I am so excited to be asked to review Papa Bear's BackPack, by James Christopher Carroll. Sleeping Bear Press publishes this book!

I will admit that I had never heard of this book before until I was asked by The Old Schoolhouse to do this review, however, I was immediately interested! A little background on why this book seemed so sweet to me. My husband spent 20 years in the Army on Active Duty and just retired in July. We have three boys and during his time on active duty I tried so hard to read sweet books like this to my boys. It helped them to see their Daddy’s sacrifice.

Whenever a soldier heads overseas for a deployment, it is so hard for everyone involved. I remember when my husband went on his second deployment to Iraq it was so incredibly hard on my oldest especially. He asked a lot of questions; we were honest, BUT he also had a total meltdown the day my husband left. He had grown, single soldiers crying it was so incredibly sad to watch. They never did get easier either. You know, it is hard enough for adults to understand mentally the separation that comes with military deployments, let alone a child. Kids long for the comfort of their parent.

My thoughts about the book?

I got to share this book with my youngest, and he loves it! The pictures are very well done inside the book, so cute! Nemo reads very well on his own, but he still enjoys reading a story with Mommy. I will let him keep this book in his room though so he can read it over and over. Even with Clay now retired, I think this book is just adorable and a sweet reminder to Nemo about the many times his Daddy went away.

If you are a military wife, Grandma, Aunt, or just know someone who has a Daddy serving in the military, buy them this sweet book! You won’t be sorry! What a fantastic salute and tribute to military families facing any separation. It is also a great book to get kids talking and share the emotions they feel since their Daddy went away. Keeping kids talking is imperative to make sure their emotional needs are being met, this cute book does just that!

—Product Review by Laura Prater, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, February, 2016