiosity of those young voices to reflect on beauty and kindness, tragedy and disability, prayer and miracles. As she moves through the basic questions her kids posed when they were very young to the more intellectual questions of later childhood, she invites us to learn from our own day-to-day conversations with the children in our lives.

This eloquent parenting memoir is about the big questions little hearts ask, the thoughts their words provoke, and the laughter and soul-searching their honesty brings—to adult and child alike.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Amy Julia Becker writes about faith, family, and disability for Parents.com, the New York Times Motherlode blog, TheAtlantic.com, The Huffington Post parents page, Christianity Today, The Christian century, and numerous other publications. Her first book, A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny, was named one of the Top Ten Religion Books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly. Amy Julia lives in western Connecticut with her husband and three children.

MY REVIEW:

As a parent of 2 girls, there are moments when my daughters ask me a simple question and I would have to stop doing what I'm doing and ponder about the question they asked me. Sometimes, I am at a loss for words on how I should explain to them what they're asking. There are times when I overhear them talking about "God" and my 6 year old daughter would lecture my 3 year old daughter about "God". Most of the time, I would listen to them talking with each other and marvel at how they answer each others questions with ease and innocence. At times, their conversations and questions makes me rethink of my own faith and my own views in life.

The book Small Talk by Amy Julia Becker is a very nice must-read for everyone who has a child. I love how she tackles her children's questions. I've picked up some ways on how I'll answer my daughters next time they ask me questions about random things in life.

Let me share with you some of my daughters' questions:

From my 6 year old daughter: 

"Mom, if you die will you go to heaven? Will I see you again?" - When she asked me this, she was teary-eyed. Maybe she heard this at school since we don't talk about death at home.

"Mom, is God real?"- I told her that God is up in the heavens watching and guiding us. She may not see Him but He is there watching over us.

"Mom, why do we go to mass?" - Well, I think all kids get bored when they attend mass because I'll be honest, I was bored to death when I was a kid. I told her that it's the time to give thanks and praise to God who made sure that we are healthy the whole week, we had food to eat and to be thankful for all the blessing we received.

From my 3 year old daughter:

"Mom, is Santa real?" - She heard this from her sister who learned it from school so she was asking me about it. I told them that Santa is present in their hearts. She may not understand it fully yet but in due time, she'll understand it more.

I recommend this book to parents and soon-to-be parents because I learned a lot from this book. I have 2 girls already but I am glad I read this book because it taught me new ways to answer my daughters' questions.

Watch the official trailer of the book above.

Follow Amy:

 Official Website: http://www.zondervan.com/small-talk

Amy’s Website: http://amyjuliabecker.com

Follow her on Twitter here!

Check out her Facebook page here!

Would you like to win a copy of the book: Small Talk Learning From My Children About What Matters Most by Amy Julia Becker? Then head on over to the rafflecopter form below to enter! Good Luck!

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"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

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DISCLAIMER: 1 Winner will receive a DVD copy of Buck Denver Asks.. Why Do We Call It Christmas?. Giveaway will start November 12, 2014 at 12:00 AM PST and will end November 24, 2014 at 12:00 AM PST. This will be open to US and CAN residents only. The prize cannot be shipped to a P.O. box address. Winners will be notified by email and will have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. I am not responsible for prize fulfillment. My role is to give the sponsor the information of the winner and they will directly ship the prize to the winner. I have received a product/s mentioned above to in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are honest and my own and are not influenced in any way. No other form of compensation was received. I do not share or sell information and all information shared with me will solely be used for prize shipment. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC 16 CFR Part 255.