I love books, I love book recs, so I was eager to check this one out. But the book wasn't for me. It was meant for Asher.
Asher is also a lover of stories. We read (at least) one book every day...usually at bedtime. He can even "read" to me now...two of his favorites are Goodnight, Gorilla and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
We knew before Jake left that we wanted to record him reading to Asher, and we did. I've been working on uploading them to YouTube, so that no matter where we are, as long as we have internet access, we can have daddy read Asher a story. But I hadn't even thought of looking for a children's book that might explain or talk about deployment, feelings, etc. on a child's level.
Marcy suggested Night Catch by Brenda Ehrmantraut and illustrated by Vicki Wehrman. It's the story of a little boy and his dad, who has been deployed far away, who enjoy playing catch together. Since they cannot be together in the same place to play, they devise a clever way to continue their game of catch, even while thousands of miles from each other. The concept is a little "above" Asher's head, but the rhyming storyline helps keep his attention, as well as bright pictures. This book is a hardback and is $15.95.
Of course, when I went on Amazon.com to purchase these, they targeted me! They gave me some wonderful suggestions of other books that may be helpful to me. I'm apparently a sucker, as I wound up with 3 other books for Asher in my cart! The up side of this is that I got free shipping on my order...
The next book I found was Daddy is a Soldier, written and illustrated by Kirsten Hallowell. This is a very small, paperback book, and priced at $9. The pictures and story are very age appropriate for Asher at age 2.5. I only wish that this book was a board book for the price and size. 
The following two stories are my favorites, and also the ones I cannot get through without choking back tears!
A Paper Hug, by Stephanie Skolmoski and illustrated by Anneliese Bennion, should have been self explanitory. Apparently I didn't think too hard about it before I began reading it. Or...I just get emotional pretty easily. Either way, this story is about a little boy who is putting together a special "going away" package for his daddy. He can't think of anything special to put in, but then he comes up with the perfect idea. As the name of the story reveals (but obviously not to me!), he comes up with a creative way to send his daddy a special hug. This one is a bargain at $6.95 on Amazon.com.
My Dad's a Hero by Rebecca Christiansen & Jewel Armstrong and illustrated by Jen O. Robertson is a book that has obviously been put together with great care and experience. From the little detals it mentions like the types of transportation soldiers use, to the MRE's they eat, and dogtags and uniforms they wear, this book has it all. It goes through all the different things a daddy may do while he is deployed, and the reasons why he must be away. There's a special place to even place daddy's picture, and the child's picture as well. I'm sure if you read this story, you'll tear up too when it is finally revealed why the daddy is such a hero.
There were also books specifically for children whose moms were deployed as well. These books helped Jake and I to have the words to say to our son to help him to understand a little better what was going on and why daddy has to go away. I hope if you are in a position to share a story like one of the above with your child or a child whose parent is deployed, that these recommendations will be of some aid to you.
~Emily
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