In The Words of My Father, the author, Mark Nemetz, takes a well-known prayer and makes it three dimensional.  While Giuseppe, the boy’s father, explains the prayer line by line to Joseph, he paints beautiful word pictures that make the prayer spring to life.  Giuseppe also uses fun stories of far off kingdoms, kings, princes, and princesses to explain portions of the prayer so his son will understand even at his young age.  Giuseppe even references his own teen years and uses them to explain that the love of a father never dwindles even though there are challenging times between a father and his son.

Each line is presented as a separate chapter and each one ranges from three to five pages making this prayer more understandable by younger kids but also deep enough for adults to enjoy.  Giuseppe presents the prayer in a way that moves quickly.  At fifty-six pages long, this isn’t a boring or a laborious lesson but rather an insightful look into what the words mean and the intentions behind them, which Giuseppe’s son needs to learn.  Between the content and the pacing, this would make a great read aloud for the family.

Review of an Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Higher Ground Books & Media

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None 

Violence/Gore:  None 

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of a fictional character, homelessness, the God of the Bible. 

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None