This book is on the Bluestem Award list for 2014, which is why I stuck it out and read it. I enjoyed Uncle Sanjay as a character - he seemed warm and friendly... his passion for animals and his love of the island he adopted as home were believable and charming. Sanjay, however, is not our main character - his "dear niece", Poppy, is the narrator of the... erhm... story?That's the problem I had - there were too many stories and almost none of them were fully fleshed out:* Sanjay's relationship with his family* Sanjay's relationship with the woman who led him to the island* Sanjay's relationship with Toni* Hawk's mother (name escapes me - S?) - why does she seem to dislike Poppy so much?* Hawk's inexplicable behavior at the cafe* Toni's "clairvoyance"... it goes on and on. Again, am I being set up for a sequel? A series? I don't know... but I don't *really* like it. I mean, what was with Poppy's suitcase at the beginning? WHY did we have to include that? Just to get her into some island gear? I feel like perhaps I'm being too harsh - it is, after all, a book written for 3-5 graders. However, would have liked to have seen some storylines brought to fruition and others simply dropped. Chapters are short but each chapter seems to address a dilemma. Perhaps not solving it completely, but dealing with it from a child's point of view. Kids have to face all these things, e.g., crisis situations, bloody injuries, flying alone, mean friends, racism. As deep as those issues are, the book addresses them appropriately at a kid's level, and sweetly. What a great read-aloud this would be with your child...and chatting at the end of each chapter.
What do You think about Seaglass Summer (2010)?
A sweet story with a very nice sense of place and a lot of interesting secondary characters.
—Genan
I can relate to this book in many ways. It taught me a few things about being a vet. A.T.
—venessa98
Global Reading Challenge this year. I liked it better than her previous book.
—Jennyjelly325
Good as far as animal-loving kid books go, but not my style.
—LoveIt
