Easter tends to arrive quietly.
Yes, there are baskets and bright eggs and children running
through the yard looking for candy. But the season has always meant something
more than that. It carries small reminders about kindness, patience,
forgiveness, and the idea that second chances matter.
Those same ideas run through two children’s books written by
Laurie Kubal Becvar, “Ren’s Journey Home” and Hank Finds
His Forever Home.”
On the surface, they are simple stories about animals. A cat
that refuses to forget where she belongs. Another who slowly learns to trust
people again. Yet the deeper thread running through both stories is about
compassion and the surprising ways loyalty shows up.
The setting for both books is a ranch in South Dakota. Laura
and her husband, Mick, live there surrounded by animals and the steady rhythm
of ranch life. It is the kind of place where mornings begin early, chores fill
the day, and animals are treated less like pets and more like members of the
household.
The first story begins with something small.
A friend of Laura’s arrives carrying a basket. Inside it
sits a tiny gray kitten with golden eyes and soft fur that barely fills Laura’s
hands. She names the kitten Ren. From that moment on, the little cat seems to
attach herself to Laura’s every movement. If Laura walks toward the barn, Ren
follows behind. If Laura sits on the porch after a long day, Ren curls up
nearby. The two become inseparable.
Still, even peaceful homes have their small conflicts. Ren
wants to be close to Laura constantly, even trying to get inside the house when
she isn’t allowed. Scratched window screens become the problem that starts it
all. Mick worries about the damage and eventually insists the cat should go
somewhere else.
Laura agrees, though it breaks her heart. She takes Ren to
her brother’s farm, believing it will be a good place for the kitten to grow.
Ren tries to adjust. But something inside her never quite
settles.
Eventually, the little gray cat slips away from the farm. No
one knows exactly when she leaves. What becomes clear later is that Ren begins
traveling across fields, through barns, past unfamiliar land, somehow moving in
the direction of the ranch she once knew. Months pass. Then years.
And then one evening, the impossible happens.
Ren appears back at Laura’s ranch again. Thin, worn from the
journey, but unmistakably the same cat who once left. Somehow, she found her
way home.
The second story begins later, after Laura and Mick move to
the Black Hills of South Dakota. One afternoon, Laura notices a large cat
watching their new ranch from the edge of the woods. The animal is cautious and
clearly hungry, lingering near the trees but not daring to come close. Laura
begins leaving food outside.
At first, the cat only watches. Days pass this way. Slowly,
curiosity overcomes fear, and one morning the big stranger steps out from the
trees and onto the porch. Laura and Mick welcome him into their lives and give
him a name: Hank.
Finding shelter is only the beginning, though. Hank’s large
size and confident personality create tension among the other cats on the
ranch. For a while, things feel unsettled. With patience and some creative
thinking, Laura and Mick eventually help the animals adjust to one another. Peace
returns to the house.
Together, the stories reflect the same lessons families
often talk about during Easter: hope, forgiveness, loyalty, and the belief that
kindness can change a life.
Laurie Kubal Becvar writes these stories with warmth that
clearly comes from experience. They are gentle stories, but they linger long
after the final page is turned.
And for parents who like to give Easter gifts that last
longer than chocolate, Ren’s Journey Home and Hank Finds His Forever Home offer
something simple and meaningful, a reminder that compassion is a lesson worth
growing into.