Letting Swift River Go

Rating:
Summary: Should have packed an emotional whallop
Review: "Drowing towns" I had never heard of such a thing and was highly interested in reading this book about a remarkable event in history.
(Though apparently it has happened worldwide)

To be honest .. I was disappointed. What should have been an emotional, impactful story turned out to be rather bland.

The writing was choppy, (difficult to read out loud) pictures ho-hum (even though I love Barbara Cooney!) and the overall intensity was not there as I thought it should be. Afterall we are talking about people leaving the homes and their way of life that had been in their families for generations.

I was expecting better. I think Patricia MacLachlan and Illustrator Ted Rand or Susan Jeffers could have made a real triumph out of this.

That said, _DO_ read this book. It is a remarkable event in history and this book is still worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Deep book about dealing with loss
Review: The best thing about this book is its refusal to play games with your child's mind. Rejecting the shameless tear-jerking of so much media aimed at children, this book embraces the grand tradition of children's books that takes children seriously. This is a book about dealing with loss about about letting go, but also a book that makes the reader reflect on what is good about life. Warts and all, life is sweet. As a historian, I really appreciate that Yolen tries hard to show what her valley was like AND what it is like after the dam is built. Kids are frightened when they see orchards being ripped out for suburbs; this is a book about dealing with that kind of loss.

Rating:
Summary: Not just for children
Review: The concept of water -- where does it come from, how do we use it, where does it go when we are done with it -- is a big topic in our busy household. Both of my kids are interested in the environment and conservation, and I think a lot of that interest can be attributed to a small set of books -- Letting Swift River Go among them -- that were a part of their bedtime often throughout the beginnings of their childhood. My youngest son, in fact, is eleven now, but still pulls this book out and reads it to himself and to others on occasion.

You'll find the great writing here that you expect from Jane Yolen, along with a plot that serves as a vehicle for commentary that allows children to look at the cost of progress when it comes to building towns and cities.

Rating:
Summary: Not just for children
Review: This book is for anyone - of any age - who has lost anything of beauty or anything they love. Children will love it, but don't keep it from the adults. I still can't read it without crying.