SONG OF THE RIVER

In this simply told tale, a child nearly overcome by floods of both water and grief finds unexpected comfort in an environmental recovery project.

As if her father’s death weren’t a heavy enough blow for fifth grader Cari, a flood washes out her new home and the riverside cafe she and her mom had worked so hard to establish, leaving both physical and emotional devastation in its wake. There seems no point in rebuilding—until a friendly neighbor offers a glimmer of hope by explaining that if beavers could be reintroduced to the nature preserve upstream, their dams would ameliorate the danger of flash floods. Many local farmers and other residents view beavers as pests that eat crops. How can Cari help change their minds? The eventual arrival of busy, buck-toothed “Gracie” and “Harold” not only leads to a better outcome the next time a wild storm hits, but touches off a rush of visitors to join Cari in fond beaver watching—particularly after the appearance of a clutch of baby beavers. The text is legibly laid out with plenty of open page space; running along the bottom of the pages are Goldhawk’s images of a peaceful, tree-lined river flowing through low hills. This gentle tale will draw even younger readers into its rising wash of good feelings. Lewis offers neither racial cues for the cast nor a specific locale for the story, originally published in the U.K.

A heartening recovery tale, with a budding eco-activist at its heart.