A Prayer For Children [Paperback]

Ina Hughs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 1997

Winner of "Child" magazine's 1995 Best Parenting Book Award, this loving celebration of the real lives of children features the poem that has captured the hearts of millions. This collection of prose pieces includes "A Prayer for Children", which was read aloud during UNICEF's World Summit for Children.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a style resembling Erma Bombeck with a touch of Robert Fulghum, Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Hughs begins these short essays about children with a prayer-like poem of the same title. The essays are a potpourri of the humorous, the nostalgic, the sweet (and sweetly sad) and sometimes the tragic. The children she writes of are her own, those of neighbors and friends, childhood playmates, a few luminary figures (Helen Keller) and children in general. Topics cover everything from ordering take-out from McDonald's (cleverly called McDarn-Its) to getting your ears tweaked by doting uncles to dying of leukemia. There are plenty of nuggets of wisdom here, too: In a letter to the parents of a teenager killed in a car wreck, she implored them not to blame themselves because "unless we put kids on a leash, we can never control what happens... [life is] all a risk." A perfect Mother's Day gift. Author tour.
- all a risk." A perfect Mother's Day gift. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A few years ago Hughes, a columnist for the Knoxville News-Sentinel, wrote a poem entitled "A Prayer for Children," which has been widely reprinted by Ann Landers, the Children's Defense Fund, and others. Using that poem as a springboard, these vignettes are a series of inspirational pieces designed to put a human face on the stories of children grappling with leukemia, with everyday problems, and with the complexities of adult-child relationships. The perspective is a gentle Christianity that rarely intrudes itself. These are sweet, sometimes funny, and well-written pieces. Recommended for appropriate collections.?Gail Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology Lib., Alfred
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (March 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684829932
• ISBN-13: 978-0684829937
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,349,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Prayer for Children, July 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Prayer For Children (Paperback)

I bought this book for a couple of dollars and that's what I expected when I went to read it. But that is not at all how it turned out! I really enjoyed the book, I finished it in one evening. There is everything from joy and happiness to sadness and heartbreak. If you have a couple extra hours I would recommend this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars It's about being a child and having children of your own, December 17, 1999

By 

Mabel Obiso - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Prayer For Children (Paperback)

I am impressed by the way the stories have been presented--simple yet moving. It talks about the "what might have beens" of childhood and "what we want to happens" of adulthood. It depicts childhood as a guiding post towards the rough path of parenthood.

It's a book that parents and non-parents should spend time with.