BOOK PICKS.Byline: The Register-Guard Edward's Eyes By Patricia MacLachlan 2007 Ages 8 to 12 Jack and Maeve are proprietors of the local bookstore in a small community where they live with their children in a home on the Cape. Summers are especially memorable when the couple take time away from their store to spend the long days with their children and share a love of music, reading and baseball: "Summer always smelled like heat, the ocean, and the spines of old books." Older brother Jake tells the story of Edward that begins when Edward was brought home from the hospital and placed in his arms. Jake will never forget when Edward opened his beautiful, perceptive per·cep·tive adj. 1. Of or relating to perception. 2. Having the ability to perceive. 3. Keenly discerning. per eyes. Through these eyes, Edward will read signs in fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to , birds, poppies, music. Jake appreciates fully what he learns through his younger brother's insights. Edward possesses a quiet competence in everything he does. He is not afraid of anything. He is always a stand-out, especially to Jake, who comes to understand that it's not the doing that defines Edward, but the trying. This tenacity is celebrated when Edward masters the elusive knuckleball. When Edward dies, the family is devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. . They work together through their grief, finding strength in knowing that Edward's organs, including his eyes, will carry the legacy of their beloved brother and son. I picked up this book after hearing Patricia MacLachlan speak at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. She dedicated the book to her son John, a former photographer who now works in Tanzania with the renowned primatologist Jane Goodall Noun 1. Jane Goodall - English zoologist noted for her studies of chimpanzees in the wild (born in 1934) Goodall . This story will make you think deeply about love of family and love of life. - Nicola Maxwell, retired Eugene School District Eugene School District (4J) is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It serves the city of Eugene Elementary schools
(2) See CA-Librarian. |
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