As a gun enthusiast and supporter of the
Second Amendment, I am often disturbed by
the negative press that gun ownership
sometimes receives. As a parent, I’m also
disturbed by how often this anti-gun
ownership propaganda seems to be aimed
towards our children.
Of course, I have always been very proactive
in educating my daughter about gun ownership
and gun safety. I am always on the look out
for age appropriate material that will help
with that education process. But to be
quite honest, there doesn’t seem to be much
out there. That is, until now.
I recently became aware of a gun friendly
children’s book series available at
Little Sportsman Inc. Needless to say,
I checked them out immediately.
After visiting the
Little Sportsman’s site, I decided to
give them a call. I was pleased to have a
chance to talk with the author, Robert H.
Jacobs, Jr. Robert was great to talk with
and obviously had a passion for the books he
has written. He explained that his books
are divided into two different series:
“Little Jake” Series
These five books feature a little boy, Jake,
and his hunting adventures.
“My First” Series
In each of these three books, a child
receives his first BB gun, rifle or bow.
Within a week of talking with Robert, I
received all eight books. This review will
focus on the “My First” Series.
Upon opening my shipment from Little
Sportsman, it was immediately apparent that
these books are of very high quality. Each
hardcover book has library quality side-sewn
bindings. The 100 lb glossy pages are a
full 8.5” x 11”.
But, for the real test, I had to bring in my
little girl! She loves to read and was
thrilled to be able to help Daddy with a
product review!
The first night we read My First BB Gun
and My First Rifle. On the second
night we read My First Bow.
Actually, let me rephrase that… I read these
books to her. According to the author,
these books are appropriate for ages 3 -
13. I’m guessing a child in Kindergarten -
2nd grade could handle reading
these books without help. However, my
daughter is a big fan of me reading to her,
so how could I resist!
Each book is 32 pages and designed to be a
quick read. But, when my daughter and I
read, we tend to spend a long time on each
page talking about the pictures. These
books were great for that! The
illustrations, done by Jared Beckstrand and
Mark Swan are incredible. The colors are
very rich and there is plenty of detail to
discuss.
As I said, these books are designed to be
read quickly. So, I won’t bother trying to
describe the story lines. But, as a gun
enthusiast, there were a few things that
really stood out to me.
Of course I expected these books to cover
safety. And, they did. But, they also
discussed our right to own guns and the
importance of taking proper care of our
shooting equipment. This was done in a
natural, non-preaching kind of way.
So, was my daughter a fan of these books?
Absolutely! She even enjoyed My First
Bow, despite the fact that she really
hasn’t been exposed to bows yet.
Was I a fan of the “My First” Series? I
certainly was. I was very pleased with the
high quality construction and I appreciated
the messages that were conveyed by the
books. And most importantly, I enjoyed that
they were something my daughter and I could
share while actually learning something
valuable. And that is what these books are
all about.
For more information on these great books,
visit
www.littlesportsman.com.
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