A Road Less Travelled

When Josh and Adiel came to see us in July they brought presents for the kids which mostly consisted of books because, honestly, what else is there? One of the books is You Can Do Anything, Daddy! by Michael Rex. I usually think that most children’s book are simplistic and insulting to children’s intelligence, but this book is so wonderful I almost cry every time I read it.

It’s a simple book. A man is tucking his son into bed when the boy asks “Daddy, if I got taken by pirates, would you save me?” The father answers “Of course, son.” The rest of the book is the boy coming up with obstacles and asking if his father would still come to save him. Each time the rescue gets harder, but each time the father assures his son that he would do anything for him.

“Daddy, would you chase them if they were gorilla pirates?”

“Absolutely.”

“What if they took me in the jungle?”

“I would cut a path right through the bush.”

And so on. Really, it’s a very simple structure and I almost cry every time. Michael Rex’s artistic choices were brilliant because the father is a very normal looking man. He even has a tie on. At the end he’s scaled a cliff to stop the robot gorilla pirates from Mars and he’s standing on a hill ready to stop the robot gorilla pirates from Mars who are trying to put his son into their space ship. His clothes are torn and he’s got mud all over him, but his son is in danger and he would do anything for his son. That’s the page that always breaks me up.

I guess I’m just a sucker for a good daddy story. Women get to carry children, but men get to be a picture of God on earth. A Godly father is such a beautiful thing and makes me so happy to see. It’s like a picture that almost captures the original.

“Would you chase me even if it meant coming down here and dying for me?”

“Of course. I would do anything for you.”