Review
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Title: Practicing for Heaven: The Parable Of The Piano Lessons
Authors: Brad Wilcox and Wendee Wilcox Rosborough
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Youth Fiction
Year Published: 2015
Number of Pages: 28
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN13: 978-1-60907-997–0
Price: $18.99
Reviewed by Trudy Thompson For The Association For Mormon Letters
As a former piano teacher who often struggled with keeping beginning students engaged and interested during the lessons and needed practice times, I understand very well the frustrations of a teacher or parent in trying to instruct young people in the fine art of dedication and commitment to reach one’s goals.
For the most part I was successful, with one exception. A young boy of 10 wanted to learn to play the piano. He became immediately agitated that he could not play a song within the first couple of weeks, he hated the scales and the fingering lessons and wanted to play a song his own way, which was to play it the way he thought it should sound, rather than how it was written. He constantly arguedwith his mother over practicing and there was no improvement from one week to the next.
I tried many different methods, even coming up with incentives and rewards to encourage him to stick with it and practice – to no avail. On the fifth week of lessons, he and his mother came to my home, where he promptly slapped the piano books down on the kitchen table, while his mother explained that “this was just not going to work for him – he didn’t feel he could do this.” So, I lost that one, and always felt like his mother could have maybe done better too.
This book is aboutmuch more than teaching children to stick to the task at hand. “Practicing For Heaven” tells the story of David, a boy who really hates practicing the piano. One day, while sitting at the piano, staring at it and resting his fingers on the keys but not playing, his Mom calls out from the kitchen that she wants to “hear some practicing in there!” David immediately protests, stating that “anything would be better than this!” His Mom saysshe doesnot want to see him waste the opportunity to learn. David complains that it is hard and she reminds him that he wanted to learn so he could play like his friend.
As they continue to talk, David’s mother reminds him that it wasn’t just about playing the piano, but that it was a lot bigger than that. She teaches her son that over the next few years there might be times when he might want to give up on things much more important than the piano. It would be at those times, she explains, that he would need to turn to the Savior.
She tells him that just as she had asked him to continue to practice because she had already paid for the lessons, Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins and mistakes, so He can ask something of us. He asks us to follow Him and keep His commandments – not to pay Him back, but to help us become more like Him. David’s mother reiterates that we can’t just quit because we think something is too hard, or that we have made too many mistakes. She states, “What if I said, ‘I’ve already made too many mistakes as a mother and might as well give up?’ Do you think I should just quit?”
David knows the answer to that, and she instructs that we don’t have to be perfect, we just need to keep trying, and that by following Christ, we aren’t earning our way to heaven, but are learning to become the kind of people who want to live there someday. David then realizes that “we’re practicing for heaven.”
This book is beautifully illustrated with paintings by Brian Call. He has previously done illustrations for the Ensign and Friend magazines, as well as the children’s books, “The Illustrated Book of Mormon” and “Bible Stories for Latter-day Saints.” The artwork is masterfully done, with detail and rich vibrant colors that make the illustrations almost photo-like. An additional bonus in this volume is the teaching tips for parents and others who wish to teach children of all ages about the Savior’s atonement and grace. There are two pages of tips on how to teach this challenging topic and a list of additional resources that adults can reference.
Brad Wilcox and his daughter Wendee Wilcox Rosborough, have nicely collaborated on what would make an excellent gift for children, their parents, teachers and anyone wanting a new perspective on the atonement.