Book Review Week: The Tallest of Smalls

[Thank you to Thomas Nelson for sending me a review copy of Max Lucado's The Tallest of Smalls.]


"Even if we are small, or don't feel like we fit in, we matter to the only One who matters." That is the message at the heart of Max Lucado's new children's book The Tallest of Smalls. It is a delightful story about Ollie, the smallest of the Two-Smalls who live in a land called Stiltsville. Every evening at six, the Too-Smalls meet in the town circle where they hope they’ll be picked to receive stilts to strut about above the stilt-less masses. They come to see if they matter -- if they’re awesome, if they’re pretty, if they’re clever, or funny. Ollie begs to be picked. He wants to be like the high-ups of Stiltsville who are proud of their stilts and their ultimate status. But once he gets stilts, oh how it hurts when he stumbles and tumbles and loses them.

Listen to what Max Lucado has to say about how Jesus helps the smallest of smalls:

The Tallest of Smalls is a useful book for parents to share with their children. The message is clear: You are fine just the way you are! You don't need to be in the cool-crowd to matter, and when you feel left out or bullied, you are not alone. Jesus is right there, smiling, putting his arm around you and walking with you everyday.

Children will enjoy Max Lucado's rhyming text and Maria Monescillo's whimsical, detailed illustrations. Visit this link to preview the book. Then order a copy for your child's bookshelf. It will come in handy on those days when he or she comes home from school feeling like Ollie in need of some stilts.

The Tallest of Smalls includes a Note to Parents and also a page where it can be personalized, if given as a gift.

Note: This book for kids coordinates with Max's adult trade book, Fearless, which released in September 2009.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 3, 2009)