Hi guys and gals!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today is the official kick off of the Fall portion of Children’s Book Week! What IS Children’s Book Week, you may ask? Great question! “...Children's Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country…” and that means it gives readers, bloggers, and all the book industry another great reason to shine the light on titles that will enrapture, delight, spark imagination, and really make you think. They are books aimed at kiddos, but meant for readers of that age and beyond, which is a concept I fully subscribe to!
So, this week, in addition to my regularly scheduled bloggy programming, I’ll also be highlighting some recent titles in the Children’s genre that I’ve adventured through this year, so that you too may be in the know and perhaps discover your next best read! On your mark, get set, here comes the first book of choice…
by
Tricia Springstubb
9780823447572
Margaret Ferguson Books
About the book…
Eleven-year-old Loah Londonderry is definitely a homebody. While her mother, a noted ornithologist, works to save the endangered birds of the shrinking Arctic tundra, Loah anxiously counts the days till her return home. But then, to Loah's surprise and dismay, Dr. Londonderry decides to set off on a perilous solo quest to find the Loah bird, long believed extinct. Does her mother care more deeply about Loah the bird than Loah her daughter?
Things get worse yet when Loah's elderly caretakers fall ill and she finds herself all alone except for her friend Ellis. Ellis has big problems of her own, but she believes in Loah. She's certain Loah has strengths that are hidden yet wonderful, like the golden feather tucked away on her namesake bird's wing. When Dr. Londonderry's expedition goes terribly wrong, Loah needs to discover for herself whether she has the courage and heart to find help for her mother, lost at the top of the world.
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This was a story filled with adventure unknown, trials unexpected, seemingly vindictive birds (that I loved!), and expressions of love you were not expecting.
Loah is a young girl left mostly on her own as her mother travels the world in search of feathered friends. Don’t worry, they are Loah’s friends too, in fact she’s named after one, and knows all about them, but sometimes those trips feel like one too many. It’s hard to blame someone for their absence when they are doing what they love, but sometimes you want to be the priority. This time around, Loah isn’t just missing her mother, she REALLY needs her, and she’s certain something is amiss. While their communication is sketchy as she travels abroad, she’s never out of contact this long, add to that how things at home as escalating rather rapidly with red stamped notices, and uninvited inspectors appearing, as well as her caretakers falling under the weather, and life is anything but a nest of security. It’s downright fraught with obstacles. Some of the burden is alleviated when she makes a new friend that really needs to her help, but even that starts to grow beyond what an eleven-year-old should have to handle. She just needs her mother’s guiding light, but first she needs to find her mother, or at least someone that believes her enough to follow her heart.
Watching Loah come out of her proverbial shell was fortifying. It reminds us that there isn’t anything we can’t do if only we set out minds to it, and nothing in this world stronger than love. Whether it be love of a person, place, or thing, it can be the anchor that holds us still long enough to sort out the what ifs and see the way out. Loah may have needed her mom, but it wasn’t for the strength to do the right thing, or the courage to find her way, but for the fortification her presence provided in declaring her world safe, warm, and loving.
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About the author...
Sister James Bernard, my first grade teacher, taught me how to read. Our class had 60 children (yes) and we went up and down the long rows, taking turns reading aloud. There was absolutely no reading ahead, which was torture. I was always dying to know What happened next? (though with Dick and Jane, the answer was usually, Not much.) As I grew up, I began to wonder not only what happened, but why, and much much later, inhabiting other people's stories wasn't enough. I began to make my own.
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Special thanks to the publisher for the ARC for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now via Margaret Ferguson Books, so stop by your local brick and mortar or click on over to your favorite online retailer today.
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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