In the Language of Loons [Hardcover]

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1998 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

t was summer, 1969, and for all his life, Arlis would remember it because of the loons Spending the summer with his grandparents opened new worlds for Arlis. He was glad to be away from his father, who was always too busy to spend time with him anyway. That wasn't the case with Grandpa. Grandpa taught him about the stars, about birds, and most especially about having faith in himself and the need to take responsibility for your actions. It was the summer he started to run, and realized he could be good at something if he tried hard enough. When school started that fall, even though some sad changes came as well, he was a new Arlis, one who was able to stand on his own.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sometimes a summer can make all the difference. Friendless, awkward Arlis was humiliated daily by his classmates. Once, toward the end of the school year, they even forced him to eat a worm sandwich! Then came the summer. Who could have known that staying at Grandpa and Grandma's farm would change Arlis forever? It must have been the loons. During their sleepy summer days spent fishing at the lake, Grandpa teaches Arlis all about the rare birds that howl and nest nearby. Arlis learns that loons are ancient and strong, but awkward in their own ways. While watching the birds struggle to survive, Arlis discovers a lot about himself. School would be different next year--in many surprising ways.

Without wasting a single word, author Natalie Kinsey-Warnock packs a powerful, profound story of transformation into this slim novel. Though younger teens will devour it with interest and ease, older teens will appreciate some of the story's more subtle threads of hope and inner change.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7?It's been a particularly bad year for 12-year-old Arlis. His father's been busy with work, his mother's been tired and preoccupied with the baby she's expecting, and he's been the target of a relentless school bully. It's almost a relief when his parents decide to send him to his grandparents' farm for the summer. There, Arlis develops a close relationship with his grandfather, who teaches him all about nature. Grandpa also helps Arlis discover his previously untapped ability as a long-distance runner. By giving him faith in himself and his abilities, and a new sense of courage, Grandpa has given his grandson wonderful gifts that come in handy when Arlis returns home to face some challenging situations, including Grandpa's sudden death. This is a touching and poignant story of a boy starting on his journey to manhood. The relationship between Arlis and his grandfather is tenderly and realistically drawn, and the other relationships and their resolutions are equally believable. While the book is set in rural Vermont in 1969, it's only details such as the family watching the moon landing on TV that reveal the time. The emotions and relationships are the true driving force of this story, and they are timeless. Readers will recognize something of themselves in Arlis's feelings of alienation and gradual discovery of self-confidence, and they will rejoice and mourn with him as he begins to find his place in the world.?Arwen Marshall, New York Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052565237X
• ISBN-13: 978-0525652373
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,849,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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