Today I want to share a book series that I absolutely love: Andrew Peterson's Wingfeather Saga. This is not a series I have read aloud with my children yet, only because I think they are not quite old enough. I have my eyes set on this for the next summer or two. I also wanted to highlight these books because I highly recommend them if you have a boy that loves to read. This would be a great series for a boy that is reading at a 2nd/3rd/4th grade reading level to take on his own and run with.
Several years ago I was sent the second book in this series to review. We were familiar with Andrew Peterson's work - as a musician. My husband is an admirer of Andrew Peterson's songwriting but we weren't familiar with his books. I flew through books one and two and book three was finally released this summer. It did not disappoint either .... other than the fact that I thought I was reading a trilogy and couldn't figure out why the story wasn't wrapping up like I thought it would. I still have one more book to look forward to!
The books are a series of fantasy adventure novels about the three Igiby children, Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli. At the beginning of the story Janner is twelve, Kalmar (who’s nickname is Tink) is eleven, and their little sister Leeli is nine. They’re accompanied by Leeli’s dog Nugget, their mother Nia, and their ex-pirate grandfather Podo Helmer. They live in a world called Aerwiar, which is exactly like our world–except they don’t have electricity or gunpowder, and there are all sorts of creepy animals, like sea dragons and toothy cows. Janner, the eldest, is about to discover that the ordinary little town where they live is anything but ordinary. In fact, he and his family are at the center of a great mystery that will change their lives forever.
If you (or your kids) are fans of The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, then this series will be enjoyed. According to the author,
this is a story about light and goodness and Truth with a capital T. It’s about beauty, and resurrection, and redemption. But for those things to ring true in a child’s heart, the storyteller has to be honest. He has to acknowledge that sometimes when the hall light goes out and the bedroom goes dark, the world is a scary place. He has to nod his head to the presence of all the sadness in the world; children know it’s there from a very young age, and I wonder sometimes if that’s why babies cry. He has to admit that sometimes characters make bad choices, because every child has seen their parent angry or irritable or deceitful–even the best people in our lives are capable of evil.
But of course the storyteller can’t stop there. He has to show in the end there is a Great Good in the world (and beyond it). Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to show how beautiful is the prick of light. Gather all the wickedness in the universe into its loudest shriek and God hears it as a squeak at best. And that is a comforting thought. When a child reads the last sentence of my stories, I hope he or she drifts to sleep with a glow in their hearts and a warmth in their bones, believing that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
His words were better than mine. : )
The published books in the series are North! Or Be Eaten: Wild escapes. A desperate journey. And the ghastly Fangs of Dang. (The Wingfeather Saga)
, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Adventure Peril, Lost Jewels, and the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree (The Wingfeather Saga), and The Monster in the Hollows (Wingfeather Saga). He has a gift for titles, doesn't he? : ) Highly recommended from our house to yours!Day: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5
The book links above are Amazon affiliate links ... if you click them and make a purchase, I will earn a few pennies towards books for my munchkins. Just thought I'd mention it. :)
This series has been on my TBR list for a while--thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDelete