Books #47-48: “Bloomability” and “Chasing Redbird”

Fast Facts:

Books: Bloomability; Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech

Genre/Audience: Upper elementary; fiction

Rating: For both, 9/10

Worth the read?: Thus far, I’d recommend anything by Sharon Creech!

Anytime I come across a book by Sharon Creech at Goodwill, I snatch it up crazy fast. The author of my all-time favorite children’s book, Walk Two Moons, writes stories that are enjoyable and worthwhile reads for both adults and her intended elementary-aged audience. Bloomability and Chasing Redbird are no different.

Of the two, I slightly preferred Chasing Redbird; this story had small connections to Walk Two Moons and evoked a similar sense of wonder and wandering. It was as if I was reading a companion story to the one I hold so dear to my heart.

“Chasing redbird”

In Redbird, Zinny Taylor finds an old, overgrown trail on her family’s property and decides to clear all 16 miles of it over her summer break. She believes that clearing the trail is the only way God will forgive her for her Aunt Jessie’s death, and the trail becomes an obsession for Zinny. She convinces her parents to let her camp on the trail so she can finish before summer ends, and she dedicates herself completely to uncovering every inch of the old path. In the journey, Zinny learns to cope with the grief of losing her aunt and, naturally, discovers more than she ever bargained for.

I adored this book because 13-year-old Zinny is a lot like I was at that age. Bold, brave, daring, and aware that she was different from everyone else, Zinny also felt that the things that made her different were responsible for events entirely outside of her control. This sweet little girl was willing to do anything, no matter the cost, to overcome her guilt. Sharon Creech writes books that kids can learn from and relate to. I love that, and I love her.

“Bloomability”

Bloomability evokes a similar sense of wonder and belonging for the reader, but this time the story accomplishes such a mood by plucking its protagonist out of her comfort zone and sending her to an entirely new continent. Dinnie Doone comes from an unstable family constantly on the move across the United States. Everything changes for Dinnie when her aunt and uncle “kidnap” her (she feels kidnapped, but the reader knows this is not the case) and take her to Switzerland, where her uncle is headmaster at a boarding school. Dinnie soon makes friends at her new school and experiences life in complete contrast to what she has always known. At the end of the novel, Dinnie is given a choice: she can return to America just for the summer, or she can go back permanently.

Again, Creech writes the children’s story in such a way that, at 21, I felt the characters had something to teach me. I can’t compliment Creech enough. I have a few more of her books on my shelf yet to read, and I look forward to sharing about those, too.

More to come soon—we’re almost through my 2018 book posts! Until then, happy reading!

Nikki