Grandmother's Pigeon
By (Author) Louise Erdrich
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
University of Minnesota Press
University of Minnesota Press
22nd November 2021
United States
Children
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Nature and animal stories
Childrens / Teenage personal and social topics: Families and family members
813.6
Hardback
32
Width 279mm, Height 216mm, Spine 38mm
A grandmothers sudden departure leaves her family with an even more puzzling, and wondrous, surprise in this enchanting story from the National Book Awardwinning authorat last back in print
Grandmother was a mysterious woman. She could heal with a touch (or with a cup of very bitter tea) or scare off a vicious dog with a look. But when she hitches a ride to Greenland on a passing porpoise, her family is still surprisedand then concerned. The mystery deepens when, among Grandmothers collection of birds nests, the family discovers a clutch of eggs hatching. Out pop three passenger pigeonsbirds of a species long extinct, supposedly.
Through the words of a curious grandchild, and Jim LaMarches evocative artwork, Grandmothers legacy unfolds in these pages in all its peculiarity and charm. Mixing whimsy and gravity with a little science and history, the tale of the familys loss, and marvelous find, summons a world as intriguing as it is perfectly cleara world animated by Louise Erdrichs storytelling magic, inviting readers young and old to follow Grandmother, and to wonder.
"Impeccably paired, text and art gracefully build to a conclusion that both reassures and startles. Magical from beginning to end."Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Tips the delicate balance between the fanciful and more realistic aspects of storytelling."Kirkus Reviews
"This is a book that adults will be glad to share over and over, which is good because children are going to be asking for it many times."Ely Winter Times
Louise Erdrich is the author of fifteen novels as well as volumes of poetry, short stories, a memoir of early motherhood, and childrens books, including The Range Eternal (Minnesota, 2020). Her novel The Round House won the National Book Award for Fiction. The Plague of Doves was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and she has twice won the National Book Critics Circle Award, for her debut novel Love Medicine and for LaRose. She operates Birchbark Books, an independent bookstore in Minneapolis.
Jim LaMarche has illustrated The Rainbabies by Laura Kraus Melmed, Albert by Donna Jo Napoli (a New York Times Best Illustrated Book), and Up and The Raft, which he also wrote. Most recently he illustrated The Carpenters Gift by David Rubel and Puma Dreams by Tony Johnston. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.