Raising Readers: The Summer of the Swans

Parents who encourage and successfully develop children who read see greater school success and satisfaction. This series reviews various examples of children’s literature and provides insights for parents to discuss with their children. Reading and sharing the wonderful stories available to children sends a message that reading is important, creates positive “shared experiences” for families, and helps parents exert a subtle influence on their children’s development.

Fourteen-year-old Sara Godfrey is wrapped up in the “misery” of her life. She isn’t as pretty or accomplished as her older sister, Wanda. Her arms are too thin, her nose is crooked, her feet are too big and her hair is too straight. Her mother is dead and her father lives in a distant town and doesn’t involve himself in her life. She and Wanda and her brother, Charlie, are being raised by their Aunt Millie who struggles with raising children that are not her own, but promised her dying sister (Sara’s mother) that she would take care of the children.

Charlie has special needs—probably a form of autism, though the book doesn’t say—that causes him to be clingy and painfully obsessive. Sara loves Charlie, but also gets annoyed with him at times. (There is a touching scene where Charlie continually “lets” his lollipop fall off its stick so that Sara will continually put it back together.)

Sara takes Charlie on a walk to a pond that is close to their house where he sees swans swimming in the water. He loves them and doesn’t want to leave, but Sara tugs him home. Later that night, Charlie wakes up and leaves the house to go and see the swans again, but gets lost in the woods. 

When they discover that Charlie is missing the following morning, Sara begins a frantic search for her brother. The whole town joins in, and Sara is even accompanied by Joe Melby, who Sara wrongfully believes stole a watch that Charlie liked. As her longest day unfolds, Sara reflects about how wrong she has been about Joe and also Charlie. In a moment of deep self-realization, Sara realizes she is Charlie’s whole world and that her “problems” are very small compared to his.    

Depending on reading level, this book is for kids age 9 and up.

Raising Readers is written by Steve Arnold of Club Z! In-Home Tutoring Services.  He can be reached at 610.831.5101 or ChesMontClubZ@gmail.com. Find out more about Club Z! In-Home Tutoring at www.clubztutoring.com/ChesMont.