THE GIRL WHO WANTED A SONG

After the death of her parents, Marici feels alone in the world. She sees the wild creatures in the woods near the cabin where she lives with her aunt, but she has no connection to them. Sometimes at night she listens to the owls hooting and the coyotes howling and wishes she had a song of her own. She finds a soulmate in a goose she discovers by the pond. They meet daily, and their friendship allows Marici to find a song (and then to remember all the songs she sang with family and friends) and allows the goose to fly again. Both are healed and nourished by the relationship, and they part. The source for this sophisticated book from Sanfield (Just Rewards, p. 1055, etc.) is the Ten Oxherding Pictures of Zen Buddhism. The melancholy of the opening pages pegs the story as one to be shared by adults with children. Further capturing Marici's sorrow and isolation--and the joy when she remembers her songs--are Johnson's realistic watercolor and pastel illustrations. Ponderous, but tender.