Being an animal lover, he was so excited when I pulled out Miracle in Sumatra: The Story of Gutsy Gus by Jeanne McNaney. Miracle in Sumatra follows the plight of little Gus, a young orangutan whose parents have been kidnapped by greedy hunters.
With the help of a little girl named Maya, and the guardian angel of the jungle, Gabriella, Gus learns about bravery. But while being brave, Gus also learns to be compassionate and forgiving towards others. Even towards those who have not shown him that same kindness.
Miracle in Sumatra is a story that can teach children about conservation and activism. There are less than 6500 Sumatran orangutans left in the world. People need to be more aware of the actions they take and the actions of the companies they support. Miracle in Sumatra discusses such awareness at a level children can understand. The book shows that even children can help make a difference.
We started reading Miracle in Sumatra before bed one night. I was surprised at the amount of text on the pages. Designed for kids 4-8, it contains a very detailed story line. We split our reading into two nights due to the length of the book. But any worries about the story losing my son's attention quickly disappeared. He was in love with it (and so annoyed when I stopped halfway through it the first night.)The book is full of emotion. When the little orangutan's parents are kidnapped, I watched my little one gasp and cover his mouth. But when Gus ran into the trapper's village, my son almost bounced off the bed with excitement.
Both my son and I enjoyed the story of Gus and his parents. Miracle in Sumatra was a definite hit in our house. Though I think next time we'll read it a little earlier in the day, as the ending was far too exciting for a five year old at bedtime!Buy It:
Miracle in Sumatra can be purchased for $16.95
A copy of the book was provided for our review. All opinions are our own.
3 comments:
This looks like a book my five year old would love, I'll have to check it out. Thanks for sharing!
That book sounds very interesting. I love the illustrations.
Thanks for this review...Gus is a family name, and we love the theme of monkeys, the like, for our son, so I will definately be adding this book to his library.
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