Out of the Woods
A True Story of an Unforgettable Event
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Based on a true story about the author's grandfather, Rebecca Bond's Out of the Woods is a dramatic tale of survival featuring both animals and people.
Antonio Willie Giroux lived in a hotel his mother ran on the edge of a lake. He loved to explore the woods and look for animals, but they always remained hidden away. One hot, dry summer, when Antonio was almost five, disaster struck: a fire rushed through the forest. Everyone ran to the lake-the only safe place in town-and stood knee-deep in water as they watched the fire. Then, slowly, animals emerged from their forest home and joined the people in the water.
Miraculously, the hotel did not burn down, and the animals rebuilt their homes in the forest-but Antonio never forgot the time when he watched the distance between people and animals disappear.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this haunting story about a 1914 incident from the childhood of Bond s grandfather, four-year-old Antonio Willie Giroux lives in the lakeside hotel his mother runs in Gowganda, Ontario. Antonio spends his days helping staffers and walking in the forest, where he catches only glimpses of wildlife with hunters and lumberjacks afoot, the safest place for animals was a distant, hidden one. Bond s (The House That George Built) richly descriptive language and sepia-toned illustrations work in tandem to conjure the remote, densely wooded setting. A raging forest fire which Antonio hears roar like a monster and crackle with white lightning heat threatens the entire town, whose residents dash to the lake for safety. A strange tranquility descends as they stand in the water and watch animals exit the burning forest to take refuge alongside them Wolves stood beside deer, foxes beside rabbits. And people and moose stood close enough to touch. A story valuable both as a glimpse into a bygone way of life and a record of a surreal, singular moment. Ages 5 9.
