A fellow runner, my running coach, a friend, brought this book to my attention. You see, he was injured and had some extra time on his hands - beyond the amazingly hard work he was doing in physical therapy. Instead of feeling down and blue, although there may have been some of that, he took that time and wrote this children's book - The Rabbit Who Wished He Could Fly.Introducing Erik Ammon from Running Moose. I have been following his blog and journey for awhile and when I decided after the Maui Marathon last year that I needed a running coach, he was the one I turned to. And yes, he made my dreams come true with me breaking a 4:20 marathon at the Honolulu Marathon. In fact, I ran 4:10:18 and yes, I will be going back for more coaching from him to reach my next goal - break a 4:00 marathon. But once again, I am digressing.
I knew Erik was working on writing a children's book and when he offered to let me review one I was honored and excited. He even went as far as writing a precious note and signing it for darling daughter and the illustrator, Jennifer Frith, signed the book as well. Now that is cool and her illustrations are absolutely delightful! And yes, I just found a new blog to follow! She has a tab on gratitude journals that touches my heart!
And that brings me back to The Rabbit Who Wished He Could Fly. You see, this is a darling book about friendship but more importantly about being yourself. That final lesson is a very important thing for all of us to keep dear to our hearts and a lesson I love teaching and modeling for darling daughter. You see, we are all different and even though some of us may be closer alike, we each have our individual strengths and weaknesses. Friends can turn to one another and benefit from those differences, right? I mean, yes, I am a running coach. Yes, I know the logistics behind creating and executing a training plan. I do. But still, I have something to gain from turning to a friend for help....to draw on someone else's strengths...their differences...and that can make us all stronger.
And no, this book has nothing to do about running. Not one iota and that is perfectly fine. This book is about three friends, one who felt very different and two that had a lot in common. But then the two with things in common came into a problem and they felt trapped. Could Kona, the rabbit who wished he could fly, help? You are just going to have to read the book and find out! It is available on Amazon.
But before you run off and check it out let me tell you one more thing. This is the most important thing - darling daughter LOVED the book! It kept her captivated with the story and beautiful illustrations. I know it is a book we will be reading over and over and I love that I will be able to add in different teaching moments from time to time that go beyond being yourself to being a good friend.Have a great weekend and thank you so much Erik for sharing this book with my family. I am waiting for your next book as this family will certainly pop over to wherever we need to go to buy a copy! And Jennifer, you are a very talented artist! Bless you both!
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for the generosity extended by Erik in sharing this book with my precious darling daughter. Yes, I do want her to be herself.
Daily Affirmation: I am different than you and that is okay!
