The author, Kari Martindale, surprised my son and I with this book. Even my 10 year old finished the story, looked up at me and said, “Wow! I did not expect that. This is a sad, but a good story.” YES YES YES! The Time Flash Had the Best Day Ever is incredible with a great lesson.
The illustrations add so much to the story. The illustrator, Aaron Parrott, really captured what the author was portraying with her words.
Flash is a happy dog who is really having the best day ever! He gets to run free, dig a hole, have a “spa treatment” (love the wording on that), gets a special treat and so many more great things! What Flash doesn’t see all day, is the other side of those events.
Flash is beyond excited to win his first game of Tug of War. But what he doesn’t see at that moment are the tears from Squirt (his owner) because he just ruined her toy.
Flash’s day is filled with these instances. He does not realize that his great fortunes are the direct and negative effects of his owner. Flash reflects back on the day’s events, and hopes that tomorrow they will BOTH have the best day!
The lesson in this book is perfect. The story opens up the discussion with our own kids. We, as parents, can sit with our children and talk about paying attention to other people. How did a situation affect someone else not just ourselves? Was your happiness inadvertently the cause of someone else’s sadness? How could you be mindful of that other person?
Like in Flash’s many adventures, he did not intentionally hurt Squirt, but also wasn’t there for her when she needed the comfort. Some of the events weren’t even caused by him, but a mere accident. What we can learn is just to be mindful of others.
This is the type of lesson we need to be teaching our children. In all honesty, we don’t think about it. It’s not like we have a list of those life lessons we should be teaching our kids. This is a great book, even to give as a gift, because it does open up the mind and discussion.
I added The Time Flash Had the Best Day Ever to the list of BOOKS YOU NEED for your OWN CHILDREN. Even as a teacher, I can see myself having a situation in the classroom and wanting to pull this book out of my STUDENTS LOVE bucket of books.
The Time Flash Had the Best Day Ever can be downloaded or purchased via Amazon.
