The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come

When I was 7 years old, my Mom packed my brother and I in our station wagon and drove us from Florida to Texas to live with my grandparents. Along the way and during our stay in Texas, she read to us every night from a book that has become one of my all-time favorites -- "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come." As a child, I recall loving the relationship between Chad, a waif of a shepherd boy, and his faithful dog, Jack. But as an adult, I have fallen in love with the rich, descriptive language with which John Fox fills every page. Each character rings true, and I have found myself anxious to see what lies around each bend in the storyline. Now, as a parent, I am reading the book to my own 8-year-old daughter. She doesn't quite grasp all of the rich prose, but she is already falling in love with Jack, and she's hoping that Chad and Melissa will one day marry. As much as I enjoyed the book as a child and as an adult, it's a privilege to introduce it to the next generation of my family. I highly recommend it as an unsung classic of the early 20th century.

My 75-year-old father remembered this book from when he was a teenager--it made an unforgetable impression! I highly recommend this novel for several reasons: lovalable and believable characters (although the lead can do no wrong to an exaggerated point), well-flowing and interesting story that you can't predict (I like suspensefulness), beautifully described setting, historically set in Civil War Kentucky. I bought a copy for myself and then bought one to share with my family and another for a friend. I will save this for my pre-school aged children to read when they are older.

There are so many great works of literature by Kentuckians, and I've read many of them, but even though my mother has had a copy of this book on her shelf my whole life, I had never read it till last week. What a mistake in waiting so long. It takes its place right up there with Still's River of Earth, Berry's Memory of Old Jack and Warren's All the King's Men as true Kentucky classics.

These are two of the best books ever written, I have been reading them over for many years and always find something new, like so many others , I cry over Chad and his dog, they should be required reading in every school.

John Fox, Jr. created in The Little Shepherd a masterpiece with which most people can identify. First is the result of choices, choosing sides in a civil war for or against your own country. The list goes on with boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-loves-dog, animal-versus-animal, brother-versus-brother (twins), and more. His descriptions of the war and Kentucky rival any anywhere. I constantly recommend it with the observation that "it is one of few books which made me cry at the ending." Why it is not required reading in Kentucky schools is beyond me!