Title: Strong Stone Wall
Author: Joann Klusmeyer
Publisher: PageTurner Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1-64908-716-4
Genre: Christian Children’s Fiction
Pages: 156
Reviewed by: Allison Walker
Pacific Book Review
Garnette is only an infant when her parents meet their tragic end on an icy trail in pioneer prairie wilderness. Their wagon splintered to pieces and belongings strewn about in a blizzard, some would say it’s a miracle Garnette survived while her parents perished. But Angel 734, guardian of little girls, knows it’s no miracle, more like an assignment from the Boss. The novel Strong Stone Wall, by author Joann Klusmeyer, is the story of a family brought together by circumstance, or by an assignment from the Boss – but growing to love one another and survive in the prairie frontier.
Someone is certainly watching over sheep farmer Soloman Tanner, his adopted daughter Garnette, the widow Fern, and her son Blue. With just a careful nudge every now and then, the angels guide this makeshift family to happiness and contentment. Even events which seem like tragedy, like the loss of Garnette’s parents, serve a greater purpose. While raising sheep on a prairie known for unpredictable weather is trying, and Sol barely has time to construct stone-by-stone the sheepfold he needs to protect his flock, the family cares for and teaches one another, and soon grows to include three more young boys.
The flock of sheep which Sol protects and which in turn provide his livelihood, is only one of the many Biblical references Klusmeyer includes throughout her novel. Helpfully, she includes footnotes most of them so interested readers can pursue the reference in the Bible. The slow, persistent construction of the sheepfold, which Sol describes as “every day another stone,” abounds with metaphorical resonance. The result is the entirety of the book has a very Sunday school, Bible-story feel to it. Klusmeyer cleverly ties many story elements together as the novel progresses. From scattered stones, this family and their small rural community grow into a strong stone wall. While they don’t achieve money, land and power, their wealth comes from love, security and togetherness.
While Strong Stone Wall is a Christian children’s fiction novel, Klusmeyer keeps the references subtle. The angels give an otherworldly sense of security but aren’t the main focus of Garnette’s story, and so are not intrusive upon it. Klusmeyer shows good judgment in writing a novel children can enjoy and grow from spiritually, without feeling like the adult giving them the book has a secret agenda. Strong Stone Wall is the Little House on the Prairie of Christian children’s fiction.
