Book Review: Coming Home by Max Lucado {Crossway}

Coming Home by Max Lucado
Age: 4-10
ISBN: 978-1-58134-756-2
Hardcover w/Jacket, 32 pages
Publisher: Crossway
Retail: $15.99

About the book:

Twin brothers Arion and Argo are scared. They have spent most of their lives shipwrecked on the lonely, gray island of Terrene with their ship’s captain, and now he is leaving and they cannot imagine life on Terrene without him. He is going to Bluestone, a place where the birds always sing and the grass is ever green. He tells them he is going to prepare a place for them in Bluestone. Then he will come back for them, and they will all go to Bluestone together.

Though Bluestone sounds like a wonderful place, the boys find it difficult to wait for the captain on Terrene. The island is so gray that it is hard for them to imagine the vibrant colors of Bluestone. Soon they grow tired of watching and waiting for their captain, and it is hard for them to remember his voice. Can they really believe that he will come back for them? To do so they must have faith-they must see with their hearts, not their eyes.

Will the captain really come back for Arion and Argo like he promised? And will the boys be ready for his return?

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About the author:

Max Lucado is a best-selling inspirational author and speaker, and a minister of preaching at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of numerous children’s books including You Are Special and If Only I Had a Green Nose.

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My thoughts of the book:

It is very nicely illustrated and I like hardcover books. It is definitely visually appealing. But when I first read the book, I thought to myself, “This is a kids book?” The message, which I get, would be tough for a kid to get. My brow was furrowed, I’m sure, while I read it.

First, the shipwrecked trio consist of two boys and their captain. He must have cared about them quite a bit to take care of them on the island. The captain is supposed to symbolize Christ. The two boys are symbolizing Christians. The island, Terrene, is earth. Interestingly, in Genesis God said it was good, what He made, and yet here it is being painted as unenjoyable (not the “world”- the earth itself). Personally, I do believe that God made the earth for His glory but also for our enjoyment. Moving on from that point…

The book immediately opens up with the captain leaving the boys- boys- on the island by themselves, the two of them, with nothing but what he’s told them to remember. I think that a child reading this, especially the younger ones or more sensitive, will not understand that this symbolizes something more than kids being left behind. With guidance from an adult perhaps they would. And then, I understand that the words that the captain has given the boys to remember symbolizes God’s Word but we actually have the Bible to go to, not just our memories. I might be nit picking here. The same with the boys being alone; we have the church but not just that, we have the Holy Spirit here to help us. Not just our memories or a few people.

Bluestone though sounds wonderful and I do believe it does fairly well to show the difference between this life on earth and a heavenly one. Bluestone is supposed to represent heaven and the captain has left Terrene to prepare a place for the boys. He, the captain will come back for them he promises, symbolizing Christ’s return. That’s all good and well.

One of the boys tries to follow the words he remembers but both boys eventually start to forget. One boy strives to continue to wait for the captain while the other decides that the island, or the “world” as the forest symbolizes, has plenty to offer and he stops waiting. The boys are essentially split up. The one who has stayed on the beach and avoided the forest (the world) tries to reason with his brother (the one who wants the world) that the captain said the forest is bad and that they must be ever watchful of the captain’s return. The pleadings are ignored.

Finally, the captain does return. The one boy, Arion, who waited faithfully gets on the ship. The other boy, Argo, comes to the beach as the ship is about to leave. The captain does let him on the ship with only a “did you learn your lesson?” type of talk. Argo doesn’t say he did wrong nor does he ask for forgiveness. Where is the judgment that we will all face when Christ returns? It’s not there.

I’ll say I didn’t really appreciate the book. I felt it had too many holes that would need patching before it’d be sail worthy. It’s a shipwreck waiting to happen! Ahem. It’s beautifully illustrated. It just doesn’t follow the Bible, in my opinion.

***Disclaimer: I received this book free in exchange for an honest review from Crossway.org. No compensation was given. All opinions are my own. See Disclosure/Policies.***