Title: Oh No, Where Did He Go?
Author: Kay E. Thomson
Publisher: Xulon Press Elite
ISBN: 978-1-6628-2672-7
Pages: 23
Genre: Children’s Spiritual Education / Christianity
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Hollywood Book Reviews
When a hermit crab outgrows its shell, it abandons the small shell and moves on to find a larger shell to inhabit. That is the superficial storyline behind Oh No, Where Did He Go? by author Kay E. Thomson.
The crab analogy presented is not the real theme of the story, although used as the foundation for finding facts about the unknown. It is the loss of this young boy’s grandpa, and how to cope with the spectrum of emotions youngsters go through, which is shown and discussed along with a heavy-helping of Scriptures and religious overtones. “Grandpa has moved on to live with Jesus,” is told to this young boy, JT, and his siblings. It seems as if JT is very concerned with not being able to find Henry, his hermit crab, last seen in his terrarium, not realizing the crab just moved into a larger shell. Grandpa moved away from his sick and ailing body to a better place as well.
The series of emotions accompanying death are difficult for youngsters, to say the least, as they must transition between: sadness; confusion; anger; and the feeling of loss, all which come with lots of tears. In the story, JT’s uncle Craig speaks at the grandpa’s funeral and explains to the congregation that Jesus shows us when someone dies, it is not forever. Yes, their empty body is buried, but their spirit moves to a new place to live.
These fundamental beliefs are the root of religious hope and salvation. Those people who believe and accept Jesus and His Love will be able to spend forever in heaven with Him, which is the message shown to JT. JT was able to share this with his siblings Doug and Katie, and all of his friends.
This book has a melancholy overtone, however presents a healthy mental foundation for people, of all ages, to cope with the death of a loved one. The narrative is written in a calm and loving voice, with the juxtaposition of Henry the hermit crab and JT’s grandpa seamlessly intwined; offering both a clever way to present the theme and an illustrated storyline to follow for early readers.
Oh No, Where Did He Go? is an excellent book to have in a family library because just as death is inevitable, showing how with a strong with belief in Jesus, eternal life will be achieved. The book ends with two Scripture quotes which are appropriate to help those suffering deal with the hope and glory of what will come.