by Richard S. Levick to review. The cover looks like this:
The book has a short message for each day of the year; little life lessons that are geared for teenagers. I found the cover and title to be a bit misleading. When I see a picture of a small child and the title Lessons for Absent Children I think of children who are gone. The rain on the window makes me think of refugees or something. I think a better title would be something that reflects the true audience (which is not children, but teens or tweens) as well as the daily calendar format of the book, something like "Daily Life Lessons for Teens" or "A Year of Tried and True Advice".
Some of examples of the lessons include thoughts on such topics as relationships, generosity, creativity, and personal development.
I haven't finished reading through all of the days, but so far the lessons I have read are ones I agree with, although many seem to assume that the reader is feeling down and depressed and has recently broken up with a boyfriend or girlfriend or wants to get someone to like them. I'm not sure a teen would turn to this book in their time of need, but I suppose if they did they would find some good advice.
Overall, I think the idea of the book has promise, but I'm wouldn't purchase the book for my own children. One possible way for families to use the book would be to read and discuss together each day the life lesson.
