So...how best can kids (written for 5-9 year old boys and girls) learn complex life-lessons like building a good character, living with confidence, finding their purpose, understanding what love really is and building successful relationships?
As it turns out, "A dog is a man's best friend...and a kid's best teacher'!
Enter Filmore Liebhund, an aspiring author and...a Hungarian Sheepdog.
Oh...he's not any old a story dog. He's a real dog, part of a real family in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. (In the book's appendix you can see a multi-page photo album of Filmore hanging out with his real-life family and friends.)
As you look at the cover of this book, you will notice that a "Paw Points Seal" serves as a quick-look reference guide to the life-lesson themes embodied in the story:
"Building Good Character,
Finding Your Purpose and
Understanding the Meaning and Power of Love".
The 'Filmore' picture book series brings important lessons like these to light in a delightful, thoughtful and strategic saga from the vantage point of a loveable, loyal and sometimes very silly Hungarian Sheepdog.
The opening book of the 'Filmore book' series, "Meet Filmore", tells a dog's-tale from way back in his "dogsestry" in the old-country of Hungary where the sheepdogs of that land stood strong and brave against powerful invading armies in order to care for and protect their family farms.
Building from that introduction we do 'meet Filmore' as he shares how he was rescued from homelessness to, in turn, rescue a sad and empty family from "doglessness".
In his inspiring journey from his rescue to becoming a part of a large flock of sheeple (people) [including a pretty grumpy turkey named Fred], Filmore helps the target audience of 6-9 year old children (boys and girls alike) understand and apply to their lives difficult to explain concepts like character, purpose and love.
That said, these books are market-targeted to parents and educators of children in that age-range.
The 'Flimore books' can be viewed as a series of primers that use both propositional language and clear definition of terms regarding the themes being taught wrapped up in an engaging storyline, humor, colorful and hilarious attention-grabbing illustrations all couched in age-appropriate language to make the lessons easily accessible to the hearts and minds of children.
Other books mostly tell lessons propositionally. The 'Filmore books' are written to both 'show-and-tell' otherwise difficult-to-express concepts through action and propositional teaching. Filmore is both a good friend and a good teacher!
David J. Liebherr, the human hand behind Filmore's paw of authorship, is a retired pastor of over thirty years, including youth ministries. David and his wife, Karla, have raised thirteen children of their own. David's pastoral experience gives him insight into Filmore's 'shepherd's-heart-and-mind ' while his perspective of a father to a large family gives him an earned, tried-and-true wisdom, forged in love, with a commitment to see all children succeed by finding and fulfilling their unique and wonderful purpose in life.
