Breaking News:
Exciting News!
HEART OF A SHEPHERD was chosen as a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year 2009 and it is also on the list for the ABC Best Children’s Books of the year.
HEART OF A SHEPHERD received its second starred review in the May-June issue of Horn Book!
“Brother’s honest voice conveys an emotional terrain as thoughtfully
developed as Parry’s evocation of the Western landscape.”
Here is the full review.
HEART OF A SHEPHERD
With his artist mother living in Italy, his four older brothers away at school or in the service, and now his Army-Reserve father off to serve an extended tour in Iraq, sixth-grader Ignatius (thankfully nicknamed Brother) is the only one left to help his grandparents run the family ranch. “I get to thinking about the long line of soldiers that have marched away from this table, which is great if you’re the patriotic type. But it’s not so great if you are the one waiting for your dad to come home.” Distinctively set in the cattle and sheep country of eastern Oregon, this first novel chronicles Brother’s year of hard work (lambing, calving), danger (a rattlesnake, a fire), worry about his father’s safety, and pondering what direction his own future will take. (The conclusion he comes to is surprising only because we haven’t seen anything like it in children’s books in quite a long time.) Brother’s honest voice conveys an emotional terrain as thoughtfully developed as Parry’s evocation of the Western landscape. r.s.
The Class of 2K9
I am delighted to be a member of the Class of 2K9. We are a group of 22 debut authors of middle grade and young adult fiction who have banded together to support each other in becoming both fresh and enduring voices in literature for young people.
Recent Events:
I’ve just returned from a trip to Baton Rouge, LA to do school visits at St. Jude and St. George Elementary schools. It was my very first trip to the south and I had a wonderful time. Special thanks to Donna St. Cyr, author of the upcoming Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate, for her generous hospitality. It was a treat to meet your students!
I also recently visited the school where I taught when I was fresh out of college, Taholah School on the Quinault Indian Reservation on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It was a beautiful day and I was delighted to meet many of the children of my former students and a few of the teachers I taught with many years ago. I was especially proud to see that one of my former students is now a teacher herself.
Learn more about my Recent Events…
Events Calendar:
Use the Events Calendar to find all of my upcoming events, months in advance.
Latest Podcasts:
Heart of a Shepherd - “The Chess Men”
