Chasing Redbird
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Intriguing, delightful, and touching.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“Creech’s best yet.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
It started out as an ordinary summer. But the minute thirteen-year-old Zinny discovered the old, overgrown trail that ran through the woods behind her family’s house, she realized that things were about to change.
It was her chance to finally make people notice her, and to have a place she could call her very own. But more than that, Zinny knew that the trail somehow held the key to all kinds of questions. And that the only way to understand her family, her Aunt Jessie’s death, and herself, was to find out where it went.
From Newbery Medal-winning author Sharon Creech comes a story of love, loss, and understanding, an intricately woven tale of a young girl who sets out in search of her place in the world—and discovers it in her own backyard.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
For Zinny, clearing the trail is the only way to make sense of the past—and find her own way forward.
A Journey of Self-Discovery: Feeling lost in her big family, thirteen-year-old Zinny Taylor sets out to clear an overgrown trail, hoping to finally carve out a place that is all her own.Grief and Healing: The trail holds the key to understanding the recent death of her beloved Aunt Jessie, forcing Zinny to confront the complicated feelings of love, loss, and guilt that she’s kept buried.A Captivating Mystery: As Zinny uncovers the path, she also uncovers long-hidden family truths that connect her own life to the past in ways she never expected.A Heartfelt Middle Grade Novel: A beautifully written story perfect for young readers ages 8-12 who love emotional and character-driven fiction about finding your place in the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Returning to Bybanks, Ky., the setting of her Newbery-winning Walk Two Moons, Creech weaves an affecting tale of love and loss. Zinnia Taylor, the third of seven children, is shaken by her aunt's recent death; although the doctor attributed it to diabetes, the 13-year-old feels sure that a prank she pulled was the real cause. When Zinny discovers a trail at the edge of her parents' farm, she learns of its history as a 20-mile path once trodden by Indians and trappers. She spends weeks clearing weeds and digging up markers; during the course of her solitary endeavors, which are periodically interrupted by Jake Boone's attempts at wooing, Zinny not only learns of her ancestors' hardships but slowly resolves her internal conflicts. Creech's language is as fresh as the natural wonders Zinny encounters in the woods: an older sister has a temper "hotter than a boiled owl"; zinnias, which Zinny plants to commemorate her role in clearing the historic path, "are like bright sentries marching along the trail." This sturdy but sensitive tale is Creech's best yet. Ages 8-12.
