Thursday, January 9, 2020

City Sparrows and Who Fed Them by Ruth Nadelman Lynn

There are books hidden in plain site that no one knows about.  
Lamplighter finds books from a bygone time and brings them back to life and print.  

Join Zetta and her brother Harry in a cold, drafty garret as they learn that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without God seeing.  Follow burdened Margaret as she learns that suffering produces patience, patience produces experience, and experience produces hope. Watch as they discover together that “all things work together for good to those who love God.”


In a wretched part of town, filth and refuse add to the foul odor that pervades the air.  Zetta shivers in her threadbare rags as she tries to soothe her sick brother.  When their father was alive, they lived in the beautiful country with fields and flowers. But now mother is no help, for she has sunken into the lowest depths of drunkenness.

In such a pitiful setting, is there any hope of redemption? Who cares about this dirty child and her woes?  Zetta finds the answer in the minister’s story about a God who cares when even a sparrow falls to the ground.  How much more does He care about her?

While the reader may never know the darkness of Zetta’s world, we all experience some degree of tribulation. Rest assured that God is our refuge and strength – a very present help in time of trouble.

The story focuses on Zetta and her brother Harry as they are left to struggle with an alcoholic mother, little money, and even less hope.  Harry remembers better days with their deceased father.  

For the most part I enjoyed the story.  It's a very simple allegory of how the heavenly Father loves and cares for us.  He rescues us from poverty and rags restoring us and giving us a family.  The characters were well written and several story lines blended together really well.  

There were some parts that were not enjoyable and really ruined a nice story (spoiler alert).  Zetta and Harry's mother dies and the children were assured that it was better this way as she would have been a cripple.  Having a daughter who has Cerebral Palsy I was not real thrilled about that.  It devalued human life and ruined part of a great book.  I wish that this would have been rephrased or left out all together.  Sending a negative message about disability, no matter the era or time, is not Christian. 

Overall, this book was an OK read and as stated, does have some really good points.  you can purchase the book here.  Happy Reading!

Update:  After trying to place my review on the Lamplighter website I was contacted by Lamplighter and they stated they were going to remove the statement.  If it is taken out I have no issues fully recommending this story.  

Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*


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