Eleven-year-old Thomas loves living in Philadelphia, PA. His family, however, moves to North Carolina in the Appalachian Mountains for the summer with his aunt so his mom can rest from her recent bout with cancer. He anticipates a summer with a more energetic mom. She, however, begins to decline.
As he processes this reality, he ventures into the woods behind his aunt's house (called Greenwood), a place his mom explored as a child and also a place that still provides fodder for her captivating stories. Here Thomas befriends a tiger, Shalomar, who turns to stone each night. To awaken him, Thomas must sing. Together they embark on a quest to break the curse over Shalomar and return him to his world.
Will Thomas be able to restore his own mother to this earthly world for a bit longer?
A serious book about losing a parent A beautiful book about creation, friendship, and stories
Consideration/discuss: Would a child who has lost a parent to cancer or has a parent suffering with cancer find this book difficult to read? Spoiler alert: When Thomas gives his mom water from Greenwood, it seems to have healed her (or at least make her feel better for that day). Would this incident create a false hope in a child whose parent has cancer? Would they long for water or a solution like this when in our world it does not exist? I may be overthinking it & being overly sensitive.
*Highly recommend.
This author graduated from the same college I did (a year behind me). I, however, cannot place him! I may have even had classes with him since I too was an education major with an English concentration. How wish I could remember him!!
-Borrowed from the library (I asked my librarian to purchase this book. 😊) I own Mr. McCarty's Tumbleweed Thompson book and Junction Tales book. They take place in the west in the 1800s and are more lighthearted.
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