Calgary Author’s Great Carp Escape Reminds Kids All Creatures are God-Created

Alberta author Irish Beth Maddock‘s The Great Carp Escape (Word Alive Press) has already attracted considerable attention, having been featured on CBC-Radio, 100 Huntley Street, and having illustrator Lucent Ouano receive a Readers Favorite award.

In just 24 short pages, there’s a lot of action, as the publisher blurb indicates:

Tadpoles, clams, and minnows wow! For siblings Beth and Paul, growing up on a lake is fun… until they’re startled by a fishy find along the shoreline. When they discover the scaly, moustached carp, they become afraid. Seasons pass, and Beth and Paul avoid the swampy reeds at all costs until a flood brings about a life-or-death situation for the creepy looking carp, right in their own backyard! With guidance from their father, will Beth and Paul be able to overcome their apprehensions about the carp and help save them before it’s too late?

Blogger Annie Kate writes,

…This beautifully written story carries deeper meanings, subtly reminding the reader that worth depends on being God’s creature, not on beauty or popularity.  On that basis it points out that humans are to care for the world and the creatures in it.  This allegory also quietly presents the gospel, in both words and pictures, to those able to see it…

…I recommend The Great Carp Escape for preschool and early elementary children.  This cheerful picture book has all the elements of a good story: water, nature, fear, a problem, a solution, community, overcoming fear, and many layers of meaning.  I hope Irish Beth Maddock will continue to write for children.

The Great Carp Escape (9781486605088) is available in paperback to booksellers in Canada from Word Alive at $12.99 CDN and elsewhere through Ingram at $12.99 US.