Little Mole Finds Hope (A Book Review)

What are some things that make you sad?

That was the question I asked a group of 5 & 6-year olds before I read to them the newest book by Glenys Nellist called Little Mole Finds Hope. They had some serious answers, too: when my parents yell at me, when my dog ran away, when my friend was mad at me, when my cat died, and when my grandparents died. Such real and honest answers from little children who know what sadness feels like.

I asked this question because I wanted them to understand how Little Mole might be feeling. Then I began to read to them the story of Little Mole. Every eye was on me as I read this book. They were very captivated by this story and listened really well. And when we discussed the book after it was over they remembered every thing that Little Mole and his Mama did.

In this story, Little Mole is sad. But his mother decides to help him understand that things won’t always be sad. She takes his hand and leads him out of their burrow. She shows him three different things that appear to be dead, but actually will one day soon come alive. And she tells Little Mole that in each of these situations there is hope.

When I was reading the story to the children, I had a few who caught on to what Mama was teaching Little Mole, and at the end of each place they visited, these children would say out loud, “That is hope.” I love that they understood the story and knew what Mama was teaching Little Mole!

As the story ended, I asked them, “What was your favorite part of the story?” One child raised her hand and said, “My favorite part was that Mama always took Little Mole’s hand and led him around to show him there is always hope.” I never thought about that being a part of the story they would remember. But this little girl noticed the beautiful picture of mother and son hand-in-hand and how Mama showed her son what hope is.

That’s our job as parents. We are to show our children how to live. We are to teach them how to be a follower of Christ. We are to lead by example and show them that Jesus is our hope. Each of these children that I was reading this book to knew who can take our sadness away. They knew who gives us hope. They knew that Jesus loves them and will always be with us. They knew all these things because they learned them from their parents and learned them from church. And that warmed my heart when I saw all these kids shouting out that Jesus is our hope and Jesus loves us!

I highly recommend this book, especially for children who are struggling with sadness. But I believe that this story is also good for adults! It helped remind me that hope is always there. I just have to remember that Jesus is my hope and He is the One who can wipe away my tears.

Thank you, Glenys, for a wonderful book of how hope can be found, even in the darkest of times.

Check out the book trailer for Little Mole Finds Hope.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Little Mole Finds Hope, you can buy it on Amazon or at IndieBound

More books by Glenys Nellist

• Love Letters from God

• The Wonder That Is You