Why Start with Book 2?
The Value of a Backward Beginning
If you’re new to the Echoes of Silva Island series, you might wonder why Book 2 — No One Can Trust a Fox — is the first to be published. Shouldn’t we start at the beginning?
In most cases, yes. But in this story world, the journey is just a little different — and intentionally so.
As a homeschooling dad of four, I wrote these books not only as stories to enjoy, but as formational experiences — stories that shape the heart, stretch the imagination, and train the mind. And that’s exactly why I chose to begin the series midstream, with No One Can Trust a Fox.
Here’s why starting with Book 2 is not just okay — it’s actually good for your child’s growth.
1. Discovery Before Explanation
There’s something powerful about encountering a character or event and not immediately knowing the backstory. It stirs a child’s natural curiosity — that God-given hunger to seek, question, and learn.
Just as Christ told parables that invited listeners to lean in and ponder, stories that unfold in mystery call children to participate — to piece together meaning, to wonder about motives, and to anticipate what came before.
When your child reads Book 1 later, they’ll experience the joy of those “aha!” moments — discovering the deeper story behind the characters and events they already care about.
2. Builds Narrative Reasoning
Reading events out of order strengthens what educators and researchers sometimes call narrative intelligence — the ability to:
connect dots across time,
interpret motives in light of new information, and
hold multiple perspectives at once.
These are the very skills that help children grow into wise, empathetic, and discerning adults — and they’re also essential when reading Scripture.
In fact, some of the richest moments in the Bible are best understood when read “out of order.”
In Genesis, we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” It’s the first verse of the Bible — but not, as we later learn, the first verse of reality.
When we get to John’s Gospel, we’re told something deeper: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In other words, before the heavens and the earth began, Christ already was.
Genesis shows us the beginning of time and creation.
John reveals a beginning that stretches beyond time — into eternity past.
That’s not just a chronological correction — it’s a narrative deepening.
And (on a much smaller scale) that’s a bit like how Echoes of Silva Island works.
When you begin with Book 2: No One Can Trust a Fox, you’re stepping into life a year after the Great Storm. You’re entering the story as events unfold. But when you go back to read Book 1, you begin to uncover the deeper, hidden beginnings — the moments that shaped the world your child already knows.
Just as John shows us the truer “beginning” behind Genesis, Book 1 offers the roots behind Book 2 — not just what happened, but why it mattered.
Starting with Book 2 gives your child the chance to begin practicing these narrative connections early — in a safe, joyful, and story-rich way.
3. It Honors the Child’s Capacity for Deep Reflection
Many children — even young ones — are capable of handling complexity in story. They may not analyze it like an adult, but they feel it. They intuit the weight of trust and betrayal. They notice the quiet sorrow behind a brave act. They carry questions about what makes someone do what they do.
By introducing them first to a story filled with mystery, moral questions, and layered characters, you are inviting them into a form of reflection that’s both deeply human and deeply Christian.
And when they later read the “earlier” events of Book 1, they will do so not with detachment, but with investment — interpreting the past through eyes of grace, loss, and hope.
✍️ From the Author (and Father)
I didn’t write No One Can Trust a Fox in isolation. It was shaped in part by bedtime stories with my children, by listening to their questions, and by watching the way they discover truth through wonder.
Starting with Book 2 wasn’t a marketing tactic. It was a way of honoring how children grow (or at least, how my children grow).
So whether you’re a parent, a teacher, or a curious young reader — start with No One Can Trust a Fox. Enter the world midstream. Let the questions linger. Let the wonder stir. And when the time comes to turn back the clock and read Book 1, I think you’ll find the story — and your child’s heart — has grown deeper for it.