In the Language of Loons
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.