Joshua In
A Place For All My Stuff
By Andre’ Damphousse
Wigglyword Publishing
ISBN 978-0986768309
17 pages

In Joshua’s first book ( as others are coming!), A Place For All My Stuff, we learn of a caring and endearing relationship between a father and a son. Andre’ Damphousse tells of the father son relationship using a heartwarming lesson. 

All of us who have had children have stepped on that occasional toy left out on the floor, leaving us with a bruised heel or stubbed toe.  The premise of the book is one that delights as you learn of the love between a father and a son that is born out of a problem that is well resolved

In this multicultural tale of a forgetful child, the irony lies in the reciprocal gift giving between Joshua and his Father. Time and again, as an innocent child’s memory serves, Joshua leaves his toys out for his family to trip over.  His father loses patience and his temper upon the discovery of these toys left in the house where they don’t belong.

The father decides to build a lovely, large toy chest as a gift to Joshua at Christmas, to help him keep his toys in their respective place. What the father does not realize is that Joshua has in turn come up with his own loving reminder for his father. Joshua decides to build a small box in which his dad can keep his temper, a temper that would flare at times whenever Joshua left his unattended toys all over the house.

As the mother of three children who have indeed left their toys lying around for stubbed toes, and bruised heels, I found this to be a heartwarming tale with a nice solution. This book paints the relationship between a father and a son in a constructive and loving way. It touches on a problem that lies with many child/parent relationships...Put those toys away!  

Theresa Potts
Children’s Book Reviewer