Grandad's Prayers of the Earth

Grandad’s Prayers of the Earth by Douglas Wood. Age: grades K-5. Library section 9 A (Juvenile, Religion and Values.) This lovely intergenerational story illustrated with beautiful paintings concerns the lessons about prayer a wise grandfather teaches his grandson. Grandad shows the boy all of nature on their woodland walks, and he uses natural objects as metaphors for prayer. Trees pray when they reach their branches toward heaven, rocks pray since they sit still and silent, and so on. But Grandad says that people pray the best prayers of all. Admiring a sunset, painting a picture, or playing music can be prayers too. Each living thing gives its life to the beauty of all life, and that gift is its prayer.
When the boy asks whether show more our prayers are answered, Grandad smiles and says that most
prayers are not really questions, and that if you listen carefully, a prayer is sometimes its own answer. Like the trees and the rocks and grasses, we pray because we are here, not to change the world, but to change ourselves – to become closer to God. When we change ourselves the world is changed too.
Then one day, when the boy is a few years older, his Grandad dies. The boy mourns, and though he prays and prays, Grandad won’t come back. He can’t come back. So for a long time the boy does not pray at all. One day, though, he finds himself walking in the woods and he notices the trees, the rocks and the stream in their prayerful positions. He begins to pray as well, offering thanks for the natural world and for his Grandad, and somehow, this makes his Grandad seem very near. And for the first time in a long time, the world seems right.
This is a lovely book to share with a child, both to celebrate the child’s love for
grandparents, and also for explaining that death need not part family members in our hearts. The watercolor illustrations are exceptionally beautiful, and the text is downright mystical. Share this book with your children soon! show less

This book will make you look within yourself. A boy and his Grandad walk through the woods, talking of different forms of prayer. Trees, rocks, puddles, rivers, wind - nature and people pray. Are our prayers answered though? It depends. I find that when we are finally at peace from the time of prayer is when we have received our answer. We may not always get what we want, but we are at peace, at a sense of serenity.

I was close to my late grandfather, so this of course made me feel things and I read and reread this book.

"Wood conveys a sense of something larger in the world, and gives voice to the human longing to understand." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Grandad is the boy’s best friend. Being with him always makes the world seem right. And how vast that world is: a world of tall trees that reach for the clouds and sun and moon and stars — and what else is reaching for heaven but a prayer? Each time he and Grandad walk in the woods, the boy listens for the prayers of the earth. And finally the boy asks: "Are our prayers answered?" One day, long after Grandad is gone, long after the boy is grown, he understands Grandad’s reply: "If we listen very closely, a prayer is often its own answer." Douglas Wood, author of Old Turtle, has written a show more wise and moving story for all ages, beautifully illustrated by the acclaimed P.J. Lynch. show less

Douglas Wood's "Grandad's Prayers of the Earth," was a beautiful book about a boy's grandfather teaching him about the prayers of the earth. The boy and his grandfather would go walking in the forest and his grandfather would tell him how each piece of nature (trees, rocks, lakes, rivers, flowers, grass) would pray and had their own way of praying. The boys grandfather passes away and he finds a way to unite himself with the outdoors to feel his grandfather's presence. This would be a great story for students if a student has a death in their family. This book may help a student cope or may even help a student find a comforting or consoling way to deal with grief and to help them know they aren't alone.

This beautiful story tells of a grandfather and grandsons' relationship. The grandfather and grandson take walks together through the woods, in which the grandfather explains to the grandson that all of nature prays and that there is more than one way to pray. The young boy does not understand, but believes his grandfather. The grandfather passes and the grandson becomes very lonely. The grandson eventually goes back on the walks that him and his grandfather used to take, in which he finally sees the serenity in nature and allows him to feel the praying of nature and feel his grandfather's presence in nature.

The illustrations are absolutely captivating. The Illustrator has provided breathe taking images of nature that will allow the show more reader to feel as though he is walking with the boy and grandfather. This is a wonderful piece of literature to share with a young child who has experienced the passing of a loved one as it connects nature to the love of a family member. The Illustrator also includes the changing of the seasons in this book, which would be great for students to observe who live in a region that does not experience such dramatic season changes. show less

This book tells the story of a boy and the close relationship he had with his grandfather. When they are together, the boy feels like the whole world seems right. On their walks together, the grandfather talks to the boy about prayer. When the boy asks "Are our prayers answered, Grandad?", the grandfather replies, "If we listen very closely, a prayer is often its own answer." When the boy loses his grandfather, he mourns, knowing that he can't bring him back. The boy doesn't pray for a long time. One day, the boy does pray when he notices the trees and rocks around him are in prayer positions. When he prays, the boy feels as if his grandad is there with him; it is at that moment when he finally understands his grandad's answer to the show more difficult question he asked. show less

This beautiful, award-winning book is a tribute to the natural world, the special relationship between a boy and his grandfather and the comfort of prayer. While on a forest walk together, a young boy asks his grandfather about prayer. His grandfather pauses and then encourages the boy to look at the natural beauty around him and observe carefully, “These are all ways to pray, ” said Grandad, “but there are more…The tall grass prays as it waves its arms benether the sky,and flowers pray as they breathe their sweetness into the air.”

A moving tribute to the love between a child and his grandparent, Grandad’s Prayers of the Earth is a book that can be enjoyed on many levels. Best suited to children five and up.