Book review of The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck

I like to read to my kids during lunch--it seems to be a good time because their mouths are full of food, their hands are busy, and they're all sitting at the counter facing me.  It's hard to get them to sit still otherwise . . . This book was one we read together over the summer, just because I happened to have it on my bookshelf. I can't think where I got it--probably from my good mother, who first introduced me to Pearl S. Buck.  I highly recommend almost all of her books--I went through a Pearl S. Buck phase in high school and read everything our library had to offer.

This book is shorter than her others and written for younger readers.  It tells the simple story of two boys whose lives are influenced by the ocean, particularly by a "big wave," or tsunami, as we know it.  It seems like there are natural disasters all over the place nowadays (the last days are truly upon us, aren't they?), and reading this provided a good backdrop for us to discuss why Heavenly Father allows natural disasters to happen, why people die, and what happens to them when they die.  They really identified with the boys in the story, and I think that's due to Pearl Buck's writing style.  We're reading her book The Story Bible now, and it's really making the Bible stories come alive--I will keep you posted on that one!