Book: A Prophet in Palmyra
(Volume 1 of the Dare to be True Adventure Series)
Author: Chad Daybell
Publisher: Spring Creek
Chad and Tammy Daybell, immensely popular and always reliable LDS authors, have founded their own publishing company. This is good news for their fans, as it ensures a steady flow of their books. One of their first releases is a book for children that has thirty-five endings. Children make choices and explore the consequences as they become a person living in Palmyra the day the Book of Mormon is published. Will they read the book? Shy away in fear of ridicule? Visit Hill Cumorah? Stop by to chat with Joseph or a member of his family? Follow the saints or opt for a good job far from the Gospel? These and many other choices allow children to learn about the people and events that influenced the church in its earliest days, as well as to contemplate the effect of our choices in real life.
This book was a fascinating tour of the first days of the church, and I thoroughly enjoyed making choices, and then going back to try a new path. Sometimes the best choice was obvious. Other times, it was hard to tell which I should choose. As I tested various ways of reacting to the events I was experiencing, I began to remember how complicated the choices of an investigator really are. Fortunately, in this book, no choice is fatal. If you make the wrong choice, you can back up and try again. This gave the book value as an adult reading experience, as well as an important one for elementary school children.
I saw great possibilities for this book as a family home evening activity or a homeschooling lesson. Each family member could take turns making one of the choices, or the family could flip a coin or roll a die and follow whatever path the coin chose. Before choosing, family members could discuss possible consequences for each decision. With more than thirty-five endings, and far more choices along the way, this activity could be done numerous times without ever repeating a complete path.
The book begins by explaining that you are new in the area, and as you go into town for the first time, you read an advertisement for the newly published Book of Mormon. When you go to purchase this book, a man tells you it is of the devil. However, another man assures you it is not. Immediately, you are confronted with three choices. (Most of the time, you will have only two.) You can talk to the man who supports the book, decide to return when the jeering crowd is gone, or go into the bookstore and see for yourself. Each choice sends you to a new page, with an additional episode of your adventure, and more choices to make.
This book is particularly wonderful for children who can't sit quietly to read a complete novel, and for families who like to play with their books. Your family reading time will become an exciting learning experience as you find out if you are the sort of person who would have joined the newly organized church.
