Children's Edition of Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer — Edition Insights

Child Piety and the Happy Death

The excerpts repeatedly depict children who are not only devout but also actively lead prayer meetings and express joy in faith. In one story, a sick girl raises her hand and waves it while music is played, and the narrator interprets this as 'the Lord's doings.' Another account tells of a child who, after a vision, lives a week in patient waiting, motioning for needs and pointing upward. These scenes emphasize a calm, even joyful, acceptance of death, framed as a reward for faith. The language is sentimental and direct, aiming to inspire young readers to emulate such piety.

Dramatic Rescues and Moral Exempla

Not all stories focus on death; some highlight acts of courage or moral choices. 'She Died for Him' recounts a mother sacrificing herself so her son can escape a burning ship, telling him 'Tell Father I died for you!' This incident, marked as 'Selected,' is presented without attribution, typical of the compilation's mix of sourced and anonymous tales. Other stories, like 'Always Tell the Truth' and 'The Golden Rule Exemplified,' suggest a didactic purpose beyond prayer itself. The catalog subject 'Prayer -- Christianity' thus underrepresents the book's broader aim of instilling obedience, gratitude, and courage through exemplary narratives.

The Compilation's Structure and Voice

The book opens with multiple prefaces: Shaw's own, his wife's, and a later dedication by Laura M. Conkle from 1955. This layered framing shows the work's history as a reprinted edition. The table of contents lists titles like 'The Converted Infidel' and 'How A Little Girl Utilized the Telephone,' indicating a mix of conversion stories and modern settings. The excerpts use direct address ('you children') and exclamation points, creating an intimate, urgent tone. Illustrations are referenced in captions, such as 'They brought the guitar,' suggesting the original printed book included images to reinforce the emotional impact.

Readers should note that the excerpts represent only a portion of the collection's 29,230 words. The stories vary in length and source, from named contributors to anonymous selections. The book's focus on child death and moral lessons may feel dated, but it offers a window into late-19th-century evangelical children's literature. Approach each story as a self-contained anecdote rather than a continuous narrative.

I have often shelved the children’s prayer book beside Miscellaneous Pieces — Reading Notes, not for any catalog reason, but because both whisper of quiet waiting. One records answered cries; the other, patient margins where someone underlined a thought. Together they feel like two old friends, nodding across the aisle at how slowly, how surely, meaning settles into a life.