Reviews for Every Living Thing

The average rating for Every Living Thing based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-02-27 00:00:00 Lea Porter "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ― Anatole France Sheesh - I am becoming such a maudlin old broad! I don't know . . . maybe it's just raging hormones, but nearly every story in this collection moved me to tears. Rylant presents twelve very short stories, most are just a few pages, about people and animals - how they bonded, and how the humans became better, stronger, and braver people from their encounters with these creatures. We meet Jack Mitchell, who can't wait to check himself out of the Veteran's Hospital, and resume drinking himself to death. But, then . . . who will feed those squirrels? Then there's a retired schoolteacher who's given up on the things that made her happy. She inherits an elderly dog who's missing having children in her life. Together they discover new experiences by revisiting old haunts. And here we have a grieving young man, forced to live with his Aunt Esther, a virtual stranger. It's stranger still how they manage to bond over . . . hermit crabs? And, don't forget Emmanuella, the ten-year-old girl who has wanted a pet for so very long. She dreamed of a dog or cat she could play with and pet. Imagine her disappointment when her parents presented her with a "used" goldfish who was old and blind. Yet, she became devoted to that fish, and, when he died, she was finally able to pet him. Sob! You may not need a box of tissues to get through this book. It's probably just me, and the stage of life I'm in right now. It's probably the fact that my dog is now almost thirteen-years-old, and that's the high end of the life expectancy scale for Golden Retrievers. But, if you've ever had an animal - a dog, cat, fish, bird, lizard, horse, guinea pig, etc. - who somehow managed to touch something inside of you, then maybe these stories will have special meaning for you. "Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem." ― A.A. Milne

Review # 2 was written on 2019-11-04 00:00:00 Welton Barker I finished this heartwarming book today. It was a super quick read and an animal loving book. Those who love animals are very grounded and in touch with God's world. With my special needs kids finding healing and security in animals, this book touched me deeply.