R.C. Sproul’s New Picture Book: A Review by Desiring Virtue

Today’s post is by Jessalyn Hutto, a book reviewer and blogger at her lovely website, Desiring Virtue.  Be sure to click on over to her homepage for her fantastic Easter Printables to complete your kids’ Easter baskets! 

Sproul, R.C.  The Donkey Who Carried a King.  Reformation Trust Publishing, 2012.  48 pgs.  Ages 4-12.

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:3-5-8 ESV)

As adults, we have grown accustomed to the fact that life provides many opportunities to be wronged, overlooked, and disappointed. Children, however, are smack dab in the middle of the process of learning these stinging truths, truths that hurt and leave wounds. Such is the case for little Reilly, a boy we and our children are introduced to in R.C. Sproul’s new book The Donkey Who Carried a King. Reilly has, once again, been chosen last to play games with his friends and is left feeling unwanted. As in other children’s books by Sproul, Reilly’s Gradpa is enlisted to share a deep and practical truth about our Lord Jesus Christ with his little grandson–a truth that will change the way Reilly thinks about being wronged by others.

His Grandpa proceeds to tell the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry and subsequent death, from the vantage point of a donkey, a donkey named Davey. Now Davey isn’t just any donkey, he is a donkey who knows just how Reilly is feeling. He too desires to be picked to do something great, he too desires to be admired by others rather than overlooked. One day, Davey gets that opportunity. Out of the blue he is chosen to carry Jesus into Jerusalem. As he watches the people around him lay down their coats and palm branches down for him walk on and hears them shouting out “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; even the king of Israel!” he realizes that he has been chosen for a very important task, for he is carrying the King. 

But soon after this wonderful experience, Davey’s master begins using him for ordinary work, that he now feels is beneath him. After all, a donkey who carries kings, shouldn’t have to carry olives or hay! Once again he is left feeling unimportant and humiliated, until one morning when he witnesses the incredibly unjust treatment of the King he just carried into the city. He watches as Jesus painfully carries the cross that he will later be crucified on and wishes that he could stop this atrocity from taking place, that he could help this King who is being so harshly treated.

Trying to make sense of the events that have just occurred, he asks an older donkey why the King was made to carry the cross. He learns that it was Jesus’ mission to serve humanity by dying to save them. This realization that the King, who should be honored above all others, humbled himself to the point of death, causes Davey to desire to emulate Jesus by serving his master in whatever humble task is assigned to him. He realizes that if Jesus can serve others, he too should be willing to serve. Reilly’s Grandpa encourages him to view the situation with his friends in the same way: 

 If you are given a job that doesn’t seem to be so much fun, do your best at your job anyway. Remember that God the Father chose Jesus for the worst job of all, but He did it willingly to please His Father and to save His people.

The Donkey Who Carried a King is a beautiful story that will not only encourage children to serve others, but will give them a vivid picture of the ultimate Servant, Jesus Christ. The book is filled with charming illustration and contains a helpful “appendix” with questions and correlating Bible passages for further discussion with your children.  

As is his custom, Sproul takes a very big Biblical truth and explains it in a way that is simple for an elementary age child to understand. Connecting an everyday experience like being overlooked while playing games with friends to the beauty of our Savior’s humility, teaches children that the Word of God is applicable to their own lives and to the things that are important to them. This book brings the hard-to-grasp words of Philipians 2:3-8 to life for young children and provides a marvelous springboard for parents to share the powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. 

Though the facts of the gospel are clearly and beautifully articulated within the pages of Sproul’s book, Jesus’ profound act of service is explained primarily as a motivation for both Davey and Reilly to serve, and not as the effectual power for them to obediently serve others. It would be easy for a child listening to this story to assume that their obedience to God is solely motivated by Christ’s example. While it is indeed true, that Christ’s example of profound humility motivates us, we would be incapable of striving toward his holiness without his sin-freeing work on the cross. I would have appreciated the empowering truth of Jesus perfectly serving so that we could have the ability to serve others being more clearly articulated either in the storyline or in the appendix. Just as we are called to emulate Christ’s character (in this instance his servitude), we are also given the ability to do so through his own powerful and humble death. Parents should be careful to remind their children as they finish the book that while they should indeed desire to serve Christ and imitate him, it is only through Christ that they are able to do so.

The Donkey Who Carried a King will make an excellent addition to every child’s library and be a helpful resource for parents who desire to connect the work of Christ on the cross to practical situations their children experience. The discussion however, should not end with Reilly’s proclamation to “serve Him and do whatever he asks me to do,” but should continue into, “How can Reilly obey Christ when we are all born desperately wicked?” And the answer of course would be through Christ and because his death and resurrection made it possible.

Jessalyn is the author and editor of DesiringVirtue, a Christ-centered, doctrinally rich resource for Christian women who desire to bring honor to the Lord through their homemaking. She is the wife of Christ-exalting man and the mother of two precious little boy who love to be read to.

Do you all have any other favorite Easter recommendations?  Here are a couple of my Easter-related posts: Easter Gifts 101: Bible Stories, Rabbit Ears Audiobooks for Kids, and Easter 101: Last Minute Warning.  Or just see our eStore for our best recommendations for your Easter basket.

HAPPY EASTER!